Did a romance really develop between the Coach and a teacher?

No. In the movie Hoosiers, a budding romance forms between Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) and teacher Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey). In real life, Coach Marvin Wood was married with two children (pictured left). He was not romantically involved with a teacher from the school. Coach Wood's wife, Mary Lou, often worried aloud, "If a basketball and I were placed at half-court, which one would he choose?" Rick Paridaen, a friend of the family, believes the answer would easily have been Mary Lou, the real love of Marvin's life. The film's romance was an element of fiction added by screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, whose other work includes the script for the 1993 football drama Rudy, also based on a true story.