UC Santa Barbara Events Center

Events Center
UC Santa Barbara Events Center; The Thunderdome; ECen
Full name	UC Santa Barbara Events Center
Former names	Campus Events Center
Location	Santa Barbara, California
Coordinates	34°24′49.65″N119°51′4.13″W / 34.4137917°N 119.8511472°W
Owner	University of California, Santa Barbara
Executive suites	None
Capacity	5,000 (for basketball)
Record attendance	6,512 on December 18, 1991; for Men's Basketball vs. Ohio State
Scoreboard	Yes
Construction
Built	1979
Tenants
	UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball ; UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's basketball ; UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's volleyball

Last updated August 19, 2023

UC Santa Barbara Events Center, previously known as the Campus Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome, is a 5,000-seat, indoor multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California.

History of The Thunderdome

The Thunderdome was built in 1979, originally under the name of Campus Events Center. Along with Harder Stadium, it has since become one of the most patronized venues at UC Santa Barbara. After a naming contest and vote among students and faculty (which included some tongue in cheek nominations such as "Yankee Stadium", the Jerry Brown Arena, the Corrugated Fortress), it was eventually given the generic name "Campus Events Center". Eventually, the name was unofficially shortened to the "ECen" (much like UCSB's University Center being called the "UCen").

For basketball, the arena seats 5,000.^[1] One of the recent upgrades to the Thunderdome has been the replacement of bleachers with chairback seating which significantly improved the fan experience but did reduce capacity by about 600 seats. The floor of the Thunderdome was named by Bleacher Report as the 11th best court design in college basketball.^[2]

Transformation into The Thunderdome

At first, crowds were small, but with the hiring of Jerry Pimm in 1983, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball program began to experience greater success. As the size of crowds began to increase (often exceeding the stated capacity), the Events Center gained a reputation as one of the loudest and most hostile venues in college basketball, creating significant problems for opposing teams.

After UCSB (led by future Laker Brian Shaw) upset Jim Valvano's North Carolina State Wolfpack team by double digits in 1987 before a sellout crowd, the Events Center acquired the unofficial nickname "The Thunderdome". Credit has been given to the athletic director at that time, Stan Morrison, for having coined the nickname. Also many believe it was further reinforced from Valvano himself when he said in a postgame interview, "It was louder than thunder in there tonight."

The Tortilla Technical

During the 1980s, students threw toilet paper onto the court after the first Gaucho basket. After the school cracked down on this practice around 1990, students started a new tradition of tossing tortillas onto the court like frisbees after the first UCSB basket.^[3] The team would then be assessed a technical foul for delay of game while the tortillas were cleaned up, a tradition that became known as "The Tortilla Technical."^[4]

During an early 1990s game, one of ESPN's professional video cameras was ruined when tortilla fragments got into the mechanism. While UCSB paid for a replacement camera, ESPN was skittish about returning to the Thunderdome. Despite continued pleading from the players and coaches to stop the practice, the tradition continued unabated. When ESPN finally returned to the Thunderdome for a 1997 game against Pacific, the game was interrupted by three "Tortilla Technicals," including one incident late in the game where a tortilla nearly hit coach Jerry Pimm in the face.^[3]^[5] Following this incident, UCSB officials began searching students for tortillas as they entered the arena. Apart from a few sporadic instances of tortilla-tossing, the novelty has worn off.

While the tortillas have stopped flying at The Thunderdome, raucous students have brought the practice to Harder Stadium, home of the 2006 NCAA champion UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team, where no such penalties are enforced.

Tenants

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletics

The Thunderdome is the home to teams of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletic program. Currently, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball and UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's basketball teams, as well as the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's volleyball team all call The Thunderdome home. In 2002, 2,794 fans attended a women's volleyball match between UCSB and the USC Trojans in which the 9th ranked Gauchos upset USC 3 games to 1.

Other events

The facility also hosted and the first and second-round games of the 2004 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. In addition to sporting events, The Thunderdome has seen many concerts, boxing matches, and performances come through.

Dave Chappelle performed comedy on June 2, 2004, while The Killers played at The Thunderdome on April 6, 2007, and the Harlem Globetrotters played an exhibition game on February 15, 2007.

The center has hosted basketball camps by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant which took place during the summer months.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Related Research Articles

Harder Stadium is a 17,000-seat, outdoor multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California. It serves as the on-campus soccer stadium for both the men's and women's programs. Currently used occasionally by the university's club rugby and lacrosse teams, it was originally the home of the defunct football program.

Jerry Pimm is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Utah from 1974 to 1983 and the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1983 to 1998, compiling career college basketball coaching record of 395–288.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as UC Santa Barbara or UCSB, the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports with the majority competing in the Big West Conference. UCSB currently fields varsity teams in 10 men's sports and 9 women's sports.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the other UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletic teams, the men's soccer team competes in the Big West Conference.

Caesar Uyesaka Stadium is a baseball stadium in Santa Barbara, California. It is the home field of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team as well as the Santa Barbara Foresters.

Robertson Gymnasium is a 2,600 to 4,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California.

The 2009–10 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2009–10 college basketball season. They were led by head coach Bob Williams in his 12th season at UCSB. The Gauchos were members of the Big West Conference and played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome.

The 2010–11 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2010–11 college basketball season. This is head coach Bob Williams' thirteenth season at UCSB. The Gauchos compete in the Big West Conference and played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome. They finished the season 18–14, 8–8 in Big West play to win the 2011 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they earned a 15 seed in the Southeast Region and were defeated in the second round by 2 seed and AP #15 Florida.

The 2011–12 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 14th year head coach Bob Williams, played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, nicknamed The Thunderdome, and are members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 20–11, 12–4 in Big West play to finish in a tie for second place. They lost in the championship game of the Big West Basketball tournament to Long Beach State. They were invited to the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Idaho.

Edra Carlene Mitchell is the current interim head coach of the CSUN Matadors women's basketball team. She was previously the assistant coach of the American basketball team Chicago Sky of the WNBA and the former head coach of the women's basketball program at UC Santa Barbara. Before taking her first head coaching job with the Gauchos, Mitchell spent 10 years as an assistant coach to C. Vivian Stringer at Rutgers University, spending her last three years as associate head coach.

The 2013–14 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 16th year head coach Bob Williams, played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, nicknamed The Thunderdome, as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 21–9, 12–4 in Big West play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference tournament to Cal Poly. Despite having 21 wins, they did not participate in a post season tournament.

The 2014–15 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 17th year head coach Bob Williams, played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, nicknamed The Thunderdome, as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 11–5 in Big West play to finish in a tie for second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big West tournament where they lost to UC Irvine. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Oral Roberts.

The 2015–16 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 18th year head coach Bob Williams, played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, nicknamed the Thunderdome, as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 11–5 in Big West play to finish in fourth place. They defeated UC Davis in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Hawaii. They were invited to the inaugural Vegas 16, which only had eight teams, where they defeated Northern Illinois to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Old Dominion.

The 2016–17 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 19th-year head coach Bob Williams, played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, nicknamed the Thunderdome, as members of the Big West Conference.

The 2017–18 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by first-year head coach Joe Pasternack, will played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, better known as The Thunderdome, in Santa Barbara, California, as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 23–9, 11–5 in Big West play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament, they defeated Cal Poly before losing to UC Irvine in the semifinals. Despite winning 23 games, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

The 2018–19 UC Santa Barbara Guachos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos were led by second-year head coach Joe Pasternack and competed in The Thunderdome. UC Santa Barbara was a member of the Big West Conference, and participated in their 48th season in that league.

The 2019–20 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represent the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 3rd-year head coach Joe Pasternack, play their home games at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California as members of the Big West Conference.

The 1989–90 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 1989–90 college basketball season. They were led by head coach Jerry Pimm in his 7th season at UCSB. The Gauchos were members of the Big West Conference and played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome.

The 1987–88 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 1987–88 college basketball season. They were led by head coach Jerry Pimm in his 5th season at UCSB. The Gauchos were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome.

The 2001–02 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2001–02 college basketball season. They were led by head coach Bob Williams in his 4th season at UCSB. The Gauchos were members of the Big West Conference and played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome.

References

↑ John Zant. "Bringing Back the Heat". UC Santa Barbara Magazine. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
↑ Novak, Thad (June 30, 2013). "Ranking the 20 Best Court Designs in College Basketball". Bleacher Report . Retrieved April 20, 2016.
1 2 Reid, Jason (February 15, 1997). "Santa Barbara's Pimm Is Pipping Hot Over Fresh Tortilla Controversy". Los Angeles Times .
↑ Brewer, Ray. Live blog: Rebels survive UC Santa Barbara challenge, prevail 94-88 in double overtime. Las Vegas Sun, 2011-11-30.
↑ Shi, Yier (February 14, 1997). "Santa Barbara Upsets UOP 75-69 Despite Three Tortilla Technicals". The Daily Nexus.
↑ http://eventscenter.ucen.ucsb.edu/index.php ^{[ dead link ]}
↑ http://michaeljordanbasketballcamp.com/vitalinfo.php ^{[ bare URL ]}
↑ http://kobeacademy.com/ ^{[ bare URL ]}

External links

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[1] John Zant. "Bringing Back the Heat". UC Santa Barbara Magazine. Retrieved August 15, 2022.

[2] Novak, Thad (June 30, 2013). "Ranking the 20 Best Court Designs in College Basketball". Bleacher Report . Retrieved April 20, 2016.

[LAT-3] 1 2 Reid, Jason (February 15, 1997). "Santa Barbara's Pimm Is Pipping Hot Over Fresh Tortilla Controversy". Los Angeles Times .

[4] Brewer, Ray. Live blog: Rebels survive UC Santa Barbara challenge, prevail 94-88 in double overtime. Las Vegas Sun, 2011-11-30.

[5] Shi, Yier (February 14, 1997). "Santa Barbara Upsets UOP 75-69 Despite Three Tortilla Technicals". The Daily Nexus.

[6] ttp://eventscenter.ucen.ucsb.edu/index.php ^{[ dead link ]}

[7] ttp://michaeljordanbasketballcamp.com/vitalinfo.php ^{[ bare URL ]}

[8] ttp://kobeacademy.com/ ^{[ bare URL ]}

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v t e UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball
Venues	Robertson Gymnasium (1959–1979) The Thunderdome (1979–present)
Rivalries	Cal Poly
Culture & lore	Olé Fantom of the Thunderdome
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	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 1943–46 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