Ellis Johnson Arena

Last updated
Academic & Athletic Center
Ellis T. Johnson Arena
MoreheadJohnsonArena1.jpg
Ellis Johnson Arena
Location111 Playforth Pl
Morehead, Kentucky 40351
Coordinates 38°11′20″N83°25′44″W / 38.188786°N 83.429006°W / 38.188786; -83.429006
OwnerMorehead State University
OperatorMorehead State University
Capacity 6,500
Construction
Broke ground1978
Built1978-81
OpenedDecember 3, 1981
Tenants
Morehead State Eagles men's and women's basketball and volleyball

Ellis T. Johnson Arena is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. Located in the Academic-Athletic Center on the campus of Morehead State University, it is the home to the Morehead State Eagles men's and women's basketball teams along with women's volleyball. Construction began in 1978, and the building opened in 1981. [1] The Eagles won their inaugural game in the building on December 3, 1981, over the University of Charleston. Johnson Arena can be easily transformed into an auditorium for concerts and commencements. At the east end of the playing floor, a hydraulic stage can be raised for events.

Johnson Arena largely replaced Wetherby Gymnasium. It hosted the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament in 1984, [2] and has also hosted such entertainment acts as Alabama, David Letterman, M.C. Hammer, the Goo Goo Dolls, Alan Jackson, Dashboard Confessional, Jeff Foxworthy, Tim McGraw, Travis Tritt and Sawyer Brown. [3]

The arena is named after former Morehead State basketball, baseball, and football coach, Ellis T. Johnson.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morehead State Eagles</span> Collegiate sports club in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010–11 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2010–11 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 5th year head coach Donnie Tyndall, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 13–5 in Ohio Valley play and were champions of the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament to earn an automatic bid in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. As a 13 seed, they upset 4 seed Louisville before falling to 12 seed Richmond in the third round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012–13 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2012–13 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by first year head coach Sean Woods, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and were members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 15–18, 8–8 in OVC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the East Division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to Tennessee State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013–14 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2013–14 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by second year head coach Sean Woods, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and were members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 20–14, 10–6 in OVC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They advanced to the semifinals of the OVC tournament where they lost to Belmont. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Illinois State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–15 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2014–15 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by third year head coach Sean Woods, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and were members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 17–17, 10–6 in OVC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They advanced to the semifinals of the OVC tournament where they lost to Murray State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–16 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2015–16 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by fourth year head coach Sean Woods, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and were members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 23–14, 11–5 in OVC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the East Division. They defeated Morehead State in the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to UT Martin. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Siena, Duquesne, and Ohio to advance to the best-of-three finals series against Nevada where they lost 2 games to 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–17 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2016–17 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by interim head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Eagles finished the season 14–16, 10–6 in OVC play to finish in second place in the East Division. In the OVC tournament they lost to Murray State in the quarterfinals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by first-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 8–21, 4–14 in OVC play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the OVC tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2018–19 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by second-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–20, 8–10 in OVC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the OVC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Austin Peay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–20 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2019–20 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by third-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 7–11 in OVC play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the OVC tournament to Tennessee State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2020–21 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by fourth-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 23–8, 17–3 in OVC play to finish in 2nd place. They defeated Southeast Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky, and Belmont to be champions of the OVC tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2021–22 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by fifth-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 1983–84 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by head coach Wayne Martin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 25–6, 12–2 in Ohio Valley play and were champions of the 1984 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. As a 12 seed, they won the play-in game over North Carolina A&T before falling to No. 5 seed Louisville in the first round.

The 1982–83 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by head coach Wayne Martin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 19–11, 10–4 in Ohio Valley play and were champions of the 1983 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. As an 11 seed, they fell to No. 6 seed Syracuse in the first round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008–09 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2008–09 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by head coach Donnie Tyndall, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky, as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Eagles won the 2009 OVC tournament, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a 16th seed in the Midwest region. Morehead State played in the Opening Round game, defeating Alabama 58–43 for the school's first NCAA tournament win since 1984. Their run ended in the following round, losing to top seed Louisville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2022–23 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by sixth-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. With a victory against Eastern Illinois on February 22, 2023, the Eagles clinched their first outright OVC regular season title since 1984. They lost to Southeast Missouri State in the OVC tournament semifinals. As a regular season conference champion who did not win their conference tournament, the Eagles received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament, the school's first trip to the NIT. There they upset No. 1-seed Clemson in the first round before being losing to UAB in the second round.

References

  1. "Morehead State University :: Campus Buildings :: Academic-Athletic Center (AAC)". Archived from the original on 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  2. 2012-13 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide. Brentwood, Tenn.: Ohio Valley Conference. 2012. pp. 34–35, 104–105. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  3. "Morehead State University - Basketball Facility". Msueagles.com. Retrieved 2015-06-13.