Press Release

Final TP Game in Murray Sells Gymnasium Oct. 29, 2009

Click above photo for original image.

Siloam Springs, Ark. (October 28, 2009) – The John Brown University men’s basketball season opens on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. when the Golden Eagles host Hillsdale Freewill Baptist (Okla.) in the annual Toilet Paper Game. This will be the final season played in the nearly 50-year-old Murray Sells Gymnasium. Next year the Golden Eagles will play the inaugural season in the Bill George Arena, currently under construction.

The Toilet Paper Game, which began in the early 1980s, was listed as a top fan tradition in college basketball by USA Today Sports Weekly. During the first home game, fans come armed with over 500 rolls of toilet paper, which they hurl onto the court after the first made field goal by JBU.

“This is a great rallying point for our campus and community,” said head men’s basketball coach Clark Sheehy. “Murray Sells will always be one of the most exciting places to play in small college athletics, but we are excited about playing in the Bill George Arena next season.”

John Brown University is a member of the NAIA Division I and competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference. JBU won the NAIA Division I men’s basketball championship in 2005.