Louis Brown Athletic Center

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Louis Brown Athletic Center
The RAC
Location	Livingston Campus Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 08854
Opened	November 30, 1977
Owner	Rutgers University
Operator	Rutgers University
Former names
Rutgers Athletic Center
Tenants
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (basketball and volleyball)
Capacity
8,000

The Louis Brown Athletic Center, more commonly known as the "RAC" (for Rutgers Athletic Center), is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Piscataway, New Jersey on the University's Livingston Campus. The arena opened on November 30, 1977 with a win against rival Seton Hall. The building is shaped like a truncated tent with trapezoidal sides on the north and south ends. It is home to the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights basketball teams, both men's and women's. Previously, the University used the 3,200-seat College Avenue Gym from 1931 to 1977.

The arena was known as the Rutgers Athletic Center until 1986, when it was renamed for Louis Brown, a Rutgers graduate and former member of the varsity golf team, who made a large bequest to the University in his will. The building is still largely referred to as "The RAC" (pronounced "rack"), however.

It is known as one of the most difficult arenas in all of college basketball for opposing teams to play in. During the 2002-2003 season, the Rutgers Men's Basketball team defeated Syracuse University, the eventual National Champion, at the RAC. It has become a common occurrence during recent years for the Rutgers Men's Basketball team to beat teams at the RAC that they lose badly to at the opposing team's arena. For example, in 2003, the Scarlet Knights lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by 11 points at Notre Dame's Joyce Center, but beat the Fighting Irish by 13 points in their other meeting at the RAC.

[edit] Quotes about the RAC

ESPN's Jay Bilas once wrote, "The Scarlet Knights play great there, and the crowd is right on top of you and intimidating."

Former Connecticut Guard Ben Gordon, “It is very difficult at the RAC. They have a great home crowd. The student body and everybody really comes out to support them. Just the way the gym is shaped, it seems like everybody is on top of you. At times, if you're not focused, you can get lost in the game just by how intense the crowd is."

[edit] Non-Rutgers Sporting Events

The arena was the home of the NBA's New Jersey Nets during their first year in the NBA, 1977, when the team moved from The Long IslandNassau Coliseum, until 1981, when the Brendan Byrne Arena opened at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. It also hosted the 1985 and 1989 Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball tournaments.

[edit] References

http://www.scarletknights.com/facilities/rac.asp

Preceded by Nassau Coliseum 1977–1981

Home of the New Jersey Nets 1971–1977

Succeeded by Brendan Byrne Arena 1981–present

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Current Basketball Arenas in the Big East

Alumni Hall (Providence women) •Allstate Arena (DePaul men) • Bradley Center (Marquette men) • Carnesecca Arena (St. John's) • Carrier Dome (Syracuse) • Continental Airlines Arena (Seton Hall men) • Dunkin' Donuts Center (Providence men) • Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati) • Freedom Hall (Louisville) • Gampel Pavilion (Connecticut) • Hartford Civic Center (Connecticut) • Joyce Center (Notre Dame) • Louis Brown Athletic Center (Rutgers) • Madison Square Garden (St. John's men) • McDonough Gymnasium (Georgetown women) • McGuire Center (Marquette women) • The Pavilion (Villanova) • Petersen Events Center (Pittsburgh) • Sullivan Athletic Center (DePaul women) • USF Sun Dome (South Florida) • Verizon Center (Georgetown men) • Wachovia Center (Villanova) • Walsh Gymnasium (Seton Hall women) • WVU Coliseum (West Virginia)