By all accounts, fans can expect the scene at Manley Field House Friday night to resemble a carnival more so than a basketball practice.

‘Early Midnight Madness,’ an event that has gained popularity at schools across the nation, will return to Syracuse for the first time in 14 years this weekend with no dearth of pageantry. ESPN college basketball analyst Bill Raftery will host an event that will include live music, a fan dance competition and a head coach Jim Boeheim look-alike contest.

There will be basketball, too. Besides scrimmages by both the men’s and women’s teams, the evening will also include a slam dunk and 3-point shooting contests involving the men’s team.

The event is free but fans must have a ticket to attend. Syracuse has made an additional 250 tickets for the event available on a first-come, first-serve basis today beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Carrier Dome Box Office. There is a four-ticket limit per person.

‘I’m excited,’ Boeheim said recently in a phone interview. ‘It’ll be that second weekend, so we’ll have a week of practice beforehand, so hopefully the players will be playing better by then. But hopefully we’ll get the students involved.’

Midnight Madness was originally a way for schools to begin workouts as early as possible by practicing at midnight on the first day official practices are permitted. Lately, the term has taken on a less literal sense, with more pomp and flare thrown in.

Many schools have already held their own versions of Midnight Madness this season. A massive crowd of 23,313 people packed Kentucky’s Rupp Arena last Friday night to welcome new head coach Billy Gillespie, while estimated crowds of 13,000 and 15,000 turned out for events at Indiana and Maryland, respectively.

Georgetown’s event was apparently enough to convince forward Greg Monroe, considered by many to be the top high school senior in the country, to commit to the Hoyas.

And Friday at 8 p.m., the madness will make its way to Syracuse.

Published on October 17, 2007 at 12:00 pm