When Hinkle celebrated its 80th birthday on March 7, its fans were as true and diverse as ever. The crowds, the athletes and even famed speakers and royalty have spent many a game in the fieldhouse on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Senior pharmacy major Betsy Ummel happens to fall under the category of “royalty.” Ummel was voted Homecoming queen last fall, and had the opportunity to tour the building from top to bottom.

She remembered a scene from the movie “Hoosiers” that exemplified the larger-than-life feel of Hinkle. “My favorite part in Hoosiers is when they go to the gym and the coach measures the height from the floor to the basketball rim, and the length of the court. It may be just a gym to some people, but the people who go there realize it’s a whole lot more, too.”

Or as College Hoops Web site wrote when naming Hinkle one of the five best venues to watch college basketball: “Try to catch an afternoon game when the sun is shining in from the windows at the top of the arena as if the heavens are watching the game too. If it doesn’t send chills down your back, you are not a genuine hoops fan.”

In its entire splendor, though, the gray hairs are beginning to show. In the next year, Butler will spend approximately $750,000 on renovations.

The money being raised as part of the ButlerRising campaign will go toward new locker rooms in the lower west side of Hinkle. This will benefit the women's softball, soccer and cross country /track teams and staff.

Also in the works -- updates for the public restrooms in the upper levels and a sound-system project that should be completed by the end of the school year.

Ummel, however, remains nostalgic about the restrooms.

“I love the bathrooms there because they’re really old and I feel like I’m in the Hoosiers movie,” Ummel said. “They’re very old-fashioned.”

Still, athletic director Barry Collier said the updates will enhance the players’ environment.

“We want to support our student athletes and provide them with an exceptional experience while they're here at Butler,” Collier said. “To do that, we have to provide them with locker space, training room, academic support, equipment and all those things. What we have is a national landmark building that has a lot of space, some of which is in dire need of updating. So that's what we're working on.”

Collier has been in and out of Hinkle Fieldhouse for more than 30 years as a player, coach and now athletic director. When he first walked into the building, on a recruiting visit during spring break 1974, “my jaw dropped like an egg from a tall chicken,” he said.

As Collier looks to the future, he sees the need for more improvements -- everything from bricks and mortar repairs to new roofs (the building has six), expanded training and weight rooms for the university's 380 student-athletes, increased classroom space and updates to the West Gym.

“We hold Hinkle Fieldhouse dear,” he said. "And we want to preserve it for the Butler students of tomorrow.”

Ummel knows that when she returns to Butler as an alumna, she will be back to enjoy the games at Hinkle.

“My goal is to sit in the courtside tickets,” Ummel said. “Hopefully next year I’ll just buy tickets for some game I really want to see. Even though they’re about 100 bucks, I think it’d be worth it.