- For our final story today we're gonna be packing up the Millennium Falcon and heading back to the 1980s to reminisce about a tradition that brought CMU basketball fans to their feet and had rolls of toilet paper cascading down to the court.

Let's make the jump to light speed and head to Mount Pleasant to unroll at toilet paper tossing tradition.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Oh yes, Michiganders love their traditions, especially on the field of play.

- [Announcer] Number one, Lou Whitaker.

- [Narrator] Maybe you miss part of a school day and headed down to the ballpark for the Tigers home opener.

Like I did with my dad.

Or you might be familiar with the flying octopus that makes an appearance during a Red Wing's playoff run.

- [Announcer] The Detroit Red Wings, win the Stanley Cup from the New York Rangers in the seventh and deciding games.

- [Narrator] That tradition dates back to 1952.

When teams needed eight wins or legs to capture Lord Stanley's cup.

But on the hardwood in Mount Pleasant, there's a toilet paper tossing tradition that started in the eighties, fizzled fast, and was brought back for fans to experience again.

- I mean I think part of it is building an aura about the university, right?

It's a tradition.

We know universities have their traditions.

Whoever is the sousaphone that gets to dot the I in Ohio at Ohio State, across the nation, we know that there is somebody who gets to dot the I at Ohio State.

CMU, we had the toilet paper toss and it puts you on the map.

There's always a myth, right?

That 1986, '87 we have this great toilet paper toss event at CMU and it was really big in '86, '87, I mean that that is the case.

But it started a few years prior.

So in 1982, CMU was doing well in basketball.

We had Melvin "Sugar" McLaughlin, we had some really pretty powerful teams at the time.

The student section was called the Snake Pit and there was a lot of school spirit.

And so the men of (indistinct) came up with an idea and that was, let's throw a toilet paper.

But it was brief, short-lived.

It doesn't sound like CMU was really too keen on it, but in '86, '87 it really takes off.

The students are gonna do it.

You wait until the first basket is scored by central, and we're not talking free throws, we're talking the first real basket, and then let the toilet paper fly.

It became a thing in that '86, '87 season because CMU had some really good players at that point, right?

Dan Majerle's one of 'em, Lightning Levy's on the court.

You knew you were going into Rose Arena and you were going to have to endure a rowdy crowd.

A couple of really talented players and this toilet paper tradition.

- [Narrator] Former CMU great, United States Olympian and NBA All-Star, Dan Majerle, remembers Rose Arena rocking in the eighties.

- I just look back at this positively, but I don't think I was a typical student.

I was just all basketball and studies.

I didn't really do a whole lot.

I show everybody the picture and I talk about it, you know, back in Phoenix and they look at that picture and how crazy it was.

It's kind of something that really just happened.

In '87 we had such a good team.

I believe we didn't even lose a game that year at home and you know, I think we beat Wisconsin and some other teams here, went to Western Kentucky, which was ranked and beat them there.

And then get to the tournament and that whole toilet paper thing just kind of came outta nowhere.

And I tell people it's the craziest thing.

Daryl Miller would jump center, he would tip it to Tommie Johnson on the left side.

I would streaked down the right side and we had throw an alley-oop and it had to be, worked almost eight outta 10 times.

Which just amazed me.

Back then, I don't know if coaches scouted a lot because I know now you get every play on tape.

And the first thing I would be as a coach that came to Central Michigan and say, "okay, don't let him first win the tip "and they do win the tip.

"Just go hog Majerle, "don't let him run down the right and get a dunk."

But for some reason it worked and it's a great way to start the game.

And then obviously, when the toilet paper came down, it was, you can't even describe it.

It's not like it was like a few hundred rolls, it was thousands of rolls and it was just a straight white out.

And it was pretty special to experience that all year long.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This budding eighties tradition at CMU received national amplification thanks to the sharp eye of CMU photographer Peggy Brisbane.

- And so the iconic picture is from March of 1987 in a game against Western, which is always a great thing.

Have the rivalry game, have the iconic picture.

Peggy Brisbane and Robert Barclay in 1987 were the university photographers and they said you had to time it right.

You had to shoot the wind up, the actual throw and everything and then the aftermath.

And you had to time it and you only have so many, this is film so you don't have a ton of exposure.

Peggy's photo, a student intern at Central asked if he could submit it on her behalf to People Magazine and he did, and it became part of a two-page thread in People Magazine.

Look at this tradition at this regional state university in the Midwest.

So Peggy's photo was nationwide.

The legend of it has grown.

- [Narrator] The toilet paper tossing tradition was revived in 2004 to commemorate a century of hoops at CMU.

- [Announcer] As we celebrate 100 seasons of CMU basketball!

(crowd cheering) - [Narrator] While your favorite Star Wars toys might be forever lost in the eighties, CMU gave fans another chance to squeeze and throw the Charmin.

But the toilet paper toss comes with added meaning for "Thunder" Dan Majerle, whose son Max is a guard for the Chippewas.

- For that opportunity to be here at Central Michigan, my alma mater, it was great, 'cause he has never been back here.

And I just told him about the campus and you know, my experiences here and what I had and the tradition that this place has.

I'm excited, I'm a little nervous.

I don't wanna miss the layup.

So what I might do, 'cause I haven't touched the basketball in a while, is have Max come out and maybe he dunk it for the first one and have him experience what I did in that situation.

So it's nice to be a part of Central Michigan.

You know, being proud of the university and being a part of that's fun.

The administration here is doing a good job of trying to tap into what's happened here before.

To be able to get back and to support this community and support the athletic situation here is fun.

So I'm glad I'm back for it.

I can't wait for tonight.

I think it should be a lot of fun and it's gonna be exciting.

I think it's important that you can bring back some traditions to your alma mater too, and be a part of that.