Marriott Center is a 22,700-seat multi-purpose arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

 at 1497 N 450 E on the campus of Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 in Provo, Utah

Provo, Utah

Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

, and is home to the BYU Cougars men's

BYU Cougars men's basketball

The BYU Cougars men's basketball team represents Brigham Young University in NCAA Division I basketball play. Established in 1902, the team has won 30 conference championships and 2 NIT Tournaments , and competed in 26 NCAA Tournaments. It currently competes in the West Coast Conference...

 and women's basketball teams. It is also used for weekly devotionals and forums. It is by far the largest basketball arena in the West Coast Conference

West Coast Conference

The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....

, which BYU joined in 2011.

The Marriott Center was named in honor of benefactor J. Willard Marriott

J. Willard Marriott

John Willard Marriott was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation , the parent company of one of the world's largest hospitality, hotel chains, and food services companies. The Marriott company rose from a small root beer stand in Washington D.C...

, founder of the Marriott Corporation. When the arena opened in 1971, it replaced the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena

Williams Arena

Williams Arena, located on the Twin Cities main campus of the University of Minnesota is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams, and the men's and women's hockey teams until 1992, when the hockey teams received their own buildings...

 as the largest college basketball arena in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was also the largest venue in the nation built for basketball, being larger than any NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 arena at that time. It would lose both distinctions when the University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 men's basketball team moved into Rupp Arena

Rupp Arena

Rupp Arena is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Lexington Center, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and serves as home court to the University of...

 in 1976, but would remain the nation's largest basketball-specific facility on a college campus until 1987, when the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 opened Thompson-Boling Arena

Thompson-Boling Arena

Thompson-Boling Arena is multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The arena opened in 1987. It is home to the Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Vols basketball teams. Since 2008, it has been home to the Lady Vol volleyball team. It is named after B....

. The Marriott Center regained its claim as the largest on-campus arena built for basketball in 2007 when a renovation and the addition of luxury suites decreased Thompson-Boling's capacity. The Carrier Dome

Carrier Dome

The Carrier Dome is a 49,250-seat domed sports stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, USA. It is home to the Syracuse Orange football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. High school football championships are also held in "The...

, an indoor football stadium at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

, is the only other on-campus facility that holds a larger capacity when configured for basketball.

Previously, the Cougars basketball team played at the Smith Fieldhouse

Smith Fieldhouse

The George Albert Smith Fieldhouse is a 5,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Provo, Utah. Built in 1951, it is the home of the Brigham Young University Cougars volleyball teams, and was named for George Albert Smith, the eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who died the...

. The court was replaced in 2003 with a permanent floor.
The facility hosted the 1988 Western Athletic Conference

Western Athletic Conference

The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

 men's basketball tournament. It also hosted the West Regionals of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 in 1972, 1977, 1979 and 1982.

On February 7, 1993, Cody Judy threatened Howard W. Hunter

Howard W. Hunter

Howard William Hunter was the fourteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1994 to 1995. His nine month presidential tenure is the shortest in the history of the Church...

with a supposed bomb in front of a crowd of 15,000–17,000 onlookers in the Marriott Center.

External links