Murphy Center
| Monte Hale Arena | |
|---|---|
| The Glass House | |
 Murphy Center during a game in November 2008 | |
| Location |
Middle Tennessee Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN 37132 |
| Coordinates | 35°51′8.88″N 86°22′11.29″W / 35.8524667°N 86.3698028°WCoordinates: 35°51′8.88″N 86°22′11.29″W / 35.8524667°N 86.3698028°W |
| Opened | December 11, 1972 |
| Owner | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Operator | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Surface | Hardwood |
| Capacity | 11,520 |
| Record attendance | 11,807 (02-26-2004 vs. Western Kentucky) |
| Tenants | |
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (NCAA) (1972–present) | |
Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center (Murphy Center for short) is the name of the main athletic department building at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States. The building was built in 1973 and named in honor of Charles M. "Bubber" Murphy, a standout athlete at the college in the 1930s and later the school's football coach from 1947 to 1967. The building houses most of the university's athletics offices, some classroom space, athletic practice facilities and weight rooms, racquetball courts and, most notably, the 11,520-seat multi-purpose Monte Hale Arena.[1]
Monte Hale Arena
Monte Hale Arena is home to the MTSU Blue Raiders men's and women's basketball teams. Hale Arena features a bowl of permanent box seats around the basketball floor and seventeen sections of collapsible bleachers on the concourse above the bowl. The arena is named in memory of Monte Hale, MTSU Athletics' radio play-by-play voice from 1961-1981, although it is most often simply called "Murphy Center". It has hosted the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament three times: 1975, 1985 and 1987; and hosted the Sun Belt Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments in 2006. Hale Arena is also home to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's (TSSAA) boys and girls Division I state high school basketball and volleyball championships. MTSU's graduation ceremonies are held in the arena as well.
History
The Murphy Center has hosted countless basketball games, and a few of those have been sold out. The largest crowd ever to witness a game on the hardwood of Monte Hale Arena was 11,807 on February 26, 2004, when the Blue Raiders defeated the WKU Hilltoppers 73-59.[2] Other sold out sporting events include the women's basketball team's game on November 25, 2009 against the Tennessee Lady Vols. A crowd of 11,802 witnessed a close game but UT victory, 69-52.[3]
Indoor Track and Field
The upper concourse of the arena also serves as an indoor track and field facility for the University's historically well-regarded athletics programs. Murphy Center has been home to 24 total Ohio Valley and Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships.
Murphy Center is also famous for the creation of NCAA Indoor Last Chance Meets. In 1976, MTSU head coach track and field coach Dean Hayes got together with several other coaches looking for one final opportunity for their athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The coaches held a meet at Murphy Center the week before the nationals, that would later go on to be known as NCAA Last Chance Meets.
Today, there are at least six Last Chance Meets around the nation including; Ames, Iowa (Iowa State), South Bend, Ind. (Notre Dame), Blacksburg, Va. (Virginia Tech), Lincoln, Neb. (Nebraska), Fayetteville, Ark. (Arkansas), and Gainesville, Fla. (Florida).
Music venue
From its opening, the arena was the Nashville area's premier indoor concert venue, but since the opening of Bridgestone Arena in 1996, however, it has rarely hosted concerts. Notable concerts have featured Elvis Presley (five shows between 1974-1975), Garth Brooks, Bob Hope, Bruce Springsteen, Widespread Panic, John Denver, The Who, Chicago, The Steve Miller Band, U2, The Beach Boys, Kansas, REM, Elton John, Styx, Johnny Cash, Boston, The Eagles, The Judds, and Charlie Daniels.[4]
- ↑ http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/164
- ↑ http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/18118
- ↑ http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/42612
- ↑ Anderson, Laren (January 4, 2003). "Murphy Center celebrates 30th anniversary today". The Daily News Journal.