Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center
Encyclopedia
The Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, MACC, and previously as Memorial Gym, is a multi-purpose arena
on the campus of Kent State University
in Kent, Ohio
, United States. The building is primarily used as an athletic venue that is home to five Kent State Golden Flashes
varsity men's and women's teams, the most notable being the men's basketball team
. The arena also hosts women's basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and wrestling
as well as additional events such as commencement exercises, speakers, and concerts throughout the year. The building houses the offices of the Kent State Athletic Department and the coaches of each of the university's varsity athletic teams.
The MAC Center opened in 1950 as the "Men's Physical Education Building" before being renamed Memorial Gym in 1956. It was expanded in 1977 and underwent a major renovation in 1992. Since 1992, the arena seating capacity has been listed at 6,327 in the basketball configuration. The MAC Center is a regular site for the Mid-American Conference
championship meets for both wrestling and women's gymnastics and a past host of National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) events. As of 2010, the building is the 19th-oldest arena in college basketball.
. The facility opened in 1950 and hosted its first men's basketball game on December 2, 1950, a 51-46 Kent State win over the Pittsburgh Panthers. As of 2010 it is the 19th-oldest arena in U.S. college basketball. The original building included the main gym and a pool, connected by a folding wall, as well as offices and other rooms to house the Physical Education department. The building replaced Wills Gymnasium, built in 1923, as the home of the Golden Flashes men's basketball, swimming, and wrestling teams. In 1956, the Men's Physical Education building was rededicated as Memorial Gym in honor of Kent State students who died in both world wars.
In 1977 construction began on the MACC Annex (originally known as the Memorial Gym Annex or MGA), which included a new facility for the gymnastics team that connects with the main gym by way of a removable wall. Most of the Annex addition, which opened in 1979, was built as a separate building behind the MAC Center which is connected by a second floor bridge. The Annex originally included a large central gym with four adjacent basketball courts as well as auxiliary gyms, courts, a weight room, classrooms, and offices for the School of Dance and the School of Exercise, Leisure, and Sport and would serve as the Kent State Recreation Center until 1999. Today the Annex also houses graduate student studios from the College of Architecture in space taken from two of the original four basketball courts.
The arena underwent a major renovation in 1992. This renovation removed the swimming pool in the front of the building and replaced it with a new three-story lobby and the Blue and Gold Club Loge. The renovation also included a new scoreboard system, parquet
floor, improved lighting, and new facade on the front of the building. In 2006, a new court was installed, along with a new scoreboard system.
In a 5 December 2006 interview with the Record-Courier, KSU Athletic director Laing Kennedy
discussed future plans for the MAC Center, which include renovating the lower level of seating to create a bowl and installing chair-back seats for the entire level. With the new design, fans would enter all levels of seating from the second level instead of the current court-level entrances. Additional plans include renovating the Blue and Gold Club loge and dividing it into smaller private loges. No timetable was announced for the changes other than they would follow plans to upgrade Dix Stadium
, which were completed in 2008.
The MAC Center's most visible role is that of being the home court for five of the university's intercollegiate athletic teams: men's basketball, women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's gymnastics, and men's wrestling. The Kent State men's basketball team
has played home games at the MAC Center since the building opened in 1950 and through the 2009–10 season has an all-time home record of 488–255 (.657). Since 1998, the team has a 149–23 (.866) record in the MAC Center. The largest crowd at the building was 7,778 for a game against St. Bonaventure on January 10, 1970. Since the 1992 renovation, the largest crowd to see a game in the MAC Center was 6,567 on March 4, 2007 against arch-rival Akron
. The KSU women's basketball team has an all-time record of 306–101 (.752) which includes a 43-game winning streak that ran from December 3, 1997 – December 1, 2001. Since the 2000 season, the women's gymnastics team has a 60–10 record at the MAC Center.
The MAC Center houses administrative offices for the athletic department, coaches' offices for the various teams, the main ticket office, and hosts a variety of events including guest speakers, concerts, and graduations for both the university and local high schools. University commencement exercises are held three times a year in May, August, and December. The northern end of the building is the gymnastics center and serves as the practice facility for the women's gymnastics team. It connects to the main arena by way of a removable wall. Prior to 2005, most home meets were held in the gymnastics center by reversing the direction of a section of end-zone bleachers. Before the development of class registration by way of telephone and over the Internet, the MAC Center was the long-time site of class registration.
The arena has been the site of conference and NCAA events as well. In 1963 the NCAA Wrestling Team Championship
, won by the Oklahoma Sooners
, was held in the MAC Center, which was then known as Memorial Gym. The building has been a host arena for games in two NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournaments
. In the 1966 tournament
, Memorial Gym was a host arena for two Mid-East regional quarterfinal games. The Dayton Flyers
defeated the Miami Redskins
58–51 and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated the Loyola Ramblers
105–86. Two years later, Memorial Gym was again the site for two NCAA Mid-East regional quarterfinal games: the Marquette Golden Eagles
narrowly beat the Bowling Green Falcons
72–71 and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers defeated the Florida State Seminoles 79–69 as part of the 1968 tournament
. The MAC Center is also a regular site for Mid-American Conference
events such as the women's gymnastics and men's wrestling championships. In 2008, the MAC Center was the site of both championship meets.
Built as a physical education building, the interior of the arena is basically a large gymnasium consisting of four seating areas on each side of the floor with balcony seating along each sideline. All seating sections are bleacher seats except for chairback seats in the Blue and Gold Loge and in the lower sideline seats opposite the team benches.
The main lobby was built on what was originally the swimming pool as part of the 1992 renovations. It includes an elevator, concession stands, the ticket office, a small team shop, and the Blue and Gold Trophy Room. There are also four other lobbies at each corner of the main gym where fans can access restrooms and stairs to the balcony sections.
Galleries on the second floor of the main lobby honor Kent State's all-Americans and Hall of Fame members. Offices and storage rooms are found on this floor as well, located underneath the balcony sections of the main gym.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
on the campus of Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
in Kent, Ohio
Kent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
, United States. The building is primarily used as an athletic venue that is home to five Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State University's intercollegiate athletic teams are known as the Golden Flashes or simply as the Flashes. The university fields sixteen varsity athletic teams, all of whom play in the Mid-American Conference and in the NCAA's Division I...
varsity men's and women's teams, the most notable being the men's basketball team
Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
The Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The Golden Flashes compete in the Mid-American Conference East Division and last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008...
. The arena also hosts women's basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
as well as additional events such as commencement exercises, speakers, and concerts throughout the year. The building houses the offices of the Kent State Athletic Department and the coaches of each of the university's varsity athletic teams.
The MAC Center opened in 1950 as the "Men's Physical Education Building" before being renamed Memorial Gym in 1956. It was expanded in 1977 and underwent a major renovation in 1992. Since 1992, the arena seating capacity has been listed at 6,327 in the basketball configuration. The MAC Center is a regular site for the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
championship meets for both wrestling and women's gymnastics and a past host of National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) events. As of 2010, the building is the 19th-oldest arena in college basketball.
History
Originally known as the Men's Physical Education building, plans for the MAC Center were drawn up in the late 1940s as Kent State saw a rapid enrollment increase in men following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The facility opened in 1950 and hosted its first men's basketball game on December 2, 1950, a 51-46 Kent State win over the Pittsburgh Panthers. As of 2010 it is the 19th-oldest arena in U.S. college basketball. The original building included the main gym and a pool, connected by a folding wall, as well as offices and other rooms to house the Physical Education department. The building replaced Wills Gymnasium, built in 1923, as the home of the Golden Flashes men's basketball, swimming, and wrestling teams. In 1956, the Men's Physical Education building was rededicated as Memorial Gym in honor of Kent State students who died in both world wars.
In 1977 construction began on the MACC Annex (originally known as the Memorial Gym Annex or MGA), which included a new facility for the gymnastics team that connects with the main gym by way of a removable wall. Most of the Annex addition, which opened in 1979, was built as a separate building behind the MAC Center which is connected by a second floor bridge. The Annex originally included a large central gym with four adjacent basketball courts as well as auxiliary gyms, courts, a weight room, classrooms, and offices for the School of Dance and the School of Exercise, Leisure, and Sport and would serve as the Kent State Recreation Center until 1999. Today the Annex also houses graduate student studios from the College of Architecture in space taken from two of the original four basketball courts.
The arena underwent a major renovation in 1992. This renovation removed the swimming pool in the front of the building and replaced it with a new three-story lobby and the Blue and Gold Club Loge. The renovation also included a new scoreboard system, parquet
Parquetry
Parquetry is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect. The two main uses of parquetry are as veneer patterns on furniture and block patterns for flooring. Parquet patterns are entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges. The most popular parquet flooring...
floor, improved lighting, and new facade on the front of the building. In 2006, a new court was installed, along with a new scoreboard system.
In a 5 December 2006 interview with the Record-Courier, KSU Athletic director Laing Kennedy
Laing Kennedy
Laing E. Kennedy is a sports administrator. He previously served as athletic director for Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States since 1994 and previously served as athletic director at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York from 1983-1994...
discussed future plans for the MAC Center, which include renovating the lower level of seating to create a bowl and installing chair-back seats for the entire level. With the new design, fans would enter all levels of seating from the second level instead of the current court-level entrances. Additional plans include renovating the Blue and Gold Club loge and dividing it into smaller private loges. No timetable was announced for the changes other than they would follow plans to upgrade Dix Stadium
Dix Stadium
Dix Stadium is a stadium in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Kent State Golden Flashes football team. It lies at the far eastern end of the KSU campus along Summit Street, just east of State Route 261 and is the center piece of...
, which were completed in 2008.
Events
| Largest crowds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance | Date | Opponent | Result |
| |
|
#5 St. Bonaventure | L 94–65 |
| |
|
Purdue Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball The Purdue Boilermakers basketball team is a college basketball program that competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big Ten Conference. Purdue basketball holds the record for most Big Ten Championships with 22, along with being the only program in the conference to boast winning records... |
L 82–75 |
| |
|
Miami (Ohio) Miami RedHawks men's basketball The Miami RedHawks men's basketball team intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Miami University. The school competes in the Mid-American Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The RedHawks play home basketball games at Millett Hall in Oxford,... |
L 47–45 |
| |
|
Miami (Ohio) | L 61–59 OT |
| |
|
#2 Loyola Chicago | L 96–55 |
| Largest crowds since 1992 renovation | |||
| |
|
Akron Akron Zips men's basketball The Akron Zips Men's Basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The team first played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1986 when Bob Huggins was their coach. The Zips are currently... |
L 66–64 OT |
| |
|
Akron | W 63–57 |
| |
|
Akron | W 75–69 |
| |
|
Akron | W 73–68 |
| |
|
Akron | W 77–66 |
Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
The Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The Golden Flashes compete in the Mid-American Conference East Division and last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008...
has played home games at the MAC Center since the building opened in 1950 and through the 2009–10 season has an all-time home record of 488–255 (.657). Since 1998, the team has a 149–23 (.866) record in the MAC Center. The largest crowd at the building was 7,778 for a game against St. Bonaventure on January 10, 1970. Since the 1992 renovation, the largest crowd to see a game in the MAC Center was 6,567 on March 4, 2007 against arch-rival Akron
Akron Zips men's basketball
The Akron Zips Men's Basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The team first played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1986 when Bob Huggins was their coach. The Zips are currently...
. The KSU women's basketball team has an all-time record of 306–101 (.752) which includes a 43-game winning streak that ran from December 3, 1997 – December 1, 2001. Since the 2000 season, the women's gymnastics team has a 60–10 record at the MAC Center.
The MAC Center houses administrative offices for the athletic department, coaches' offices for the various teams, the main ticket office, and hosts a variety of events including guest speakers, concerts, and graduations for both the university and local high schools. University commencement exercises are held three times a year in May, August, and December. The northern end of the building is the gymnastics center and serves as the practice facility for the women's gymnastics team. It connects to the main arena by way of a removable wall. Prior to 2005, most home meets were held in the gymnastics center by reversing the direction of a section of end-zone bleachers. Before the development of class registration by way of telephone and over the Internet, the MAC Center was the long-time site of class registration.
The arena has been the site of conference and NCAA events as well. In 1963 the NCAA Wrestling Team Championship
NCAA Wrestling Team Championship
The NCAA Wrestling Team Championship was first officially awarded in 1929 and began to be continuously awarded on an annual basis in 1934 except during World War II 1943-1945. In 1928 and from 1931 to 1933, there was only an unofficial title. Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State, won the 1928, 1931...
, won by the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
, was held in the MAC Center, which was then known as Memorial Gym. The building has been a host arena for games in two NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournaments
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
. In the 1966 tournament
1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1966, and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland...
, Memorial Gym was a host arena for two Mid-East regional quarterfinal games. The Dayton Flyers
Dayton Flyers men's basketball
The Dayton Flyers men's basketball team is a college basketball program that competes in NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Ten Conference representing the University of Dayton. They are known for a rivalry with Xavier University, playing for the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy each year.-History:The...
defeated the Miami Redskins
Miami RedHawks men's basketball
The Miami RedHawks men's basketball team intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Miami University. The school competes in the Mid-American Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The RedHawks play home basketball games at Millett Hall in Oxford,...
58–51 and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated the Loyola Ramblers
Loyola Ramblers
The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Horizon League of the NCAA Division I...
105–86. Two years later, Memorial Gym was again the site for two NCAA Mid-East regional quarterfinal games: the Marquette Golden Eagles
Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball
The Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball team is the basketball team that represents Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school's 1977 team, coached by Al McGuire, won the NCAA championship. Currently the team competes in the Big East Conference. It last played in the NCAA Division I...
narrowly beat the Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball
The Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball team is the basketball team that represent Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1968...
72–71 and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers defeated the Florida State Seminoles 79–69 as part of the 1968 tournament
1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 23 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1968, and ended with the championship game on March 23 in Los Angeles, California...
. The MAC Center is also a regular site for Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
events such as the women's gymnastics and men's wrestling championships. In 2008, the MAC Center was the site of both championship meets.
Interior
The main lobby was built on what was originally the swimming pool as part of the 1992 renovations. It includes an elevator, concession stands, the ticket office, a small team shop, and the Blue and Gold Trophy Room. There are also four other lobbies at each corner of the main gym where fans can access restrooms and stairs to the balcony sections.
Galleries on the second floor of the main lobby honor Kent State's all-Americans and Hall of Fame members. Offices and storage rooms are found on this floor as well, located underneath the balcony sections of the main gym.