Heralded
as the "Madison Square Garden of the Plains," Gallagher-Iba Arena
stands as one of the country's most revered sporting venues. It's the
oldest basketball arena in the Big 12, and is home to more national
championships than any other facility in America.
Year Opened
1938
Renovated
2001
Capacity
13,611
Court
White Maple
Suites
14
Gallagher-Iba Arena Overview
After 70 tradition-rich seasons,
historic Gallagher-Iba Arena remains home to more national
championships than any other facility in America. With its immense
history, notorious reputation for noise and intimate setting,
Gallagher-Iba has long been recognized as one of the best college
basketball venues in the country.
The Athletics Center is a truly comprehensive sports complex,
and its auxiliary facilities are a model for all other venues in the
region. The Center features an academic counseling center, training
facilities for all sports, a strength and conditioning center, expanded
offices, a recruiting lounge, an auxiliary gym, wrestling facilities
and the Heritage Hall museum. Heritage
Hall features more than 5,000 square feet of displays highlighting
OSU's many athletic and scholastic achievements.
A total of 14 luxury suites stretch across the west side of
the facility, overlooking both the basketball court and the football
field. These are the only luxury skybox suites that allow fans to view
basketball or wrestling from the east side and football games from the
west side. At 30 feet above the ground, the concourse level is
illuminated with natural light from large window walls, where visitors
to the arena can look out across Stillwater in all directions.
One of the nation's largest collegiate strength and
conditioning facilities (30,000 square feet of space including the
weight room and oval running track) is housed in the first level of the
Athletic Center. The sports medicine facility boasts a cutting-edge
Hydroworks Therapy Pool with a variable-speed treadmill for
student-athletes to rehab injuries safely and effectively by running in
water.
This magnificent building underwent a massive $55 million
renovation and expansion project and is now part of the OSU Athletics
Center. Funding of the project was a total team effort, supported by
Oklahoma State students (through a self-imposed activity fee), private
donations, loyal season-ticket holders and a use tax voted on by the
citizens of Stillwater.
Construction commenced with a groundbreaking ceremony on
January 12, 1999 and was completed in December of 2000. Through the
course of the renovation, seating in Gallagher-Iba Arena was expanded
from 6,381 to 13,611, while still providing an up-close view from any
seat in the house. OSU students account for approximately one-third of
the arena's total seats.
In order to complete the project on schedule while not missing
a home basketball game during the 1999-2000 season, an ingenious plan
was devised to allow construction work during the day but allow games
to be played at night and on weekends.
The original Gallagher-Iba Arena was encapsulated by a new
roof structure and concourse. Supporting the entire roof structure are
two massive box trusses, nearly a football-field long, 40 feet tall and
weighing one million pounds each. Once it was enclosed by the new
structure, demolition began on the existing roof structure and upper
wall. Construction more than doubled the height of arena from 60 feet
to more than 120 feet.
Through the course of the project, three buildings became one:
Gallagher-Iba Arena, the football coaches building and the weight
training & locker room. In addition, a new structure, housing Academic Services
and the auxiliary gym, was built at the south end of the Athletic
Center.
Prior to the 2010-11 season, Gallagher-Iba underwent another
major renovation, giving both the Cowboy and Cowgirl Basketball
programs new living spaces. Both programs now enjoy two of the finest
locker room and player lounge facilities in the country.
The multi-level basketball locker room houses both necessities
and amenities. The facility includes a team film room and meeting area;
a lounge area complete with game room, kitchen and sitting area; and
completely renovated locker rooms, equipped with state-of-the-art
shower facilities and whirlpool tubs.
Quick Facts - Cowboy Basketball in GIA OSU record in GIA: 699-194 (78.3%)
Conference Record in GIA: 327-147 (69%)
Non-Conference Record: 372-47 (88.8%)
Undefeated Seasons: 10
10-Win Seasons: 38
Quick Facts - Cowboy Wrestling in GIA
OSU record in GIA: 429-35-5 (92%)
NCAA team championships since opening: 25
Unbeaten/Untied Seasons: 40
The original structure, called the 4-H Club and Student
Activity Building when it was built in 1938 at a cost of $1.5 million,
and was dubbed the "Madison Square Garden of the Plains," standing as
one of the premier sporting venues in the region. The arena was
unveiled in grand fashion, as national basketball powers Oklahoma State
and Kansas opened the facility on December 9, 1938, in a game that
matched coaching legends Henry Iba and Phog Allen. Mr. Iba's Cowboys
won that game, 21-15.
The facility was quickly rechristened as Gallagher Hall in
honor of fabled Oklahoma A&M wrestling coach Ed Gallagher.
Gallagher is widely renowned as the father of modern amateur
wrestling, and crafted much of the sport while serving as Oklahoma
A&M wrestling coach from 1916-40. In his 23 years at the helm, OSU
won 11 team national championships and compiled a 138-5-4 dual record.
Gallagher was also an outstanding athlete while attending Oklahoma
A&M. He was captain of the track team for three years, and his
99-yard run against Kansas State in 1908 still stands as the longest
football run in school history.
The facility would see a second name change in 1987, when the
Board of Regents amended Gallagher Hall's name to recognize legendary
Cowboy basketball coach Henry Iba.
During his tenure in Stillwater, Mr. Iba served as a great
influence the game of basketball. It was in Gallagher-Iba Arena where
Mr. Iba shaped many of the philosophies that many basketball coaches
still teach today. He coached in 1,105 collegiate games, and his 767
career wins rank eighth in NCAA Division I history. Mr. Iba served as
coach and athletic director at Oklahoma State from 1935 to 70, and in
those 36 seasons, posted a 655-316 record while guiding the Cowboys to
13 league championships, eight NCAA appearances and the 1945 and 1946
NCAA Championships.
Two seats are permanently reserved for Gallagher and Iba in
the southeast corner of the arena on the concourse level.
History of Gallagher-Iba
Arena
Gallagher Hall
Year built
1938 (cost
$389,000
Official
name
4-H Club
and Student Activity Building (capacity 9,000)
Better
known as
Gallagher
Hall, Gallagher Fieldhouse
First
basketball game
Dec. 9,
1938 vs. Kansas (OSU won 21-15)
First
wrestling dual
Feb. 3,
1939 vs. Indiana (OSU won 18-6)
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Renovations
1987 (cost
$3.8 million)
Renamed
Gallagher-Iba Arena (capacity 6,381)
First
basketball game
Dec. 10,
1987 vs. Tulsa (OSU won 66-65)
New Gallagher-Iba Arena
Renovations
2000 (cost
$56 million)
Renamed
OSU
Athletics Center - Gallagher-Iba Arena (capacity 13,611)
First
basketball game
Dec. 19,
2000 vs. UALR (OSU won 70-60)
First
wrestling dual
Jan. 4,
2001 vs. Oregon (OSU won 33-3)
Court
renamed
Eddie
Sutton Court on Jan. 15, 2005
Before moving into Gallagher Hall, the Oklahoma A&M Aggies played
in the original Armory (where the Business Administration building now
stands) from 1907 until 1919, when they moved into the new Armory (old
gym) which is now the Architecture Building.
The original capacity of Gallagher Hall (9,000)
decreased throughout the years, due to fire codes and such. By the
1986-87 season - prior to the first major renovation - the capacity was
6,750.
The southwest lobby houses the
Remember the Ten memorial.
Gallagher Hall was home to one of the
original college basketball student sections.
Many of the modern principles of
college basketball were established by Mr. Iba's teams on the famous
white maple court.
The name of the Bedlam Series rivalry
can be traced to the raucous crowds that packed Gallagher Hall whenever
OSU and OU tangled on the wrestling mat.
A standing-room only crowd of 13,611
witnessed the Cowgirls' 82-63 win over in-state rival Oklahoma on Jan.
12, 2008.
Eddie Sutton Court
In 2008, the Oklahoma
State athletic department offered fans the opportunity to vote for one
of eight possible design options for Eddie Sutton Court in
Gallagher-Iba Arena. The winning design borrows greatly from the legacy
of the arena - providing a traditional look that hearkens back to the
days of Henry Iba, while maintaining a link to more recent success
through the use of the modern athletic marks.
Eddie Sutton Court saw a far less substantial redesign
after the completion of the 2006 season. The Big 12 10th Anniversary
logo was removed and in its place was the new primary logo for the Big
12 Conference that had been unveiled in 2004. This court design was
replaced during the summer of 2008 with a design that better
complements the arena's history.
During the summer of 2005, the court saw its biggest
redesign since 2001. The biggest change was an orange gradient to help
hide scuff marks underneath the basket. The "Gallagher-Iba Arena" text
was removed, allowing for a slightly larger Eddie Sutton Court
signature. A logo recognizing the Big 12's 10th year was placed over
the existing Big 12 logo.
On
January 15, 2005, the Oklahoma State Cowboys defeated the Iowa State
Cyclones and secured head coach Eddie Sutton's 768th career victory.
The athletic department honored Sutton after the game with a
commemorative trophy and the announcement that Gallagher-Iba's original
white maple floor would be named in his honor. Not long after this
game, Coach Sutton's signature was added to the court, just below the
names of legendary wrestling coach Ed Gallagher and Sutton's mentor,
Henry Iba.
With
the completion of the "Raise the Roof" campaign to renovate and expand
Gallagher-Iba, and the unveiling of the new athletic marks, the court
was in need of an overhaul. The new, much larger, O-State logo was
placed at center court. The updated OSU Brand was placed in the lanes,
and the new "Oklahoma State" wordmark was positioned along the
baselines. Pistol Pete received a makeover as well, giving him more of
a realistic appearance. The Gallagher-Iba Arena text and Big 12
Conference logo was also added.
This
court is one of the striking visuals from the booming resurgence of
Cowboy basketball in the 1990's. The block O-State mark now graced the
center court circle, replacing the OSU Brand from the previous design;
however, the Brand is set for a comeback in its larger and more
modernized form in time for the 2008-09 season.
This
predominantly orange design served as a precursor for things to come on
Eddie Sutton Court. While the orange color and "Cowboys" and "Cowgirls"
text didn't survive the next redesign, a few key features did. The
white "Oklahoma State" text on the baselines and Pistol Pete logos
patrolling the sidelines remained in place until 2001.
The
courts of the 1940's and 50's were very simple, but with good reason in
Oklahoma A&M's case. The artistry created on this canvas was the
philosophies of legendary coach Henry Iba. Iba's teams set a new
standard for defense and discipline in basketball - standards that
still apply to the game today.
While
you wouldn't find any sort of striking logo on the white maple floor of
Gallagher Hall in 1957, Oklahoma A&M is still cleverly represented
by the black circle filled with a smaller orange disk, forming a large
"O," with the letters 'A' and 'M' on opposite sides of the halfcourt
line.
