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Partly Cloudy Rockville Centre basketball fan on quest to see all 351 college teams
A quest is normally defined as a journey toward a goal, but when it comes to Rockville Centre’s number one college basketball fan, he’s content with never truly reaching his objective.
“You never finish it. It will never end, and that’s the fun of it,” said Ned Hirsch, the man who hopes to see all 351 Division I college basketball teams play. New schools get added every few years, he noted, so the list keeps growing.
He doesn’t mind though. “That’s why it’s a quest, because you can’t obtain it,” he said.
Hirsch, a 64-year-old lawyer, has seen 327 Division I college basketball teams play in person since he officially embarked on the adventure 40 years ago. He was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota earlier this month, where he saw the University of South Dakota play the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the championship of the Summit League tournament.
The passion he developed for the sport started in high school when he began attending college basketball games with his father. He recalled one of his first games, during which Army, led by coach Bob Knight, squared off against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Madison Square Garden in 1970. Hirsch continued frequenting local games throughout college, but it wasn’t until he graduated when he started traveling to major tournaments, realizing he could see a bunch of teams at once.
“As soon as we walk in, he’s courtside,” said Hirsch’s friend Chip Dodson, noting his “kid-in-a-candy-shop look” the moment they arrive at an arena. Dodson, 65, said his friend even talks to the referees officiating the game. Dodson met Hirsch during their college days at the University of Virginia. He and their other friend Bill Rosenthal accompany Hirsch on some of his trips, but Dodson pointed out they are not a part of the quest. They only tag along to hang out.
Some of Hirsch’s highlights over the years have included seeing current NBA stars develop in college, including Stephen Curry on the Davidson Wildcats, Chris Paul for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Carmelo Anthony on the Syracuse Orange and even Michael Jordan as a North Carolina Tar Heel.
Hirsch loves the media attention, he said, as well as meeting fans of his across the country, who he said recognize him from news articles and television interviews. “I’m happy people are enjoying what I do,” Hirsch said, adding that he feels like a performer. In 2008, the National Collegiate Athletic Association invited him to the Final Four in San Antonio, where he sat courtside near Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax and 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell.
“He looks forward to it all year,” said Hirsch’s wife, Marcia. “As soon as one year ends, he’s planning the next one.”
When they first started dating, Hirsch would take his wife to basketball games around the state. She recalled seeing Syracuse host the University of Connecticut Huskies at the Manley Field House in 1977.
Hirsch said his family has “deep Rockville Centre roots.” Although originally from Manhattan, Hirsch has lived in Rockville Centre since 1981 — he was on the board of the village’s Little League for five years. Marcia, 63, a Supreme Court judge, served on the Board of Education for nine years and was president for a term. Their daughters attended South Side High School.
While Hirsch also enjoys Major League Baseball and the National Football League, he does not follow the National Basketball Association; he is strictly into the college game. He said he has only met one other person on the same quest as him, meeting him while in South Dakota last month.
Hirsch has attended this year’s National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden, though there are no teams there that he hasn’t already seen. He won’t travel again for about another year, he said, when he will try to see teams in the Big South and Southland conferences.
“If you have a passion about anything, just go for it,” Hirsch advised. “Whatever it is, always strive to achieve it, because passions make life richer. Pursue as best you can!”
