Marion Bennett (2,800) Built 1955
July 24, 2025
July 24, 2025
I didn't have much familiarity with the Catholic church or their traditions growing up. I grew up in an Amish/Mennonite community that didn't have a Catholic church anywhere in the school district. Most of my background knowledge on Catholic tradition came from Whoopi Goldberg and the movie Sister Act. This was the case until middle school when I went to church a few times with one my friends on the basketball team when I would spend the night at his house on a Saturday evening. The traditions and rituals involved in the service fascinated and honestly confused me since they were unlike anything I was used to back in my own little Mennonite church. My worldview then expanded a little more when I got into high school and started paying attention to basketball programs all over the state. I was surprised to learn that some of the best high school teams in Indiana were from Catholic schools. Dominant basketball players were just not something that fit the images I associated in my head with the Catholic church. This all came to a head when I watched Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and DeShaun Thomas lay waste to the 2008 Westview Warriors who were all my own personal basketball heroes. It was at that moment my naivety began to crack and I started to wonder if it was possible that all of these superstars maybe weren't attending these Catholic schools just for theological reasons.
As I got older and played against some of these teams in the summer and watched them pillage public schools on the basketball court time and time again, I admittedly became a little jaded towards them. Names like Cathedral, Luers, and Noll made me roll my eyes while accusations of "recruiting" routinely got thrown around towards them. While some of that was fair, and much of it unfair, what I failed to realize was that Catholic schools and their basketball teams being powerhouse, flashy programs was a pretty new concept in Indiana. Most of them came from humble beginnings, and in the earliest days of Hoosier Hysteria, they weren't even allowed to compete in the postseason with other schools. This summer I found an old gym that is rooted in those modest origins, and I gained a new appreciation for them that made me ashamed of the cavalier attitudes of my youth.
Marion Bennett is a school and gym that literally hid right under my nose for years. I spent my entire college tenure living on campus at Indiana Wesleyan. I even got really into local history and explored most of Marion on my bike during my time there, and I never even heard a whisper about the gym. It wasn't until a friend of mine (thank you again Mr. Munsell) who played pickup games in the gym while also attending IWU told me about it after we had graduated. I was obviously intrigued and started looking for pictures online of the gym. I only found one or two, but what I saw blew me away. I was expecting either a tiny cracker box gym like many old Catholic schools used, or a sterile gym like you typically find at more modern Catholic facilities. What I saw instead was a photo of what looked like a big, classic, two-level gym from the 60s with beautiful wooden bleachers. I was shocked to find out it was actually built in the mid-50s, it was a head of its time! I quickly put it towards the top of my list to go visit when I had a chance over the summer. The Bennett Trojans never did a capture that elusive sectional title. Being one of the smallest schools in the vaunted Marion sectional made that a near impossibility, but they did have many quality teams over the years, and their gym was a great venue to host meaningful games in. Prior to 1943, they weren't even allowed in the state tournament along with all other Catholic schools. They hosted varsity basketball in the gym until 1993 when the high school closed due to declining enrollment. Since then it has continued to serve the St. Paul Catholic grade school. I was able to to stop in with my son right before school started in August.
Walking in the gym, even after seeing pictures, I was still shocked at how big it is. 2,800 feels inconceivable for a school this size. It is Marion though, grand gyms is what they do. I walked around in stunned silence for a few minutes as my 5 five-year old shot baskets on a little nerf hoop they convienently had set up in a corner of the gym. I was enamored with the bleachers. There are two levels on both sides. Both levels feature gorgeous wooden retractable seats. I suspect the lower level may have been replaced at some point as they are the more standard variety you would find in a gym from the 70s or 80s. They are a typical light-brown shade and go up 8 rows. The upper level bleachers on both sides certainly seem to be original. They are the classic slatted bleachers-of-death that were prominent in the 60s. They are a slightly darker brown color and go up 9 rows. I can only imagine how much you could get them shaking with a packed house back in the day. The upper level is reached by vintage stairwells in the corners of the gym. Antique doors beside them help anchor the gym in the era it was built. I also found a box of old scorebooks up here which were neat to look through.
If the seating here wasn't cool enough, there are so many other details that help it stand out. The baseline wall from which you enter the gym features a huge mural of a Trojan head flanked on both sides by the USA and Indiana flags. It looks intimidating and important. Above it are windows that look into an exterior upper hallway which is a little unique. The opposing baseline is relatively unadorned except for a massive stage that features a heavy navy blue curtain. On both sides, the wall is also painted a matching blue in a triangle shape that angles to the corners of the gym. It's trimmed in yellow and looks pretty sharp. My favorite feature of all though is the magnificent gym floor design. It feels frozen in time in the absolute best way. The hardwood is stained a pretty yellow color and is trimmed in navy blue all the way around the perimeter. "Bennett" is written in skinny block letters along the baselines. The foul lanes are also painted the same blue and have "MAC" written right inside the foul lines which I'm assuming is in reference to an old athletic conference. Little Trojan logos are right inside the sidelines on both sides with "Trojans" written underneath in block script. At center court is a perfect yellow "B" sitting inside a navy blue ring. It's the epitome of excellence in floor design. 10/10, no notes.
Right outside the gym are a few trophy cases with honors from the school's past along with old team pictures hanging on the walls. The basketball teams here had their up and down years like any other small school. What struck me though was the evident tradition that hung in the air. This was a Catholic school born out of a time when Catholic families in the area simply wanted their children to get an education rooted in their familial beliefs. The players here weren't recruited to come play basketball, they just went to school here and happened to love hoops like any other Indiana kid. They played in big games, had big moments, and made awesome memories, all in this beauty of a gym. I'm probably never going to hold Cathedral or other prep schools like it in today's day and age in the highest regard, but I sure do have a newfound appreciation for the small Catholic schools that put together competitive squads with what they were given year in and year out. I also won't be quick to make assumptions about their gyms, because I already made that mistake once here, and Marion Bennett will always stick with me as one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever come across.
