Gallagher-Iba Arena, once dubbed “Madison Square Garden of the Plains”, is the
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in
Stillwater, OklahomaStillwater is a city in and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 39,065 at the 2000 census. Founded December 12, 1884 it was the first settlement in the Unassigned Lands....
. Originally completed in 1938 and named the 4-H Club and Student Activities Building, it was soon renamed Gallagher Hall to honor wrestling coach
Ed GallagherEdward Clark Gallagher was the Oklahoma A&M wrestling coach from 1916-1940. With his knowledge of physical principles like leverage and stress along with anatomy he all but invented the modern style of wrestling. He remains one of the most successful coaches in NCAA athletics history...
. After renovations in 1987, the name became Gallagher-Iba Arena, as a tribute to longtime basketball coach and innovator
Henry IbaHenry Payne "Hank" Iba was an American basketball coach.-Early life:Iba was born and raised in Easton, Missouri...
.
The first basketball game was played on December 9, 1938 when Iba's Oklahoma A&M Aggies beat
Phog AllenForrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American collegiate basketball coach known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching." His basketball career got off to an auspicious start as a University of Kansas letterman under James Naismith, the inventor of basketball...
’s
Kansas JayhawksThe sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big 12 Conference...
, 21-15, in a battle between two of the nation's early basketball powers.
Gallagher-Iba Arena, once dubbed “Madison Square Garden of the Plains”, is the
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
and wrestling venue at Oklahoma State University in
Stillwater, OklahomaStillwater is a city in and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 39,065 at the 2000 census. Founded December 12, 1884 it was the first settlement in the Unassigned Lands....
. Originally completed in 1938 and named the 4-H Club and Student Activities Building, it was soon renamed Gallagher Hall to honor wrestling coach
Ed GallagherEdward Clark Gallagher was the Oklahoma A&M wrestling coach from 1916-1940. With his knowledge of physical principles like leverage and stress along with anatomy he all but invented the modern style of wrestling. He remains one of the most successful coaches in NCAA athletics history...
. After renovations in 1987, the name became Gallagher-Iba Arena, as a tribute to longtime basketball coach and innovator
Henry IbaHenry Payne "Hank" Iba was an American basketball coach.-Early life:Iba was born and raised in Easton, Missouri...
.
History
The first basketball game was played on December 9, 1938 when Iba's Oklahoma A&M Aggies beat
Phog AllenForrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American collegiate basketball coach known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching." His basketball career got off to an auspicious start as a University of Kansas letterman under James Naismith, the inventor of basketball...
’s
Kansas JayhawksThe sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big 12 Conference...
, 21-15, in a battle between two of the nation's early basketball powers. In its original configuration, seating was limited to 6,381. Though small by today's standards, it was the largest collegiate facility in the country when completed. The original maple floor, still in use today, was the most expensive of its kind in America when it was installed in 1938..
Former wrestling coach Myron Roderick claimed that during the 1978 Big 8 Conference Finals, over 9,000 fans packed the old barn and saw unranked Daryl Monasmith beat the defending national champion from Iowa State, Frank Santana. According to Roderick, "It got so loud, a lot of the lights busted in Gallagher. And that ís the loudest I've ever heard it. It was unbelievable."
"Gallagher's House of Horrors"
The Pokes set a new wrestling attendance record in the first season after expansion, packing in 10,802 for
BedlamThe Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference's South Division...
on February 18, 2001. Previously, the largest crowd was estimated at 8,300. Since wrestling began in Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Cowboys have won 34 NCAA titles and have had 34 unbeaten and untied campaigns at home. One of their longest winning streaks ran with the arena’s opening in 1939 and lasted until February 16, 1951. During that period, O-State won 37 straight home duals, including no ties. From the final dual of 1959 through the first five home duals of the 1967 season, Oklahoma State wrestled 61 duals without a loss, finishing with an impressive 60-0-1 record before the streak was broken by
BedlamThe Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference's South Division...
rival
OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. As of 2007, the university has 29,931 students enrolled, most...
19-13. On February 3, 1939, Oklahoma A&M wrestled for the first time inside the arena, defeating
IndianaIndiana University is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. It is also known as Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana, or simply IU, and is located in Bloomington, Indiana....
18-6. On February 3, 1989, the Oklahoma State Cowboys hosted the Hoosiers in a celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the first Gallagher Hall dual. The Cowboys defeated the Hoosiers, 28-6, in the 1989 dual. OSU’s latest home winning streak of 50 consecutive duals was the second-longest such streak without a loss or tie (it began near the end of the 1986 season). That streak came to an end on January 30, 1993, when
Penn StateThe Pennsylvania State University is a state-related, land-grant, space grant public research university located in the University Park area and within State College and College Township in Pennsylvania, United States...
handed the Pokes a sound 38-7 defeat, O-State’s worst loss ever on its home mat. In only five seasons have OSU teams lost more than one home dual during the season, including the 1992-93 season when OSU finished below .500 for the first time ever in Gallagher-Iba Arena. In contrast, six Cowboy teams have won at least 10 home duals during a single season.
The modern Gallagher-Iba
In the 1990s, Oklahoma State was in desperate need of a larger basketball arena. Instead of building a new arena off campus, the decision was made to expand Gallagher-Iba Arena from a modest 6,381 seats to its current 13,611 seats. The structure of the new Gallagher-Iba Arena was built around the old arena during the basketball season to allow games to be played, essentially the new Athletics Center encapsulated the old gym. Once the exterior was nearly completed, the roof of the old arena was dismantled. The old sightlines and the original white maple floor were kept (it remains the oldest original basketball court floor still in use). The expansion, completed in time for the 2000 Cowboy basketball season, cost $55 million and was designed by
Gary Sparks and built by Manhattan Construction. The Cowboys opened the new Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 70-60 victory over the
Arkansas-Little Rock TrojansThe University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a public research university located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year university under the name Little Rock...
.
Gallagher-Iba Arena was named the best college gymnasium by
CBS SportsLine.comCBSSports.com is a CBS-owned website that provides sports scores, news, video, and information on fantasy leagues. It is considered one of the top sports websites, along with ESPN.com...
in August 2001.
On January 15, 2005, the court was officially named after
Eddie SuttonEddie Sutton is a former college head coach with 36-year of Division I coaching experience with stints at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State , and The University of San Francisco...
as
Eddie Sutton Court.
On March 4, 2005, ESPNU held its debut, which was simulcast on ESPN2, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. To commemorate the event,
3 doors down3 Doors Down is an American rock band from , formed in 1996. Founded by Brad Arnold , Matt Roberts , and Todd Harrell . The band signed to Universal Records after the success of their song "Kryptonite". The band has since sold well over 16 million records worldwide since their debut album, The...
provided a free concert at the arena. The OSU Basketball team and coaches, including Eddie Sutton, were present at the event.
On January 12, 2008, Gallagher-Iba played host to the highest attended women's sporting event in the state of Oklahoma 13,611 (a sellout) as the OSU Cowgirls beat the OU Sooners in basketball 82-63.
Along with the expansion of the historic arena, the new Athletics Center has many features. A total of 14 luxury suites stretch across the west side of the facility, overlooking both the basketball court and the football field. Banners signifying the success of Oklahoma State Athletics are hung from the rafters, as well as a banner commemorating the loss of ten members of the OSU basketball family when they were killed in a plane crash in Colorado. The pride of OSU athletic triumphs are also illustrated in photographic and trophy displays in the new
Heritage Hall, which opened this fall.
In the southeast concourse, two seats are permanently reserved for the arena's namesakes.
Camp Sutton
Oklahoma State students have begun referring to their temporary towns as "Camp Sutton", in honor of retired head coach
Eddie SuttonEddie Sutton is a former college head coach with 36-year of Division I coaching experience with stints at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State , and The University of San Francisco...
. Twin cities of tents are pitched on the north and south sides of the arena, in hopes of securing floor seats in either the northside or southside student sections. In recent years, Camp Sutton has grown into an increasingly over-the-top affair. Many students played a part in the Camp Sutton campout from January 11, 2007 to February 27, 2007 (Four days before the
TexasThe Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference....
game and up to the
K-StateThe Kansas State Wildcats basketball program is the intercollegiate basketball program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
game.) The camp lasted from the second Oklahoma State University Big 12 home game to the last Big 12 home game of the season. Several groups of student campers from the Northside Nasties and the Southside Savages all joined together and lived under over of tarps duct taped and tied together, nicknamed the Thunderdome. It was occupied every day (except times during sporting events) for the entire campout.
Although students had camped outside Gallagher-Iba Arena for years, the name Camp Sutton was added during January 2006. Coincidentally, this would be Eddie's last season as head coach. Students are now be required to register tents in order of arrival, beginning four days before the game and continuing on. During this time period, at least one member of the "tent" was required to be present. A tent being ten people or less, this means that several students weathered freezing temperatures and sleepless nights in order to obtain seating to basketball games.
The first game under the new procedures was the Bedlam game of 2006, with over 55 tents registering. The new policy was so successful that around 400 students were granted admission in six minutes, and the Athletic Department saw the value of providing safe and fair admissions to students based upon arrival times.
During the 2006-2007 Men's Basketball season, the camp was moved to the south side of Boone Pickens Stadium. This was done to provide more electrical outlets to the campers, and to provide a wind block from the prevailing northerly, and generally quite strong, Oklahoma winter winds. The policy was in effect from the second home Big 12 game until the last Big 12 home game of the season.
External links