Bear Down Gym

Bear Down Gym
Bear Down Gym
	Bear Down Gymnasium
Full name	Bear Down Gymnasium
Location	Tucson, Arizona
Owner	University of Arizona
Operator	University of Arizona
Capacity	6,000 (peak) [ citation needed ]
Construction
Broke ground	1925
Opened	1926
Construction cost	US$130,000
Architect	Lyman & Place/Roy Place
General contractor	Clinton Campbell
Tenants
	Arizona Wildcats men's basketball (1926–1973)
	Men's Gymnasium, University of Arizona
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	University of Arizona campus Tucson, Arizona
Coordinates	32°13′52″N110°57′0″W / 32.23111°N 110.95000°W
Area	0.3 acres (0.1 ha)
Built	1926
NRHP reference No.	90001526
Added to NRHP	October 4, 1990

Last updated March 03, 2025

Bear Down Gym, originally known as Men's Gymnasium, is a 300-seat multi-purpose arena in Tucson, Arizona. It opened in 1926. It was home to the University of Arizona Wildcats basketball team. It was replaced when the McKale Center opened in 1973. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bear Down Gym is also famous for its inclusion in the 1984 blockbuster film Revenge of the Nerds . It was the gymnasium of the fictional "Adams College" and also temporary home to the Nerds after they were kicked out of their original Freshmen home (Cochise Hall).

It was designed by Lyman & Place/Roy Place, architect, and was built by Clinton Campbell.^[1]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Men's Gymnasium, University of Arizona in 1990.^[2]

The building has been renovated and updated to accommodate the growing needs of University of Arizona students, including housing resources for students such as the Think Tank, where students are tutored.^[3] Plans are in the works to add a three-story building over the spot currently holding an old swimming pool.^[4]

References

1 2 3 "Appendix A: Descriptions of Important Historic Sites" (PDF)., part of Jonathan Mabry, ed. (April 2005). "Feasibility Study for the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area" (PDF). Center for Desert Archaeology.
1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
↑ McGlothlin, David (July 15, 2015). "Places to know on campus". The Daily Wildcat. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
↑ Heffernan, Marissa (April 23, 2017). "Bear Down Gym gears up for major improvements". Daily Wildcat. Retrieved October 2, 2017.

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[appendixA-1] 1 2 3 "Appendix A: Descriptions of Important Historic Sites" (PDF)., part of Jonathan Mabry, ed. (April 2005). "Feasibility Study for the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area" (PDF). Center for Desert Archaeology.

[nris-2] 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[3] McGlothlin, David (July 15, 2015). "Places to know on campus". The Daily Wildcat. Retrieved October 2, 2017.

[4] Heffernan, Marissa (April 23, 2017). "Bear Down Gym gears up for major improvements". Daily Wildcat. Retrieved October 2, 2017.

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v t e Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	Bear Down Gym (1926–1973) McKale Center (1973–present)
Rivalries	Arizona State UCLA
Culture & lore	Bear Down Wilbur and Wilma "Fight! Wildcats! Fight!" 2017–18 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics