Mott Athletic Center

Mott Athletics Center
Construction

Full name	Mott Athletics Center
Location	South Perimeter Road San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Coordinates	35°17′56″N 120°39′31″W / 35.29886°N 120.65855°W / 35.29886; -120.65855Coordinates: 35°17′56″N 120°39′31″W / 35.29886°N 120.65855°W / 35.29886; -120.65855
Owner	Cal Poly
Operator	California Polytechnic State University
Capacity	3,032
Surface	Southern White Pine
Built	September 1960
Opened	1 December 1960
Renovated	1998
Tenants
Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball Cal Poly Mustangs women's basketball Cal Poly Mustangs women's volleyball

Mott Athletics Center is a 3,032 seat, indoor multi-purpose arena on the campus of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.

History and renovations

Mott Gym was inaugurated in September 1960 and hosted its first match on 1 December 1960, a Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball game against Whittier College. Cal Poly prevailed 70-69.

The facility underwent major renovations in 1998 by local construction firm Santa Margarita Construction Corp. The seating was completely redone and arena-style chairbacks were added to Mott Athletic Center in addition to upgraded heating and ventilation systems.^[1]

Mott Athletic Center also contains the Cal Poly Mustangs trophy case, as well as the Mustang Hall of Fame. For the Cal Poly athletes, men's and women's locker rooms were renovated in 1999 and Mott Gym also houses the Mustang Strength Complex, the Cal Poly Athletics Academic Resource Center, and offices for Cal Poly coaches.

Named after Robert A. Mott, a physical education faculty member and department head from 1946-78. While working at Cal Poly, Mott was also the coach of the Mustangs baseball and men's basketball teams before he was named the P.E. Department head after World War II.

In 2005, Mott Athletic Center hosted the Pac-10 Wrestling Championships. Teams, officials and fans from Arizona State, Boise State, Oregon, UC Davis, Cal Poly, Oregon State, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Stanford, and Portland State flocked to Mott gym with the total attendance for the two day event reaching 7,738. The Mustangs finished the meet in fourth place and crowned one individual champion, Vic Moreno at 125 pounds.

1997 marked the second time in three years an NBA team held its preseason camp at Mott Gym. In 1995, Mott Athletic Center was the site of the 1995-96 Golden State Warriors training camp. Chris Mullin, Latrell Sprewell, B.J. Armstrong and No. 1 pick Joe Smith put on a show during an open practice to the public drawing a standing room only crowd of over 4000. In 1997 the Sacramento Kings conducted their one-week camp at Cal Poly. Like the Warriors, the Kings opened doors to the public for an intra-squad scrimmage to conclude camp.

Mott Athletic Center has been home to numerous NCAA playoffs (most recently in 2006, the first and the second round's of NCAA Volleyball Tournament to sold out crowds) and championships over the years, as well as hosting various concerts, exhibitions and sporting events. Names like Eddie Money, The Pretenders, The Doors, Ike and Tina Turner, Los Angeles Lakers and Bill Cosby are just a few of the names that have performed at Mott.

In 1980 the men's basketball team hosted New Hampshire College in a Division II NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal. 1998-99 marked the first nationally televised game at Mott Athletic Center as ESPN2 carried the Cal Poly Idaho game. Several games have been broadcast live on Fox Sports West before capacity crowds.^[2]

Tenants

Currently, the Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball and Cal Poly Mustangs women's basketball teams, as well as the Cal Poly Mustangs women's volleyball team, are the primary tenants of Mott Gym. In addition to the basketball and volleyball programs, the Cal Poly Mustangs men's wrestling team also calls Mott Gym home.

References

External links

Cal Poly athletic facilities

California Polytechnic State University

Academics	Architecture and Environmental Design Orfalea College of Business Engineering

Student Life	The "P" Cal Poly Universities Rose Float KCPR Mustang Band Alumni

Campus Facilities	Alex G. Spanos Stadium Robin Baggett Stadium Leaning Pine Arboretum Robert E. Kennedy Library

Athletics	Mustang Athletics Battle for the Golden Horseshoe Mercy Bowl Football Men's Basketball Men's Soccer Baseball

Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball

Venues	Mott Athletic Center (1960–present)

Culture & lore	Mustang Band

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Basketball arenas in the Big West Conference

Mott Gym (Cal Poly) Titan Gym (Cal State Fullerton) Matadome (Cal State Northridge) Stan Sheriff Center (Hawaiʻi) Walter Pyramid (Long Beach State) UC Davis Pavilion (UC Davis) Bren Events Center, Crawford Hall (UC Irvine) UC Riverside Student Recreation Center (UC Riverside) UCSB Events Center (UC Santa Barbara)