DES MOINES, Iowa — Members of the Drake basketball team, which won the 1975 National Commissioners Invitation Tournament, will reunite 50 years later being recognized during the annual Des Moines Hometown Team Weekend this Saturday at the Knapp Center in conjunction with the Bulldogs game against Indiana State.
The team from 1975 will be recognized during halftime of the game, alongside generations of Bulldog basketball standouts. Prior to the game, the public is invited to join Head Coaches Allison Pohlman and Joe Woodley and Athletic Director
Brian Hardin for the first ever Drake Athletics, "Hoopy Hour".
Saturday's Hoopy Hour event will occur in the MidAmerican Energy Foundation Atrium and will be held from 2:45-4:00 p.m. Happy hour drinks will be served along with a live music performance from local artist Damon Dotson.
Those who do not currently have game tickets purchased and wish to attend Hoopy Hour, can be purchase tickets for $25. Those who already have game tickets for Saturday can purchase tickets to the Hoopy Hour event for $15. For Drake faculty & staff on Saturday, the event ticket is $15 and includes a ticket to the game.
Event tickets can be purchased
HERE using the promo code DSMUSA1 for those currently without tickets to the game. For individuals who already have game tickets purchased, event tickets can be purchased
HERE using the promo code DSMUSA2.
Under first-year coach Bob Ortegel, Drake posted a 19-10 record during the 1974-75 while being ranked No. 16 in the final Associated Press poll. Larry Haralson and Terry McKissick both earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors
The Bulldogs beat top-seeded and then No. 13 ranked Southern California, 80-70, in the opening round of the National Commissioners Invitation Tournament in Louisville, Ky.
Drake toppled Bowling Green, 78-65, in the semifinal round and defeated Arizona, 83-76, in the championship game closing out the season with a six-game winning streak.
Seven players from the 1974-75 team, along with Head Coach Bob Ortegel and the family of assistant coach Mel Green, will reunite. The players are Terry Benka, Ron Clarkson, Tom Egli, Andy Graham, Shannon Kennedy, Terry McKissick, Roger Jacobson and Raymond Watson.
"It took a while, but we really started to play well toward the end of the season," said Benka, a guard on the team who organized the reunion. "People understood their roles and we became a smart and cohesive team, playing with a lot of confidence."
McKissick, who averaged 18.4 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds for that Drake team, echoed Benka's comments.
"We had great chemistry," said McKissick. "We overcame some injuries and everything started to click. I look forward to seeing my teammates again."
During the 1970s era the Missouri Valley Conference was considered one of the top three leagues in college basketball featuring Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis and Tulsa.
Drake finished third in the 1975 MVC standings with a 9-5 record behind Louisville and New Mexico State which both played in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville advanced to the 1975 NCAA Final Four, finishing third.
Earlier in the 1974-75 season the Bulldogs earned road victories at Texas (103-98, overtime) and Iowa State (65-64), while beating South Carolina (92-71) to finish third in the eight-team Ocean State Classic in Providence, R.I.
