About Happening Hoops

What The Experts Are Saying:

“Happening Hoops gives an amazingly comprehensive look at what college basketball actually looks like. The coverage is diverse, educational and non bias for college basketball fans.” 

– Kenneth Blakeney Head Coach at Howard University

“The CBI/Basketball Classic Bracketology he puts together is unique, difficult, and accurate every time. Everywhere he covers a game he is respected. Happening Hoops will continue to be a go-to source come college basketball season.”

– Nick Lorensen MidMajorMadness.com

“Ethan has branded himself to what makes college basketball so special which is knowing the parity across the nation. He has a great feel for the next “Cinderella Story” because he values and cares deeply for mid major basketball. Ethan is connected and works really hard. He will continue to rise in the ranks of media coverage for college basketball”

– Dustin Kerns Head Coach at Appalachian State

“If you’re a fan of mid-major, low-major or any basketball leagues/programs that don’t get national media coverage, Happening Hoops is the place for you! Ethan gives great content, insight and has a strong passion for the game. Any true college basketball fan will consider Happening Hoops a go-to source to add to their favorite basketball platforms.”

– Brett Putz Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Indiana State

 

 

Notable Journalistic Accomplishments

• As the nation’s preeminent bracketologist of the CBI and CIT/Basketball Classic Tournaments Hennessy correctly predicted the entire College Basketball Invitational field twice (2021 and 2022) and has an overall success rate of 90% (162/181) in six years predicting the fields of these tournaments

• Happening Hoops has been featured in multiple news outlets such as the Las Cruces Sun Times (New Mexico), Peoria Journal Star (Illinois), SB Nation, Pittsburgh Sports Now, and The Eagle (American University’s student newspaper).

• HappeningHoops.com has received over 65,000 views, and the Happening Hoops YouTube Channel has over 15,000 views.

• Hennessy has covered dozens of games as a credentialed media member including postseason tournaments and top 25 ranked games.

• Hennessy has made appearances on Fox Sports Radio 990 AM in Honolulu Hawaii, Union Street Hoops (podcast), and March to the Arch (podcast).

• Hennessy was selected as a media voter for the 2022 Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team.

Background: 

Ethan Hennessy is originally from Columbia Maryland and graduated from Valparaiso University in 2020. He began his love for college basketball by going to Loyola Greyhounds games as a kid and continued that passion into college leading the student section as the caped crusader at Valparaiso. In 2016 he founded The Happening Hoops Media Brand first as a Twitter account which later grew into a radio show (2017-2020), website (2017-present), and YouTube channel (2018-present). In 2018 he began predicting the fields of the third tier postseason tournaments (CBI and CIT) with a 90% accuracy rating over six seasons. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the website in early March to get a sneak peak of what the fields could look like. He has covered dozens of games over the years throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic and interviewed some of the biggest coaches in the sport. In the 2021-22 season, Ethan began keeping official NCAA statistics and running the replay review system for Patriot League basketball games at Loyola University Maryland. In 2023 Ethan pivoted his college basketball coverage to the Patriot League with the goal of providing the most comprehensive coverage and being the “go to” outlet for coverage of the ten team conference.