Munn Ice Arena
Encyclopedia
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...
in East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
on the campus of Michigan State University. It is home to the MSU
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
's ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team. Completed in 1974, the arena is named in honor of former MSU football coach and athletic director Clarence "Biggie" Munn
Biggie Munn
Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator in the United States. He was the head football coach at Albright College , Syracuse University , and most notably Michigan State College , where his 1952 squad won a national championship...
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History
Munn Arena came to be after debate over building a new basketball or hockey arena in the early 1970s. Plans were to build a new basketball arena and move the ice hockey team to Jenison FieldhouseJenison Fieldhouse
Jenison Fieldhouse is a 10,004 seat, later reduced to 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena opened in 1940 and was named for alumnus Frederick Cowles Jenison, whose estate, along with PWAP funds, funded the building...
. In the end, Michigan State athletic director Bert Smith chose to build a new ice hockey facility to replace Demonstration Hall
Demonstration Hall
Demonstration Hall is a structure on the campus of Michigan State University. It was built in 1928 with offices, classrooms, and a riding arena for the Military Science department as a replacement for the Armory . Exhibitions of agricultural stock and implements were often held here, as well as...
. Munn Ice Arena was designed by Daverman Associates of Grand Rapids, Mich. The original design called for 10,000 seats, but MSU was skeptical they could sell that many tickets. Instead, they built a 6,250-seat arena with potential expansion by raising the roof and adding 2,000 seats.
The MSU ice hockey team moved out of Dem Hall
Demonstration Hall
Demonstration Hall is a structure on the campus of Michigan State University. It was built in 1928 with offices, classrooms, and a riding arena for the Military Science department as a replacement for the Armory . Exhibitions of agricultural stock and implements were often held here, as well as...
following the 1973-74 season and into Munn Ice Arena on Nov. 1, 1974. Michigan State lost its first regular season game at Munn 4-3 in overtime to defending national champion Minnesota Golden Gophers.
As Michigan State grew into a hockey powerhouse in the 1980s, Munn became home to one of the hottest tickets in the state. Improvements were made to accommodate the program's increasing popularity. In 1985, the heat-exchanger pipes for creating ice were replaced by a direct refrigeration system allowing year-round ice. With increasing coverage, the press box was expanded from one row to two rows accommodating 50 people. A new four-sided scoreboard was added at center ice in 1991. To make handicap-accessible seats, the rink's capacity was reduced to 6,170 in the early 1990s. In 1999-2000, the press box was relocated from center ice to the rink end to make room for 300 club seats on the south end. Luxury boxes were added a year later on the north end of the rink. The additions boosted capacity to the current 6,470. During the same time the four-sided scoreboard was replaced with two boards at the east and west ends of the rink along with two video replay boards.
For its first 20 years Munn Ice Arena was the premier on-campus collegiate hockey facility in the country. It is still recognized as one of the top campus hockey rinks in the NCAA. It is also used for high school and amateur hockey and ice skating.
A job at Munn is one of the most highly sought after student jobs on Michigan State's campus. The employees have referred to themselves as "Munnsters" (a reference to the 1960s TV show with an intentional misspelling), a title which has recently replaced the word "staff" on employee uniforms.
Sell-out Streak
Munn Ice Arena was home to the NCAA's longest consecutive regular-season sell-out streak. On Dec. 19, 1985, Michigan State produced a sell-out crowd versus Northern Michigan UniversityNorthern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
. Michigan State went on to sell-out 323 consecutive regular season home games. The streak ended on Oct. 15, 2004 when Munn failed to fill to capacity for a game against St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2300 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female....
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Memorable Games
- November 6, 1974 - vs. North DakotaUniversity of North DakotaThe University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
- The first sell-out crowd in Munn history watches goalie Ron Clark stop a record 30 first-period shots in a 6-2 win over North Dakota. - March 14, 1976 - vs. MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
- Michigan State is upset by Minnesota in triple overtime during the WCHA playoffs. The loss cost the Spartan squad, one of the best to that date, a berth in the NCAA tournament. The game lasted over 86 minutes. - March 3, 1979 - vs. MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
- In Amo BessoneAmo BessoneAmo Bessone was a collegiate ice hockey player and head coach.Bessone was born in Sagamore, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he learned to play hockey....
's final game as head coach Michigan State completes a two-game sweep of Michigan with a 5-3 win. - March 18, 1984 - vs. Boston CollegeBoston CollegeBoston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
- With a 7-6 victory over the Eagles, Michigan State advances to their first NCAA Frozen Four since 1967. - December 15, 1985 - vs. Ohio StateOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
- Senior Mike Donnelly scores a Spartan-record five goals including the overtime game-winning goal in a 6-5 win over the Buckeyes. Donnelly had tallied a hat trick in the previous night's contest with the Buckeyes. - February 22, 1986 - vs. Lake Superior StateLake Superior State UniversityLake Superior State University is a small public university in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is Michigan's smallest public university with an enrollment around 3,000 students. Due to its proximity to the border, notably the twin city of Sault Ste...
- With three teams (Lake Superior State, Michigan State and Western Michigan) tied for first place in the CCHA heading into the final two games of the season, Michigan State defeats Lake Superior State 5-4 in a dramatic overtime game on the final night of the season. The victory and a Western Michigan loss gave MSU sole possession of the CCHA title. - February 12, 1993 - vs. Kent StateKent State UniversityKent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
- A 6-5 win over the Golden Flashes made head coach Ron Mason the winningest coach in NCAA ice hockey history with 674 wins. - November 2, 1996 - vs. MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
- Unranked Michigan State upsets defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Michigan 5-4. The loss cost the Wolverines the top spot in the polls for one week — the only week the Wolverines were not ranked No. 1 that season. The victory completed a weekend sweep as MSU recorded an 8-2 win over No. 3 ranked Bowling Green State the previous night. - February 20, 1998 - vs. MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
- The Spartans hand the Wolverines a 5-1 loss giving Ron Mason win No. 800. After the victory, students poured onto the ice celebrating the milestone. The celebration was featured on ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's SportsCenterSportsCenterSportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
. - February 28, 1998 - vs. Ferris StateFerris State UniversityFerris State University is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1884 as the Big Rapids Industrial School by Woodbridge Nathan Ferris, an educator from New England who later served as governor of the State of Michigan and finally in the US Senate where...
- On Senior Night, senior goalie Chad Alban scores an empty-net goal with 13 seconds remaining in a 6-3 win over the Bulldogs. Alban is credited as the only goalie in NCAA history to shoot the puck themselves and score a goal. - February 10, 2001 - vs. AlaskaUniversity of Alaska FairbanksThe University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
- Sophomore goalie Ryan Miller records his 17th shutout of his career in a 3-0 win over the Nanooks. No. 17 gives Miller the NCAA record for career shutouts. Miller ended his three-year career with 26 shutouts. - March 1, 2001 - vs. MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
- An over-capacity crowd of 7,121, the largest crowd in Munn history, watch MSU beat archrival UM 3-1 on Senior Night. - March 9, 2002 - vs. Bowling Green StateBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
- In his final game at Munn as head coach, Ron MasonRon MasonRon Mason is a Canadian former ice hockey player, head coach and university executive. As head coach of various universities, notably including Michigan State University , he became the winningest ice hockey coach in NCAA history with 924 career wins...
delivers a 4-2 victory over the Falcons to advance to the CCHA Semifinals in Detroit.
Attendance Facts
- Munn Ice Arena was home to the NCAA's longest regular-season sell-out streak of 323 games from December 19, 1985 to October 15, 2004
- There have been a total of 467 sellouts in Munn's 32-year history.
- The largest single season attendance total was 157,567 in 1975-76.
- The largest single season attendance average was 6,722 in 1986-87.
- The largest two-game series crowd was 13,834 on Feb. 11-12, 2000 versus Northern MichiganNorthern Michigan UniversityNorthern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
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Top 10 Largest Crowds
- 1. - 7,121 - March 1, 2001 - vs. Michigan - W 3-1
- 2. - 7,117 - Jan. 7, 2000 - vs. Michigan - L 2-0
- 3. - 7,113 - Feb. 15, 2003 - vs. Michigan - W 5-3
- 4 - 7,099 - Nov 14, 2009 - vs. Michigan - W 2-0
- 5. - 7,092 - Nov. 3, 2006 - vs. Michigan - W 7-4
- 6. - 7,072 - Jan. 26, 2008 - vs. Michigan - T 2-2 OT
- 7. - 6,991 - Feb. 12, 2000 - vs. Northern Michigan - W 2-0
- 8. - 6,953 - March 4, 2000 - vs. Notre Dame - W 5-3
- 9. - 6,943 - Feb. 11, 2000 - vs. Northern Michigan - W 3-2 OT
- 10. - 6,909 - March 8, 2003 - vs. Western Michigan - W 8-5