On March 15, 1963, Jenison Field House hosted an NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament game between Mississippi State and Loyola Chicago that became one of the most memorable sporting events in the civil rights movement. It challenged racial segregation in athletics and helped forever change college basketball and advance civil rights in this country. Mississippi State had to overcome unwritten laws that prohibited the team from playing integrated teams, and the players snuck out of town under cover of darkness before the Mississippi governor could serve papers preventing the team from traveling to East Lansing. Loyola Chicago, with four African-American starters, eventually won the national championship by defeating two-time defending champion Cincinnati in the title game.