McCasland Field House

T. Howard McCasland Field House
The Field House
Location	151 West Brooks Street; Norman, OK 73019
Owner	University of Oklahoma
Operator	University of Oklahoma
Capacity	5,000
Opened	January 13, 1928
Tenants
	Oklahoma Sooners (NCAA); Men's basketball (1928 - 1975) ; Women's volleyball; Men's wrestling; Men's gymnastics

Last updated May 27, 2024

The McCasland Field House is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the University of Oklahoma main campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Home of the basketball Sooners until 1975, the Field House currently hosts the men's wrestling, women's volleyball, and men's gymnastics teams. The Field House is named for T. Howard McCasland, a two-sport star who was the captain of the 1916 basketball team and an end for the football team.

The facility opened with a basketball game between the Sooners and the University of Kansas Jayhawks on January 13, 1928, which the Sooners won 45-19. When it opened, the facility held over 5,000 people.

It is rather unknown, these days on campus, that the Fieldhouse once witnessed concerts by Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley in the 1960s and 1970s.

As the campus was constructed around the Field House, parking for fans disappeared^[1] and attendance at games dwindled as well. After the Lloyd Noble Center opened in 1975 and the basketball teams moved south to the new facility, the Field House seemed forgotten and neglected.

Plans for refurbishment began in the 1990s along with other campus improvements,^[2] and fundraising began in earnest in September 1997.^[3] In 2005 the initial phase of a $6 million renovation project was completed, including the building's first-ever climate control system, refurbishment of the historic wood floor, new chair-back and retractable seats. The facility had to be completely rewired, not only to handle the new heating and air-conditioning systems (its first ever) and the new lighting and state-of-the-art sound and video systems, but to bring the building up to current electrical code standards.

The next phase of renovations to the Field House was locker room upgrades, additions of restrooms and concessions, and expansion of the wrestling practice facility from its current 4,500 square feet (420 m²) to more than 8,000 square feet (740 m²). Finally, all of the building's windows, a distinguishing feature of the Field House, were replaced, along with the roof.^[4]

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References

↑ Upchurch, Jay. The House That Basketball Built Archived 2004-01-07 at the Wayback Machine . Sooner Magazine, Winter 2003.
↑ Burr, Carol. Under Construction Archived October 30, 2005, at the Wayback Machine . Sooner Magazine, Summer 2002.
↑ Burr, Carol. Dreams of Great Expectations Realized ^{[ permanent dead link ]}. Priority Magazine, Winter 2004.
↑ Upchurch, Jay. New Digs. Sooner Magazine, Winter 2007, p. 15-17.

External links

Official Howard McCasland Field House information page

35°12′29″N97°26′33″W / 35.208034°N 97.442535°W / 35.208034; -97.442535

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[1] Upchurch, Jay. The House That Basketball Built Archived 2004-01-07 at the Wayback Machine . Sooner Magazine, Winter 2003.

[2] Burr, Carol. Under Construction Archived October 30, 2005, at the Wayback Machine . Sooner Magazine, Summer 2002.

[3] Burr, Carol. Dreams of Great Expectations Realized ^{[ permanent dead link ]}. Priority Magazine, Winter 2004.

[4] Upchurch, Jay. New Digs. Sooner Magazine, Winter 2007, p. 15-17.

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v t e Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball
Venues	Oklahoma Gymnasium (1907–1919) University of Oklahoma R.O.T.C. Armory (1919–1928) McCasland Field House (1928–1975) Lloyd Noble Center (1975–present)
Rivalries	Oklahoma State
Culture & lore	Boomer and Sooner RUF/NEKS Jumpman Invitational
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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 Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Oklahoma Sooners women's basketball
Venues	McCasland Field House (1974–1975) Lloyd Noble Center (1975–present)
Rivalries	Oklahoma State
Culture & lore	History Boomer and Sooner Jumpman Invitational
People	Head coaches WNBA draftees
Seasons	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
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Tenants
The Field House


Location	151 West Brooks Street Norman, OK 73019
Owner	University of Oklahoma
Operator	University of Oklahoma
Capacity	5,000
Opened	January 13, 1928
Oklahoma Sooners (NCAA) Men's basketball (1928 - 1975) Women's volleyball Men's wrestling Men's gymnastics