An epilogue depicts a young boy shooting baskets in the “Hickory High School” gymnasium under a photograph of the 1952 State Championship team, accompanied by dialogue from “Coach Norman Dale’s” first day of practice.
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo were fraternity brothers at Indiana University when they conceived the idea for a screenplay loosely based on the Milan High School basketball team’s miraculous state championship victory in 1954. After graduation, both men enrolled in film school at the University of Southern California (USC) and pursued separate careers in the entertainment industry—Anspaugh became an established television director, while Pizzo produced television movies at Time-Life Films. Hoosiers marked Anspaugh’s motion picture debut, and Pizzo’s first feature screenplay.
       On 6 Mar 1985, Var announced that the project had been picked up by Hemdale Film Corporation, with an estimated budget of $7 – $8 million. A 27 Aug 1985 HR item reported the casting of Gene Hackman, while the 24 Jan 1986 Back Stage claimed that Dee Wallace and an unknown actress from Chicago, IL, were among those considered to play “Myra Fleener” before the casting of Barbara Hershey. Of the seven young men hired to make up the “Hickory Huskers” basketball team, only David Neidorf had professional acting experience. The remaining six players were selected from a pool of over 600 Indiana locals, and were required to participate in an abbreviated basketball game as part of their audition.
       The 18 Oct 1985 HR stated that principal photography was scheduled to begin 21 Oct 1985 in New Richmond, IN. The fictional township of “Hickory” was comprised of various locations in Ninevah, Knightstown, Danville, and Lebanon, all roughly one hour from production headquarters in Indianapolis. The Knightstown Elementary School gymnasium doubled as the Hickory High home court, while the final state championship game took place at Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. On the first night shooting at Butler, only 400 local background actors showed up to fill the 15,000-seat stadium, which prevented the production from filming any long shots of the court. Although filmmakers briefly considered rewriting the script, Indiana Film Commission director Karen Galvin solved the problem by asking a nearby high school to move their next game to Hinkle, drawing a crowd of 8,000 fans. All games were choreographed by veteran coach Tom McConnell and former Indiana University players Tom Abernathy and Spyridon “Strats” Stratigos, who served as technical advisors to develop a style of play that was appropriate for teams in the early 1950s. The seven-week production concluded in Dec 1985, three days over schedule. Final production cost was estimated at $6 million.
       A 7 Nov 1986 DV indicated that the world premiere took place 10 Nov 1986 at the Circle Theater in Indianapolis. All proceeds were donated to the Jameson Camp for Children. According to a 25 Nov 1986 HR advertisement, the film opened four days later in thirty Indiana theaters, where it collected a seven-day gross of $291,775. The West Coast premiere took place 11 Dec 1986 at the Cineplex Odeon Plitt Theatre in Century City, CA, followed by a limited, one-week engagement 12 – 19 Dec 1986 at the UA Coronet Theatre in Westwood, CA, to qualify for Academy Award consideration. However, due to its success, the 27 Feb 1987 NYT reported that the run was extended and business expanded to ninety theaters. Orion Pictures distribution chairman Joel Resnick claimed that the nationwide opening was postponed until 27 Feb 1987 in hope that the end of the high school basketball season would bolster the film’s success.
       A 26 Jan 1987 Long Beach Press-Telegram item reported that the picture was released in Europe under the title Best Shot, since Orion executives believed international audiences would likely be unfamiliar with the demonym, “Hoosiers,” which is used to describe people from the state of Indiana.
       Hoosiers was well received by both critics and audiences, and earned Academy Award nominations for Music (Original Score) Actor in a Supporting Role (Dennis Hopper). In 2006, AFI ranked the film #13 on its list of the 100 Most Inspiring Films of All Time.
       According to the 23 Mar 1987 issue of People magazine, DePauw University point guard Steve Hollar, who portrayed Hickory player “Rade Butcher,” was penalized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for accepting money to play the sport. Although the NCAA agreed that most of his participation in the film was acting, Hollar was suspended from three season games and forced to forfeit five percent of his $15,000 paycheck, or $632, to the university. The article also noted that DePauw player Griff Mills received a similar punishment for appearing in a brief “walk-on” role, although he is not credited onscreen.
       In 1988, several contemporary sources reported that Hemdale had become locked in a lengthy legal battle with Vestron, Inc., over the home video rights to Hoosiers and Platoon (1986, see entry). As a result, the 10 May 1989 DV announced that Gene Hackman filed suit against Hemdale for allegedly withholding his $500,000 share of videocassette revenues, while claiming an additional $5 million in damages. Although the suit was settled for an undisclosed sum, the 24 Jul 1991 DV stated that composer Jerry Goldsmith also filed a similar complaint against the company, the outcome of which could not be determined.
       End credits state: “The producers wish to thank Governor Robert Orr; Lt. Governor John Mutz; The Indiana Film Commission, Karen Galvin; Butler University; The people of New Richmond, Knightstown, Nineveh and all the other Hoosiers whose contribution and support helped make this film possible”; and, “Filmed entirely on location in the state of Indiana.”