Rec Hall | |
![]() Rec Hall, the indoor sports arena at Penn State University | |
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Location | Curtin Rd University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802 |
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Owner | Pennsylvania State University |
Operator | Pennsylvania State University |
Capacity | 6,846 (men's gymnastics, wrestling) 6,469 (women's gymnastics, volleyball) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1927 |
Opened | January 15, 1929 |
Expanded | 1963-64 1953 |
Construction cost | $572,260 |
Architect | Charles Z. Klauder |
Tenants | |
Penn State Nittany Lions (NCAA) Men's gymnastics (1931–present) Women's gymnastics (1965–present) Women's volleyball (1976–present) Men's volleyball (1977–present) Wrestling (1929–present) Men's basketball (1929–1996, 2013 (One game), 2015 (Two games), 2024 (One game)) Women's basketball (1965–1996, 2024 (One game)) |
Recreation Building, often referred to as Rec Hall, is a field house on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The building was opened on January 15, 1929, and remains in active use. Penn State's gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling teams compete in Rec Hall. The university's men's and women's basketball teams moved to the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996.
Prior to the opening of Rec Hall in 1929, Penn State's indoor sports teams played in a building known as the Armory, which was razed to allow expansion of the Willard Building. The Nittany Lion Shrine is located nearby the building. The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly known as THON, was held in Rec Hall from 1999 to 2006, but was subsequently moved to the Bryce Jordan Center.
The architect was Charles Z. Klauder, who designed the University of Pennsylvania's Palestra in Philadelphia. The Georgian design of Rec Hall was chosen to harmonize with other new structures on campus.
Rec Hall has undergone several renovations over its history. In the 1990s, the drop ceiling that was installed in the 1960s was removed, and the building's original roof line was restored, exposing the open steel truss ceiling and upper windows. Along with this, lighting and building acoustics also have been improved.
In 2005, electronic LED scoreboards were installed and lower seating bowl bleachers were replaced. Renovation of Rec Hall's south wing was completed in 2006, including expansion of the student fitness center.
The largest crowd in Rec Hall history, 8,600, witnessed the men's basketball team defeat Virginia 93–68 on December 5, 1973. Three other notable men's games were: a 74–71 loss to Jerry West-led West Virginia Feb. 15, 1958 (WVU had been AP No. 1 for much of the 1957–58 season), the 1991 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament championship, won by Penn State, and a double overtime 88–84 loss to No. 1-ranked Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, Feb. 9, 1993. Rec Hall is also known as a classic home court advantage, as the women's volleyball team holds the NCAA volleyball record for home match winning streaks (94), [1] which ranks in the top five of any home court winning streak for any sport, men or women's, and is only outranked by the basketball trio of Kentucky, 1943-55 (129); St. Bonaventure, 1948-61 (99) and UCLA, 1970-76 (98). [2]
Penn State teams have won five national championships in Rec Hall, including in boxing in 1929 and 1932, in wrestling in 1953, and in men's gymnastics in 1960 and 2007. [3]
The men's basketball team has played sporadically in the Rec Hall since leaving, playing once in 2013, twice in 2015, and once in 2024. The women's basketball team returned to the Rec Hall for one game in 2024. [4]
State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally, and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of Penn State University.
University Park, also referred to as Penn State University Park, is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania. The campus post office was designated "University Park, Pennsylvania" in 1953 by Penn State president Milton Eisenhower, after what was then Pennsylvania State College was upgraded to university status.
The Bryce Jordan Center is a 15,261-seat multi-purpose arena in State College, Pennsylvania, United States, on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The arena opened in 1996 and is the largest such venue between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It replaced Rec Hall as the home to the Nittany Lions men's and women's basketball teams, the Pride of the Lions Pep Band, and its student section, Legion of Blue. It also plays host to events such as concerts, circuses, and commencement ceremonies for colleges within the university. The arena is named after former Penn State University president Bryce Jordan, who was instrumental in acquiring funding needed to build it. The arena is associated with the Arena Network, a marketing and scheduling group of 38 arenas.
Immaculata University is a private Roman Catholic university in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, often referred to as the MAC Center and the MACC, is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The building is primarily used as an athletic venue that is home to five Kent State Golden Flashes varsity athletic teams, including the men's basketball and women's basketball teams. The arena also hosts women's volleyball, women's gymnastics, and wrestling as well as commencement exercises, speakers, and concerts throughout the year. The building houses the offices of the Kent State Athletic Department and the coaches of each of the university's varsity athletic teams.
Penn State Altoona is a commonwealth campus of The Pennsylvania State University located in Logan Township, Pennsylvania. It is one of four full-fledged four year institutions in the Commonwealth Campus network. The full-time student count was 2,577 in 2023.
Penn State DuBois is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University and it is located in DuBois, Pennsylvania.
Penn State Mont Alto is a residential commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University. Located in Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, the campus offers nine four-year and seven two-year degree programs, including nursing, forest technology, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapist assistant, business, information technology, and project and supply chain management.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.
Bruce Parkhill is a former head college men's basketball coach whose stops included William & Mary (1977–1983) and Penn State (1983–1995).
Penn State Brandywine is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University located in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania. The campus was formerly known as Penn State Delaware County. The campus has baccalaureate and associate degrees and certificate programs. The campus is located on over 112 acres (450,000 m2) of grounds. In August 2017, the campus established on-campus housing for the first time with the opening of Orchard Hall, a 250-bed dormitory.
The Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the Pennsylvania State University. They play home games at the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center, moving there from Rec Hall during the 1995–96 season. Their student cheering section is known as the Legion of Blue.
Legion of Blue is the student cheering section supporting the Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team. The cheering section has been around as long as the Penn State basketball team, but the organization was formed in 2003 as the Nittwits before changing its name to Nittany Nation in 2007. In 2015, Nittany Nation was rebranded as Legion of Blue in an effort to better organize the group. Legion of Blue was named after the Legion of Boom, the nickname of the mid-2010s Seattle Seahawks defense that was popular during the time of the rebranding. ESPN and the Big Ten Network have featured the section during live game action.
The Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball program has had a long tradition, founded in 1976 by Tom Tait, long-time coach of the Penn State men's team, who coached the women's team from 1976 to 1979 and was named a USA Volleyball All-Time great coach in 2007.
The 2009–10 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University. Head Coach Ed DeChellis was in his seventh season with the team. The team played its home games in University Park, Pennsylvania at the Bryce Jordan Center, which has a capacity of 15,000, for the twelfth consecutive season. This season marked team's the seventeenth consecutive season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions entered the season as the defending NIT champions.
The Penn State Ice Pavilion was a 1,350-seat ice arena on the campus of The Pennsylvania State University located in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States. The ice arena included an NHL regulation sized 200' x 85' ice sheet as well as a 45' x 55' studio ice sheet.
The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling program is an intercollegiate varsity sport at Pennsylvania State University. The wrestling team is a competing member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Nittany Lions compete at Rec Hall in State College, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The Nittany Lions have claimed 12 team National Championship titles and 55 individual NCAA National Championship titles.
The 2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Head coach Pat Chambers coached his fifth season with the team. They played its home games in University Park, Pennsylvania at the Bryce Jordan Center, with two games at Rec Hall, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in tenth place. They lost to Ohio State in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.
Wills Gymnasium, often referred to as Wills Gym, was a multi-purpose athletic facility on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. Construction started in 1924 and the building was dedicated in 1925. It was the first dedicated gymnasium on the KSU campus, which had opened in 1913. Before the opening of Wills Gym, physical education classes and the intercollegiate and intramural sports teams used a variety of spaces for games and classes, both on campus in other buildings and off campus. The main gym seated approximately 4,000 people and the basement level included an indoor pool, locker rooms, and bowling alley. At the time, its capacity made it one of the largest facilities in the region. The building served as the primary home of the university's athletic teams and physical education department until 1950, when the Men's Physical Education Building opened. Wills Gym was the first permanent home of the Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team, and was also the original home venue for wrestling, men's swimming, men's and women's gymnastics, women's volleyball, and women's basketball.
The 1995–96 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1995–96 season. The team was led by long-time assistant Jerry Dunn, serving in his first-year as head coach. Penn State played its home games in University Park, Pennsylvania – the first six at Rec Hall before opening the brand new Bryce Jordan Center on January 11, 1996. After winning the first 13 games of the season, the Nittany Lions climbed as high as No. 9 in the AP poll, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Penn State lost to Arkansas in the opening round to finish the season with an overall record of 21–7.