It's difficult to pinpoint exactly how or when the tradition of the TP game began because former coaches and administrators at John Brown each have different recollections. What they all agree on, however, is how the event's popularity has steadily grown in the roughly 30 years since John Brown students first began sneaking rolls of toilet paper into old Murray Sells Athletic Center for the school's home opener.
When John Sheehy, Clark's father, began his 18-year tenure as basketball coach at John Brown in 1989, school administrators showed far more interest in eliminating the TP game than in promoting it. They didn't appreciate that students annually broke into storage closets in every campus dorm and pilfered boxes of toilet paper rather than purchasing it at the store.
What prompted the school's shift in attitude was a conference administrators attended about 15 years ago at which organizers pointed out that students remember their alma mater's traditions long after they've forgotten much of what they learned in a classroom.
It dawned on John Brown administrators that the TP game was one of their most cherished traditions, so they went from barely tolerating it to fully endorsing it almost overnight. They had the school's student life department hand out rolls of toilet paper to fans at the entrance of the arena, set up recycling bins inside to collect it in afterward and create halftime games for prizes in which students had to sink a free throw or topple bowling pins with rolls of toilet paper.
"The biggest reason it's grown so much is that the administration embraced it and said, 'Let's make this a fun event for our students' as opposed to saying, 'Boy, we need to stop this,'" John Sheehy said. "At that point, it really took off and now it's one of the finest small college traditions that I know of."
In the combined 23 years John and Clark Sheehy have coached at John Brown, their teams have only lost one TP game and most of the victories have been one-sided. That's why Clark felt comfortable playing to the crowd by setting up a game-opening alley-oop for one of his seniors two years ago and attempting the same for senior Adrian Miller on Tuesday night.
Neither the elder nor the younger Sheehy have enjoyed much success trying to weasel their way out of the technical foul the Golden Eagles receive in the TP game, but John was stubborn enough to try early in his tenure.
Because he previously saw a Texas school escape with just a warning when its fans threw a few rolls of toilet paper onto the court, John Sheehy didn't like when a referee refused to show his team the same courtesy in a TP game against Northeastern State in 1989. As a result, he vowed revenge when he learned the same referee was working his team's game at Northeastern State the following season.
When the Golden Eagles scored their first basket of that game, Sheehy arranged for a pocket of John Brown fans to hurl rolls of toilet paper on the visiting team's floor. Sheehy suspected the referee would have to call a technical foul on Northeastern State since he'd done the same to John Brown the previous year.
"Their athletic director's in shock, their coach is white as a sheet and someone's yelling on their loud speakers that anyone who throws things on the floor will be escorted from the gym," John Sheehy recalled with a chuckle. "The official had us lined up for a free throw, but somebody told him that the stuff came from behind John Brown's bench. I didn't argue at that point. It was a practical joke on an exuberant referee."
Andy Garcia was not aware of any of the TP game's rich history when he transferred to John Brown from Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma in 2010. Only after he experienced the game for the first time last season did he realize how special it was.
Although the roaring standing-room-only crowd typically gives John Brown an emotional boost, the enthusiasm sometimes turns to tension if a few possessions go by without the Golden Eagles scoring their first bucket. That's one of the reasons Garcia was relieved not to delay the celebration even if his routine put-back wasn't the intended outcome of a play that was meant to be a highlight-worthy backdoor alley-oop.
"It was actually good we got it over with," Garcia said. "I think last year we went a couple possessions without scoring and it got pretty tense"
No such problems this year. The TP party was on the moment Garcia's shot dropped in.
When John Sheehy, Clark's father, began his 18-year tenure as basketball coach at John Brown in 1989, school administrators showed far more interest in eliminating the TP game than in promoting it. They didn't appreciate that students annually broke into storage closets in every campus dorm and pilfered boxes of toilet paper rather than purchasing it at the store.
What prompted the school's shift in attitude was a conference administrators attended about 15 years ago at which organizers pointed out that students remember their alma mater's traditions long after they've forgotten much of what they learned in a classroom.
It dawned on John Brown administrators that the TP game was one of their most cherished traditions, so they went from barely tolerating it to fully endorsing it almost overnight. They had the school's student life department hand out rolls of toilet paper to fans at the entrance of the arena, set up recycling bins inside to collect it in afterward and create halftime games for prizes in which students had to sink a free throw or topple bowling pins with rolls of toilet paper.
"The biggest reason it's grown so much is that the administration embraced it and said, 'Let's make this a fun event for our students' as opposed to saying, 'Boy, we need to stop this,'" John Sheehy said. "At that point, it really took off and now it's one of the finest small college traditions that I know of."
In the combined 23 years John and Clark Sheehy have coached at John Brown, their teams have only lost one TP game and most of the victories have been one-sided. That's why Clark felt comfortable playing to the crowd by setting up a game-opening alley-oop for one of his seniors two years ago and attempting the same for senior Adrian Miller on Tuesday night.
Neither the elder nor the younger Sheehy have enjoyed much success trying to weasel their way out of the technical foul the Golden Eagles receive in the TP game, but John was stubborn enough to try early in his tenure.
Because he previously saw a Texas school escape with just a warning when its fans threw a few rolls of toilet paper onto the court, John Sheehy didn't like when a referee refused to show his team the same courtesy in a TP game against Northeastern State in 1989. As a result, he vowed revenge when he learned the same referee was working his team's game at Northeastern State the following season.
When the Golden Eagles scored their first basket of that game, Sheehy arranged for a pocket of John Brown fans to hurl rolls of toilet paper on the visiting team's floor. Sheehy suspected the referee would have to call a technical foul on Northeastern State since he'd done the same to John Brown the previous year.
"Their athletic director's in shock, their coach is white as a sheet and someone's yelling on their loud speakers that anyone who throws things on the floor will be escorted from the gym," John Sheehy recalled with a chuckle. "The official had us lined up for a free throw, but somebody told him that the stuff came from behind John Brown's bench. I didn't argue at that point. It was a practical joke on an exuberant referee."
Andy Garcia was not aware of any of the TP game's rich history when he transferred to John Brown from Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma in 2010. Only after he experienced the game for the first time last season did he realize how special it was.
Although the roaring standing-room-only crowd typically gives John Brown an emotional boost, the enthusiasm sometimes turns to tension if a few possessions go by without the Golden Eagles scoring their first bucket. That's one of the reasons Garcia was relieved not to delay the celebration even if his routine put-back wasn't the intended outcome of a play that was meant to be a highlight-worthy backdoor alley-oop.
"It was actually good we got it over with," Garcia said. "I think last year we went a couple possessions without scoring and it got pretty tense"
No such problems this year. The TP party was on the moment Garcia's shot dropped in.
