Ahearn Field House

Mike Ahearn Field House
Construction
"The Old Barn"

Location	1700 College Heights Road Manhattan, Kansas 66506
Owner	Kansas State University
Operator	Kansas State University
Capacity	5,000 (volleyball) 12,220 (basketball, 1987)
Record attendance	5,287 (volleyball, 2003) 14,028 (basketball, 1951)
Broke ground	1949
Opened	December 9, 1950
Construction cost	$2 million
Tenants
Kansas State Wildcats

Ahearn Field House is one of the athletic buildings on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. It is currently home to the K-State volleyball team and indoor track and field squad, and houses facilities for the Department of Kinesiology and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The facility was named in honor of Michael F. Ahearn. Over the years 'Mike' Ahearn served Kansas State University in a variety of roles that included coach, professor, Head of the Department of Physical Education, and Director of Athletics. Kansas State's men's basketball team posted an all-time record in Ahearn Field House of 369-96 (.793), including six undefeated seasons.^[1]

History

By the late 1940s, it was obvious that Kansas State's 30-year-old gym, Nichols Hall, was inadequate for the increasingly popular basketball team. After the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four in 1948, it was not unheard of for students to climb into the rafters in order to watch the game. Not only was this situation uncomfortable, it was also unsafe.^[2] In the late-1940s, the Kansas State Legislature approved the construction of a new and much larger basketball facility, designed to overcome the capacity and safety shortcomings of Nichols Hall.

Opened in 1950 with a seating capacity of more than 14,000, Ahearn Field House was one of the first and largest purpose-built basketball arenas in the country.^[3] It was the largest arena in the state of Kansas until the construction of Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas in 1955. Changing fire codes over the years forced changes to the seating arrangements that eventually reduced seating capacity to 11,700 for the 1987-1988 season. This was the final season in which K-State basketball games were held in Ahearn.

Ahearn Field House hosted the men's NCAA basketball tournament regional finals six times (1953, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1965, and 1969). It also hosted the national championship match for the 1974 AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, as well as a quarterfinal game in the 1976 NIT.

Ahearn Field House provided a legendary homecourt advantage for K-State. Former Kansas State coach Tex Winter said in his biography Trial By Basketball: "Kansas State won a lot of ballgames because of that crowd. Many times during timeouts you couldn't hear yourself talk. All I could do was scribble a play on the floor. The crowd there never died, even in one of our lulls – the crowd would come alive and pick us up."

The total men's basketball attendance from 1950 to 1988 was over 4,839,796.

Ahearn today

By the mid-1970s, university administration decided that the basketball teams needed a new home. In 1979, KSU began raising money for what would become Bramlage Coliseum, which became the new home of the basketball teams in 1988.

Over the years Ahearn has been modified to accommodate a variety of other activities, ranging from additional classroom space to providing venues for other intercollegiate sports such as indoor track and field and volleyball. Ahearn has also hosted NCAA volleyball tournament games four times since 1996.

References

External links

Preceded by None	Home of the Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball 1968 – 1988	Succeeded by Bramlage Coliseum
Preceded by None	Home of the Kansas State Wildcats Volleyball 1974 – current	Succeeded by None

Coordinates: 39°11′20.4″N 96°35′02.5″W / 39.189000°N 96.584028°W / 39.189000; -96.584028

Kansas State University

Academics	College of Agriculture College of Architecture, Planning and Design College of Arts and Sciences College of Business Administration College of Education College of Engineering College of Human Ecology College of Veterinary Medicine Branch campuses Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus (Salina) K-State Olathe (Olathe) Buildings Anderson Hall Hale Library Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art

Athletics	Big 12 Conference Kansas State Wildcats Football Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Baseball Volleyball KSU Marching Band Sunflower Showdown Governor's Cup Iowa State–Kansas State football rivalry Facilities Bill Snyder Family Stadium Bramlage Coliseum Ahearn Field House Tointon Family Stadium Memorial Stadium Colbert Hills

Culture	Notable people Landon Lecture Series Willie the Wildcat Aggieville Wildcat Victory Wabash Cannonball Alma Mater Kansas Wildcats (march) Media The Collegian Royal Purple KKSU (AM) KSDB (FM) KKSU-LP

Student life	K-State Student Union Housing Boyd Hall Davenport Building Derby Dining Center Ford Hall Goodnow Hall Haymaker Hall Jardine Terrace Apartments Kramer Food Center Marlatt Hall Moore Hall Pittman Building Putnam Hall Van Zile Hall West Hall

History	Blue Mont Central College Land-grant university Joseph Denison List of oldest buildings on Kansas colleges and universities

Endowment: $473.987 million Students: 24,766 Faculty: 1,242

Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball

Venues	Manhattan YMCA (1902–1911) Nichols Hall (1911–1950) Ahearn Field House (1950–1988) Bramlage Coliseum (1988–present)

Rivalries	Kansas (results)

Culture & lore	History Willie the Wildcat "Wabash Cannonball" Wildcat Victory The Pride of Wildcat Land

People	Head coaches Honored players

Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 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 2015–16

NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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Ahearn Field House

History

Ahearn today

See also

References

External links