McKale Center

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. It is primarily used for basketball, but also features state-of-the-art physical training and therapy facilities. Its construction is marked with a large copper cap that has turned brown over time. McKale Center is home to the University of Arizona Wildcats basketball team. The multi-purpose arena opened in February of 1973 and has a capacity of 14,545 spectators. It hosted the 1988 Pacific Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.

McKale Center was named in honor of J.F. "Pop" McKale, athletic director and coach of all sports at the University of Arizona for a time, a figure at the university from 1914 to 1957. McKale was head basketball coach of Arizona from 1914 to 1921, where he recorded a 49-12 record.

McKale is also credited with giving the university its nickname, the Wildcats. McKale coached the 1914 school football team that played a tough game against California champions Occidental College on Thanksgiving Day, where the press deemed the Arizona team Wildcats, and McKale ensured that the nickname remained.

The University of Arizona is in the Pacific Ten Conference (also referred to as the PAC-10) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA.

Following the Arizona State University game on February 26, 2000, the University of Arizona athletic department honored head coach Lute Olson with a ceremony to name the McKale Center floor, "Lute Olson Court". Then, during a memorial service in January of 2001 for Olson's late wife, Bobbi, it was renamed, "Lute and Bobbi Olson Court" in recognition of the couple's impact on the university and the city of Tucson.^[1]

The University of Arizona
Athletics & traditions	Wildcats • Bear Down • The Pride of Arizona • U of A/ASU Big Game • Arizona Stadium • McKale Center • Lute Olson • Wilbur the Wildcat

Current basketball arenas in the Pacific Ten Conference
Beasley Coliseum (Washington State) • Haas Pavilion (California) • Hec Edmundson Pavilion (Washington) • Galen Center (USC) • Gill Coliseum (Oregon State) • Maples Pavilion (Stanford) • McArthur Court (Oregon) • McKale Center (Arizona) • Pauley Pavilion (UCLA) • Wells Fargo Arena (Arizona State)