I first set foot in the Field House at Washington University my senior year in high school.
Before my meeting with women’s basketball coach Nancy Fahey, I walked through the brown double doors to the floor, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the then 11 national championship banners hanging from the rafters (the volleyball team would hang another banner in 2003). Coming from a high school of only 200 students, I was overwhelmed by the 3,000-seat Field House.
But four years later, the Field House has become a second home. I have run sprints there; done push-ups there; worked there. I’ve seen countless basketball and volleyball games, concerts, convocations, graduations, pow-wows, career fairs and dinner events as well as the not-so-commonplace record-setting Simon Says game, a gymnastic meet, an NCAA slam dunk/three point contest and even a Presidential debate. But my four years amount to just a slice of the experiences that have come and gone through the Field House.
While perhaps most students only enter the Field House for convocation and graduation, even fewer know that the current Field House is actually the second version to grace the Danforth Campus. Originally built in 1928, the first Field House was the second-largest arena west of the Mississippi, holding over 7,000 spectators.
With a design similar to the Butler University Field House seen at the end of the classic film “Hoosiers,” the previous Field House floor was 14 feet lower, with the current floor having replaced the then ‘mezzanine’ second level.
During their stay in St. Louis from 1955-68 before moving to Atlanta, the NBA’s St. Louis Hawks hosted several games in the Field House, including a playoff game. In the storied history of the men’s basketball program, the first Field House hosted Illinois, Mizzou, Princeton, Harvard, Purdue and Arkansas as well, being the annual host of the Missouri state high school basketball championships.
But as the years wore on, time caught up with the glorious old Field House.
“The other [Field House] was outdated and the upper deck was practically condemned,” recalled men’s basketball coach Mark Edwards who took the head coaching reins three years before the renovation. “It couldn’t accommodate a lot of the needs that are commonplace in facilities today.”
In 1983, renovation began on the current Field House. Bleachers were ripped out, the floor was elevated and the balcony was redesigned with a more gradual slope.
“We had to level it off to come up to code. It was so steep that you could have almost fallen over the railing,” said athletic director John Schael.
During construction, Edwards was forced to decide if he would move his team to another location or play in the 80-year old Francis gym adjacent to the project.
“We decided that since the program was in its infancy and attendance wasn’t that high, we would just invest in some bleachers and play the whole season in Francis. When the bleachers were full, the students would stand outside and watch through the windows and whenever we’d score they’d pound on the windows. It was pretty unique,” said Edwards.
With construction complete, the new Field House opened with pomp and celebration in 1985 as sportscaster Howard Cossell, NFL Hall of Famer and former Wash. U. coach Weeb Ewbank and then Cardinals general manager Bing Devine spoke at the dedication.
“I remember we brought the team in through the doors closest to the pool and saw the new Field House for the first time, and we had our first practice on the court,” recalled Edwards. “Going into a new facility and being so impressed.and we knew it was ours. That was probably my favorite memory.”
On Nov. 22, 1985, Washington University officially dedicated the new Field House against cross-town St. Louis University, losing 66-50. The Bears rebounded from the opening loss: 286 men’s basketball games, 285 women’s basketball games and 348 volleyball games later, no Bears team has had a losing home record in the new Field House.
The Field House has played host to the 1989, ’90, ’91 and ’92 volleyball National Championships and still holds five of the top six attendance records in Division III history, with the top spot being set in the 1991 title game at 3,423.
In its 22 years, the Field House has become more than just an arena for basketball and volleyball; it is the central hub for major University events. In addition to the 1992, 2000 and 2004 Presidential Debates, the Field House has hosted everyone from a sitting President to the Dalai Lama.
In town one Saturday afternoon, Shaquille O’Neal worked out in the Field House.
Cardinals great Lou Brock received his honorary degree in the Field House.
The Olympic Festival brought in hundreds of Olympic hopefuls from around the country to play in the Field House.
Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Jesse Jackson, Hillary Clinton, Ted Coppel, Spike Lee and Bill Gates have all spoken in the Field House.
“It offers an additional gathering place for the University, for anything from graduation or a lecture too big for Graham Chapel,” said Edwards. “It’s for the St. Louis community as well with the debates and the slam dunk contest here. It’s really a resource for the University and the city as a whole.”
The Field House is a University and St. Louis landmark and its history has contributed as much to the University as the academics. Today, one can still see remnants of the old Field House as they enter the balcony. The support pillars and roof are still in tact as subtle reminders of a Field House and the events of yesteryear.
The facility’s history is displayed proudly in the trophy cases around the balcony, but the true history is in the coaches, athletes, staff and spectators that have made the Field House what it is today. So don’t just admire the Field House during convocation and graduation; appreciate the history that was made there and the greatness that it has witnessed.
If those walls could talk, we would certainly appreciate more about where Washington University has been and what the institution has accomplished.
The athletic department is hosting “Paint the Field House
” day on Feb. 24, 2007 in an attempt to break the all-time basketball attendance record currently set at 2,950 people. In a men’s and women’s double-header against the University of Chicago at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., two games that could potentially decide the conference champion, students are encouraged to wear red and come out to support the Bears and be a part of history at the same time.