The Indiana State Basketball Tournament originated in Bloomington in 1911.  It was conceived and organized by students at Indiana University in an effort to attract players to I.U., which rarely beat Purdue.  Teams were housed, fed, and entertained by I.U. fraternities at no cost.  Small town Bloomington with meager hotel and restaurant facilities did its best to accommodate fans arriving by train.   The growth of the Tourney was unexpectedly exponential: 12 teams in 1911 and 432 in 1920.