Gallagher-Iba Arena
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| Gallagher-Iba Arena | |
|---|---|
| "The Madison Square Garden of The Plains" | |
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| Location | Hall of Fame Ave Stillwater, OK 74077 |
| Opened | December 9, 1938 |
| Owner | Oklahoma State University |
| Operator | Oklahoma State University |
| Surface | White Maple basketball court (original 1938 court) |
| Construction cost | $1.5 million (original) $55 million (Renovation) |
| Architect | Gary Sparks (Renovation) |
| Former names | |
| 4-H Clubs and Student Activities Building, Gallagher Hall | |
| Tenants | |
| Oklahoma State University Athletics | |
| Seats | |
| 13,611 | |
Gallagher-Iba Arena, once dubbed “Madison Square Garden of the Plains,” is the fabled basketball and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Gallagher-Iba Arena was completed in 1938 with a price tag of $1.5 million to hold 4-H meetings.
The storied history of the arena began on December 9, 1938 when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies (the school’s nickname at the time) coached by Henry Iba beat Phog Allen’s Kansas Jayhawks 21-15, in a battle between two of the nation's original basketball powers. Gallagher-Iba is home to one of the country's original student sections, and its intimate, yet intimidating, atmosphere for decades has garnered the reputation as the “rowdiest arena in the country” thanks its famed deafening crowds. A testament to the building's acoustical advantage can be found during the Big 8 wrestling championships in 1978; a standing-room-only crowd of 8,300 made such a huge roar that many of the lights in the arena burst.
Gallagher-Iba Arena was originally named the 4-H Clubs and Student Activities Building. It was shortly renamed Gallagher Hall for wrestling coach Ed Gallagher, who won 11 national championships during his tenure from 1916 to 1940. The Oklahoma Board of Regents renamed Gallagher Hall to Gallagher-Iba Arena in 1987 to honor legendary Oklahoma State basketball coach Henry Iba. Iba won 767 collegiate games and two national championships in his career. Iba invented the motion offense and man-to-man defense.
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[edit] "Gallagher's House of Horrors"
The Pokes set a new wrestling attendance record in the first season, packing in 10,802 for Bedlam on Feb. 18. Previously, the largest crowd was estimated at 8,300. Since wrestling began in Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Cowboys have won 21 NCAA titles and have had 34 unbeaten and untied campaigns at home. One of their longest winning streaks ran with the arena’s opening in 1939 and lasted until Feb. 16, 1951. During that period, O-State won 37 straight home duals, including no ties. From the final dual of 1959 through the first five home duals of the 1967 season, Oklahoma State wrestled 61 duals without a loss, finishing with an impressive 60-0-1 record before the streak was broken by Bedlam rival Oklahoma 19-13. On Feb. 3, 1939, Oklahoma A&M wrestled for the first time inside the arena, defeating Indiana 18-6. On Feb. 3, 1989, the Oklahoma State Cowboys hosted the Hoosiers in a celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the first Gallagher Hall dual. The Cowboys defeated the Hoosiers, 28-6, in the 1989 dual. OSU’s latest home winning streak of 50 consecutive duals was the second-longest such streak without a loss or tie (it began near the end of the 1986 season). That streak came to an end on Jan. 30, 1993, when Penn State handed the Pokes a sound 38-7 defeat, O-State’s worst loss ever on its home mat. In only five seasons have OSU teams lost more than one home dual during the season, including the 1992-93 season when OSU finished below .500 for the first time ever in Gallagher-Iba Arena. In contrast, six Cowboy teams have won at least 10 home duals during a single season.
[edit] The Modern Gallagher-Iba
In the 1990s, Oklahoma State was in desperate need of a larger basketball arena. Instead of building a new arena off campus, the decision was made to expand Gallagher-Iba Arena from a modest 6,381 seats to its current 13,611 seats. The structure of the new Gallagher-Iba Arena was built around the old arena during the basketball season to allow games to be played, essentially the new Athletics Center encapsulated the old gym. Once the exterior was nearly completed, the roof of the old arena was dismantled. The old sightlines and the original white maple floor were kept (it remains the oldest original basketball court floor still in use). The expansion, completed in time for the 2000 Cowboy basketball season, cost $55 million and was designed by Gary Sparks and built by Manhattan Construction. The Cowboys opened the new Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 70-60 victory over the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans.
Gallagher-Iba Arena was named the best college gymnasium by CBS Sportsline in August 2001 [1], and was ranked #1 by ESPNU in their countdown of America's top college basketball arenas.
On January 15, 2005, the court was officially named after Eddie Sutton as Eddie Sutton Court. The Cowboys have an decent record at home on Eddie Sutton Court; going 17-6 since "Mr. Iba's Court" was dedicated to Sutton.
On March 4, 2005 ("03.04.05"), the college sports network ESPNU, had its debut (simulcast on ESPN2) at Gallagher-Iba Arena. To commemorate the event, 3 doors down provided a free concert at the arena, on that day [2]. The OSU Basketball team and coaches, including Eddie Sutton, were also present at the event.
One seat in the arena is permanently reserved for "Mr. Iba", as Coach Iba was known. (The seat is usually shown to the audience during OSU TV games.) During the December 9, 2005 Bedlam wrestling dual, a permanently reserved seat for Ed Gallagher was unveiled, adjacent to Iba's.
Along with the expansion of the historic arena, the new Athletics Center has many features. A total of 14 luxury suites stretch across the west side of the facility, overlooking both the basketball court and the football field. Banners signifying the success of Oklahoma State Athletics are hung from the rafters, as well as a banner commemorating the loss of ten members of the OSU basketball family when they were killed in a plane crash in Colorado. The pride of OSU athletic triumphs are also illustrated in photographic and trophy displays in the new Heritage Hall, which opened this fall.
[edit] Camp Sutton
In the same spirit of Duke's students christening their village of tents "Krzyzewskiville," Oklahoma State students have begun referring to their temporary towns as "Camp Sutton," in honor of retired head coach Eddie Sutton and current head coach Sean Sutton. Nestled under the looming presence of Gallagher-Iba Arena, twin cities of tents are pitched on the north and south sides of the arena, in hopes of securing floor seats in either the northside or southside student sections. In recent years, Camp Sutton has grown into an increasingly over-the-top affair. Some students played a part in what is believed to be the longest continuous Camp Sutton campout[citation needed]; from February 23 to March 5, 2005 (one week before the Texas A&M game and up to the Texas game. During football season, Camp Sutton briefly becomes known as "Gundyville" to students camping out to validate their student football tickets to high profile games.
[edit] References
- ^ "Cameron Indoor Stadium is great, but the best in the land is...", by Dan Wetzel, CBS SportsLine, August 7, 2001, retrieved April 08, 2006
- ^ "Top-Selling Band 3 Doors Down to Perform at ESPNU Launch Pep Rally Friday", Business Wire, March 2, 2005, retrieved April 9, 2006
[edit] External links
- Official Page
- Okstate.com Article
- Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
- Oklahoma State Cowboy Wrestling
- Cowboy Journal Good history of Gallager-Iba Arena and Oklahoma State University
| Current Basketball Arenas in the Big 12 |
|---|
| Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) • Bob Devaney Sports Center (Nebraska) • Bramlage Coliseum (Kansas State) • Coors Events Center (Colorado) • Ferrell Center (Baylor) • Frank Erwin Center (Texas) • Gallagher-Iba Arena (Oklahoma State) • Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State) • Lloyd Noble Center (Oklahoma) • Mizzou Arena (Missouri) • Reed Arena (Texas A&M) • United Spirit Arena (Texas Tech) |
| Academics | Academics • College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources • College of Arts & Sciences • CEAT • College of Education • College of Human Environmental Services • Edmon Low Library • William S. Spears School of Business |
|---|---|
| Athletics | OSU Athletics • OSU Wrestling • Bedlam • Boone Pickens Stadium • Gallagher-Iba Arena • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium • Karsten Creek • Bullet • Pistol Pete • National Wrestling Hall of Fame |
| Campuses | Center for Health Sciences • Oklahoma City • Okmulgee • OSU Medical Center • Stillwater • Tulsa |
| History | History • Old Central |
| People | List of OSU people • List of OSU Olympians |
| Student Life | Colvin Center • Daily O'Collegian • Eskimo Joe's • Homecoming • Orange Peel • Student Union |
