WVU Coliseum

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West Virginia University Coliseum

Location	Monongahela Blvd Morgantown, WV 26506
Opened	1970
Owner	West Virginia Univ.
Operator	West Virginia Univ.
Construction cost	$10.4 million
Architect	C. E. Silling
Tenants
West Virginia Mountaineers (Basketball, volleyball & gymnastics)
Capacity
14,000

The WVU Coliseum is a 14,000-seat multi-purpose arena near the Evansdale campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The circular arena features a poured concrete roof.

The arena, which opened in 1970, is home to the WVU Mountaineers men's and women's basketball teams, men's wresting, as well as WVU's women's teams in volleyball and gymnastics. The arena has nearly 100 offices, 13 lecture and seminar rooms, a dance studio, safety lab, racquetball and squash courts, Jerry West Mountaineer Room (holds nearly 150 people for meetings). Comprises more than 10.5 million cubic feet of space. The arena also has more than 1,000 individual locker units in various dressing rooms available for students and staff. There is also a 3,000 square foot weight room located in the lower level of the Coliseum. The arena has been used for concerts but the concrete roof has poor sound distribution properties, so other venues in nearby towns are more appropriate for this purpose. The poor sound quality was purposeful, as it was the intention of the designers to cup the ceiling so that crowd noise generated at basketball games would be directed back to the floor. The first event held at the Coliseum in 1970 was a Grand Funk Railroad concert. The arena hosted the 1984 and 1988 Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball tournaments.

The arena was built with state funds and replaced the WVU Fieldhouse, which seated 6,000.

During the 1998-99 season, the Jerry West Lounge was formally dedicated, flanking the entrance to lounge is a display showcasing the highlights of the Mountaineer great. In November of 2005, the University announced that a life size bronzed statue of West would adorn the Blue Gate entrance of the Coliseum.

In 1999 the school was forced to play a year of games split between Wheeling, Charleston, and the gym at nearby Fairmont State University due to asbestos removal.

In 2004 the Coliseum underwent an upgrade which included renovations to the men's and women's locker rooms, construction of a player's lounge and team video theater, expansion of the equipment and training rooms, refurbishment of the Coliseum roof, construction of a club seating area in the main arena, complete with a private space for concessions hospitality area and rest rooms under the lower level seats.

Legendary WVU Basketball and NBA Legend, Jerry West, has his number retired and a sign hangs over Seating Section 44 with "Jerry West 44" written on it. Also, standing outside of the main entrance of the Coliseum is a large bronze statue dedicated to Jerry West.

[edit] Top 10 Crowds

16,704 - Pitt - February 24, 1982
15,638 - UNLV - February 27, 1983
15,409 - Marshall - December 4, 1982
15,299 - Pitt - January 31, 1981
15,193 - Georgetown - December 2, 1995
15,167 - UCONN - February 11, 1998
15,118 - Notre Dame - February 17, 1979
14,853 - George Washington - February 20, 1982
14,805 - Pitt - February 27, 2006
14,683 - UCONN - February 18, 2006

[edit] Year by Year Results

Men's Basketball

Year	Record	Win Percentage
1970-71	9-4	.692
1971-72	11-4	.733
1972-73	8-6	.571
1973-74	8-4	.667
1974-1975	8-6	.571
1975-76	12-4	.750
1976-77	11-1	.917
1977-78	8-4	.667
1978-79	14-4	.778
1979-80	8-7	.554
1980-81	19-1	.950
1981-82	15-0	1.000
1982-83	13-1	.929
1983-84	15-2	.882
1984-85	13-3	.813
1985-86	14-2	.875
1986-87	10-6	.625
1988-89	12-2	.857
1989-90	12-1	.923
1990-91	13-2	.867
1991-92	10-3	.769
1992-93	14-1	.933
1993-94	13-3	.813
1994-95	9-4	.692
1995-96	9-5	.643
1996-97	12-4	.750
1997-98	13-1	.929
1998-99	6-7	.462
1999-00	Coliseum Closed for Asbestos Removal	N/A
2000-01	12-4	.750
2001-02	5-8	.385
2002-03	9-5	.643
2003-04	10-4	.714
2004-05	11-3	.786
2005-06	13-2	.867
2006-07	17-1	.944