<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $6 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $28.6 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Hoosiers is a 1986 sports film written by Angelo Pizzo and directed by David Anspaugh in his feature directorial debut . It tells the story of a small - town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship . It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship . </P> <P> Gene Hackman stars as Norman Dale, a new coach with a spotty past . The film co-stars Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper, whose role as the basketball - loving town drunk earned him an Oscar nomination . Jerry Goldsmith was also nominated for an Academy Award for his score . In 2001, Hoosiers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". </P>

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