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Convocation Center (Ohio University)
Encyclopedia
Ohio Bobcats
Ohio University features 16 varsity sports teams called the Bobcats. The Bobcats compete in the Mid-American Conference in all sports. The Bobcats were a charter member of the Mid-American Conference in 1946 and are the only team still in the conference from the original 5 team league that...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, and wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
teams. The first men's basketball game in the arena featured an 80–70 Ohio victory over the Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are the athletic teams for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . Athletic teams sponsored by IU Bloomington include cross country, track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, volleyball, soccer, football and basketball...
on December 3, 1968.
The Convocation Center, affectionately called "The Convo," was designed by Brubaker and Brandt Architects of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and built by Knowlton Construction Company of Bellefontaine, Ohio
Bellefontaine, Ohio
Bellefontaine is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Bellefontaine Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003...
. The arena houses offices for the Ohio Athletics Department numerous coaches' offices, team locker rooms, and athletic training rooms. Additionally it houses offices and classrooms for the computer science branch of the Russ College of Engineering. Over the years, there have been numerous renovations, some of the most recent being in 1997, where improved lighting, an expanded press row, and a wider camera deck were added to the arena. Also, The Vern and Marion Alden Basketball Suite which houses offices and meeting rooms for Ohio men's and women's basketball was completed. A few years later, the locker rooms for both basketball teams were expanded and given new furniture, carpeting, and individual wooden lockers. Following the 2004 season, more renovations occurred as a new playing surface was installed and two large Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
video boards were added to the venue.
The Convocation Center's atmosphere has helped the Bobcats to win over 75% of their home games since the opening of The Convo in 1968. At the beginning of the 2001–2002 season, a new student cheering section, dubbed the "O Zone," was started for men's basketball games.
The Convocation Center brought in its largest crowd on February 28, 1970, when 14,102 fans were in attendance to watch the Bobcats men's basketball team defeat the Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball
The Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball team is the basketball team that represent Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1968...
77–76. That year Ohio finished 20–5, winning the Mid-American Conference and advancing to the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
.
In addition to Ohio basketball, volleyball, and wrestling contests, the Convo hosts numerous other events annually. The facility has held local high school basketball games as well as high school state tournament games as well as a variety of concerts, including a May 17, 1969 concert by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, professional wrestling events, and special university events, most notably Ohio University's graduation ceremonies.
The Convocation Center had previously been used for Thursday night rehearsals for The Ohio University Marching 110. The band rehearsed dance routines for their home football games on the convocation center floor. The building was also used for several of the Marching 110's LP recording sessions in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
Ohio University Athletics Director Jim Schaus announced plans to renovate the Convocation Center athletic training center by 2012 as part of the Bobcat Renaissance, which is an initiative geared toward improving OU's athletic programs.
The Arena has also hosted some events of WWE.