Fictional sport heritage: the case of the Hoosier Gym and Milan ‘54 Hoosiers Museum

This conceptual paper considers the expansion of heritage within sport tourism by introducing the concept of fictional sport heritage through the examination of Knightstown, Indiana’s Hoosier Gym and Milan, Indiana’s Milan ‘54 Hoosiers Museum, two basketball sport venues that directly reference the 1986 film Hoosiers. Resultantly, the Hoosier Gym and the Milan ‘54 Hoosiers Museum present the opportunity for sport heritage and sport tourism researchers to consider the role of fiction in establishing heritage. The paper utilizes a multiple holistic case study with the historical methodology and is informed by the recent trajectory of the sport heritage typology. Ultimately, the paper advocates for fictional sport heritage and compares the use of a fictional sporting location with a traditional sport museum with ties to sport fiction within the broader historical context of high school boys basketball as a cultural phenomenon in the state of Indiana.