Biggest College Basketball Stadiums

These college basketball stadiums are the biggest in the United States and should be on the bucket list of any real hoops fan.

Not all basketball stadiums are created equal. And when the temperature drops and college football season ends, the place to go for big-time college sports is basketball and the opulent stadiums where the best teams play.

The greatest college basketball players in the country show off their skills on their home courts and pursue national championships before heading to the NBA, creating memories for their fans that never go away.

These are the biggest college basketball stadiums in the United States.

50. Galen Center

Ryan_Kartje / Twitter

Capacity: 10,258

School: USC

Location: Los Angeles, California

Opened: 2006

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 2 (1983, 1984)

Note: Only arenas with a college basketball team as its primary tenant were eligible for these rankings.

Bottom Line: Galen Center

Ringo H.W. Chiu / AP Photo

The best basketball played by either the men’s or women’s basketball teams at USC has never seen the inside of the Galen Center. But USC has put winning programs in front of its fans at the Galen with its volleyball program.

USC also has a pair of national championships in women’s basketball — back-to-back titles won in 1983 and 1984. When they used to play at the Sports Arena.

49. Stan Sheriff Center

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Capacity: 10,300

School: University of Hawaii

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Opened: 1994

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Stan Sheriff Center

BYUMBB / Twitter

Some of the greatest basketball talents the world has ever seen have honed their craft inside of the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center — usually when the Los Angeles Lakers have practiced there during training camps.

In an interesting twist, both Hawaii’s men’s and women’s basketball teams last made the NCAA tournament in 2016.

48. Charles Koch Arena

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Capacity: 10,506

School: Wichita State University

Location: Wichita, Kansas

Opened: 1955

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Charles Koch Arena

kelly_kross / Twitter

This is the third name for Wichita State’s home basketball stadium, although it has remained in the same location for the entirety of its run. Originally named The Field House, then Levitt Arena, now Charles Koch Arena after the billionaire Wichita native. It’s also been home to some elite basketball talent over the years.

The most recent run may have been the best. The Shockers made seven consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 2012 to 2018, including a Final Four in 2013 and a Sweet 16 in 2015.

46. John E. Worthen Arena (Tie)

KentStWBB / Twitter

Capacity: 11,500

School: Ball State University

Location: Muncie, Indiana

Opened: 1992

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: John E. Worthen Arena

Wikipedia

We shouldn’t be surprised to see Ball State on this list. The school is located in arguably the most basketball-crazy state in the country.

Just being in Indiana isn’t all you need to be an elite team, however. Ball State hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2000 and hasn’t advanced past the opening round since 1990, when the Cardinals made it all the way to the Sweet 16.

46. Dee Events Center (Tie)

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Capacity: 11,500

School: Weber State University

Location: Ogden, Utah

Opened: 1977

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Dee Events Center

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You can make a good argument Weber State’s success back in the day directly led to the Dee Events Center being built. The Wildcats made a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in 1969 and 1972, and construction on the new arena began in 1975.

Most recently, Weber State has been most known for being home to one of the NBA’s greatest players of all time, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, who was the two-time Big Sky Player of the Year in 2010 and 2012.

45. Matthew Knight Arena

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

Capacity: 12,364

School: University of Oregon

Location: Eugene, Oregon

Opened: 2011

Men’s national championships: 1 (1939)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Matthew Knight Arena

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

The most expensive college basketball arena in the United States belongs to the University of Oregon. Matthew Knight Arena was built for a staggering $227 million and opened in 2011.

For all of its bells and whistles, the most amazing thing about Matthew Knight Arena is the floor the Ducks play on, named Kilkenny Court in honor of former athletic director Pat Kilkenny.

The design of the court resembles tree lines seen in the Pacific Northwest, repeating over and over. It’s a trip.

44. Pan American Center

Luhchriis / Twitter

Capacity: 12,482

School: New Mexico State University

Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Opened: 1968

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Pan American Center

Steve Marcus / AP Photo

New Mexico State fans have legendary head coach Lou Henson to thank for the Pan American Center’s existence. Henson coached the Aggies from 1966 to 1975, and the program was a national contender on his watch. They made the NCAA tournament five times, including a trip to the Final Four in 1970.

Henson’s success at New Mexico State spearheaded the construction of the arena, which features a beautiful, unique parquet floor.

43. Donald L. Tucker Civic Center

Mark Wallheiser / AP Photo

Capacity: 12,500

School: Florida State University

Location: Tallahassee, Florida

Opened: 1981

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center

Florida State Donald L. Tucker Civic Center

Phil Sears / AP Photo

Football-crazy Florida State isn’t exactly hoops heaven, but they do have a pretty decent arena to play home games at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.

It’s too bad fans at Florida State don’t appreciate their basketball programs more, because they’ve both been among the nation’s elite in the last decade.

The women’s team has made the Elite Eight three times since 2010, and the men’s team has made the Sweet 16 three times in the last five years.

42. Bramlage Coliseum

Orlin Wagner / AP Photo

Capacity: 12,528

School: Kansas State University

Location: Manhattan, Kansas

Opened: 1988

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Bramlage Coliseum

Orlin Wagner / AP Photo

In a state where basketball rules supreme, Kansas State is always in a battle with Kansas for in-state supremacy and sometimes even with Wichita State, which has made a Final Four much more recently than the Wildcats.

Unfortunately for Kansas State, they have one of the more impersonal, cold home venues in the Big 12 to play in — for the men’s team at least. Tough to breathe much life into this ice-cold palace on the plains.

41. ExtraMile Arena

Wikipedia

Capacity: 12,644

School: Boise State University

Location: Boise, Idaho

Opened: 1982

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: ExtraMile Arena

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo

This is another stadium that’s on its third name. Boise State’s home arena was BSU Pavilion, then Taco Bell Arena, then changed its name to ExtraMile Arena in 2019.

While Boise State’s basketball teams haven’t given fans much to cheer for consistently over the years, one thing the arena has done consistently is be a top-notch venue for the NCAA tournament’s opening rounds. Boise State has hosted nine times since 1983 and was scheduled to host again in 2021 before the pandemic moved the entire tournament to Indiana.

40. Reed Arena

Pat Sullivan / AP Photo

Capacity: 12,989

School: Texas A&M University

Location: College Station, Texas

Opened: 1998

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 1 (2011)

Bottom Line: Reed Arena

Pat Sullivan / AP Photo

Texas A&M broke the bank to build Reed Arena. They dropped almost $40 million to make the state-of-the-art facility in the late 1990s and have produced some pretty decent teams since then.

Most notably, the women’s team has been among the nation’s best over the last decade. They won the NCAA tournament in 2011 and have made the Sweet 16 six times over the last decade.

39. Convocation Center

Wikipedia

Capacity: 13,080

School: Ohio University

Location: Athens, Ohio

Opened: 1968

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Convocation Center

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Ohio University spent a lot of money to build the Convocation Center in the late 1960s. Call it The Convo if you’re ever in Athens.

The school paid almost $9 million to build the arena, which opened in 1968. That is equivalent to over $60 million in today’s money.

It’s been money well spent over the years. The Bobcats have won over 75 percent of their home games since the arena opened.

38. Pauley Pavilion

Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo

Capacity: 13,800

School: UCLA

Location: Los Angeles, California

Opened: 1965

Men’s national championships: 11 (1964, 1965, 1967-73, 1975, 1995)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Pauley Pavilion

Christine Cotter / AP Photo

When UCLA opened Pauley Pavilion in 1965, it helped kick off the greatest era of college basketball the game has ever seen.

UCLA and head coach John Wooden won the first of 11 national championships in 1964 — 10 under Wooden. They won again in 1965, then win seven consecutive titles from 1967 to 1973, and again in 1975 in Wooden’s final season.

37. WVU Coliseum

WIkipedia

Capacity: 14,000

School: University of West Virginia

Location: Morgantown, West Virginia

Opened: 1970

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: WVU Coliseum

David Smith / AP Photo

Much like going to see a University of West Virginia football game, you’re not going to get much better experiences attending a college basketball game than making your way to Morgantown, West Virginia, to see the Mountaineers play.

The greatest player in WVU history never got to play in WVU Coliseum, but there’s a statue of him outside of the arena — Hall of Famer and Chelyan, West Virginia, native Jerry West.

36. Desert Financial Arena

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Capacity: 14,287

School: Arizona State University

Location: Tempe, Arizona

Opened: 1974

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Desert Financial Arena

Ross D. Franklin / AP Photo

Arizona State’s home stadium is on its third name. Originally called ASU Activity Center, it became Wells Fargo Arena in 1997 and took its current name, Desert Financial Arena, in 2019.

More recently, the arena has served as a host site for the NCAA women’s tournament in 2015 and 2016.

The Sun Devils’ men’s basketball team, currently coached by Duke legend Bobby Hurley, hasn’t won a game in the NCAA tournament since 2009.

35. Memorial Gymnasium

Mark Humphrey / AP Photo

Capacity: 14,316

School: Vanderbilt University

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Opened: 1952

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Memorial Gymnasium

Mark Humphrey / AP Photo

Edwin A. Keeble designed Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in the 1950s in order to honor the students and faculty lost in World War II. It’s a design that holds up to this day.

The court’s setup — like a stage set above the crowd — isn’t the only unique feature. The oversized out-of-bounds areas and the benches at the ends of the court (not on the sidelines) are distinct advantages for the Commodores.

It’s a cool place to watch a game. And you’re also in Nashville, which helps.

34. Hilton Coliseum

Justin Hayworth / AP Photo

Capacity: 14,384

School: Iowa State University

Location: Ames, Iowa

Opened: 1971

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Hilton Coliseum

Justin Hayworth / AP Photo

Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum has been one of the toughest places to play in the country since it opened in 1971. Outside of Ames is where the Cyclones have run into trouble.

Take into account that not only has Iowa State not made the Final Four since 1944, but they also haven’t made the Elite Eight since 1990 or the Sweet 16 since 2016.

33. Williams Arena

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Capacity: 14,625

School: University of Minnesota

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Opened: 1928

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Williams Arena

Andy King / AP Photo

Longtime basketball fans know the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena for its unusual, raised-floor setup, where the court is actually two feet above the ground and the players on the bench sit and look at eye level.

The best player in Minnesota history is Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, but the most unique player to ever lace it up for the Golden Gophers was Dave Winfield, who led his school to a Big Ten championship in basketball and in baseball was named College World Series MVP.

Winfield went on to play 23 years in the majors and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

32. McKale Center

Wily Low / AP Photo

Capacity: 14,655

School: University of Arizona

Location: Tucson, Arizona

Opened: 1973

Men’s national championships: 1 (1997)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: McKale Center

Wily Low / AP Photo

The University of Arizona’s McKale Center has seen some pretty amazing talent walk through its doors since it opened in 1973. They’ve made four Final Fours and won the NCAA championship in 1997.

The arena is actually named for J.F. “Pop” McKale, who was the coach of both the men’s basketball team and football team at Arizona in the early 20th century.

31. Breslin Center

Al Goldis / AP Photo

Capacity: 14,797

School: Michigan State University

Location: East Lansing, Michigan

Opened: 1989

Men’s national championships: 2 (1979, 2000)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Breslin Center

Carlos Osorio / AP Photo

The Breslin Center has seen some pretty great basketball since it opened in 1989. Since current head coach Tom Izzo was hired in 1995, the Spartans have made it to a whopping eight Final Fours and won the NCAA championships in 2000.

In an interesting move, Michigan State purchased from the NCAA the floor at the RCA Dome the 2000 championship game was played on and turned it into their home floor for a time.

30. Mackey Arena

Michael Conroy / AP Photo

Capacity: 14,804

School: Purdue University

Location: West Lafayette, Indiana

Opened: 1967

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 1 (1999)

Bottom Line: Mackey Arena

Michael Conroy / AP Photo

Purdue’s home arena was renamed in 1972 to honor longtime athletic director Guy “Red” Mackey. The court was named Keady Court in 1997 to honor legendary men’s coach Gene Keady.

One national championship team has called Mackey Arena home. The 1999 Purdue women’s team won the lone basketball national championship in school history behind an unusual coaching situation, since head coach Carolyn Peck had already agreed to coach the WNBA’s Orlando franchise before Purdue’s season began.

29. Arena-Auditorium

Andrew Carpenean / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,028

School: University of Wyoming

Location: Laramie, Wyoming

Opened: 1982

Men’s national championships: 1 (1943)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Arena-Auditorium

University of Wyoming / Facebook

The naming rights thing may have been lost on the good folks at the University of Wyoming, but the idea of packing as many people as humanly possible into a basketball stadium is not. A record crowd of 16,089 crammed into Arena-Auditorium to watch Wyoming take on Utah in 2002.

Also known as “The Dome of Doom,” this basketball court is built at the highest elevation in the nation and sits at 7,220 feet above sea level.

28. Mizzou Arena

L.G. Patterson / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,061

School: University of Missouri

Location: Columbia, Missouri

Opened: 2004

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Mizzou Arena

L.G. Patterson / AP Photo

=Longtime men’s basketball coach Norm Stewart led the Tigers from 1967 to 1999 and has the court at Mizzou Arena named after him despite never making a Final Four.

We can’t hold that against Stewart too much. Missouri has never made the Final Four regardless of who the coach has been, and Stewart came as close as anyone, making it to the Elite Eight twice.

Missouri fans haven’t had much to get excited about in recent years. The school was a charter member of the Big 12 and turned its back on the conference and longtime rivals to join the SEC before the 2012-13 season.

27. United Supermarkets Arena

Justin Rex / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,098

School: Texas Tech University

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Opened: 1999

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 1 (1993)

Bottom Line: United Supermarkets Arena

United Supermarkets Arena / Facebook

Texas Tech came a hair’s breadth from winning a national championship, making it all the way to the national championship game in 2019 before losing to Virginia.

One team that didn’t just come close was the Texas Tech women’s basketball team in 1993. That’s when Sheryl Swoopes, arguably the greatest women’s basketball player of all time, led the Red Raiders to the national title.

26. MVP Arena

Tim Roske / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,229

School: Siena College

Location: Albany, New York

Opened: 1990

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: MVP Arena

MVP Arena / Facebook

We were as surprised as you that Siena College plays its home games in such an enormous arena, but we’d like to drop some good juju on you about how it opened. The first event ever at the arena was a Frank Sinatra concert in 1990.

Siena has been the main tenant at the arena over the years but hardly the only occupant, as 12 semi-pro or low-level pro sports franchises have also played there since it opened.

25. Bryce Jordan Center

AP Photo

Capacity: 15,261

School: Penn State University

Location: University Park, Pennsylvania

Opened: 1996

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Bryce Jordan Center

Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo

Former Penn State president Bryce Jordan was instrumental in acquiring the funding for the basketball arena the school’s teams play in, and it was named in honor of him.

If you know anything about Penn State, you know that there isn’t exactly a premium on hoops success at the school, even though you couldn’t tell by its beautiful home arena.

How bad has Penn State been at basketball? They once went 26 years without making the NCAA tournament and have made it to the Big Dance just twice in the last 20 years and not since 2011.

24. Coleman Coliseum

Dave Martin / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,383

School: University of Alabama

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Opened: 1968

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Coleman Coliseum

Brynn Anderson / AP Photo

We all know the University of Alabama’s success in football, where they’re among the greatest college football programs of all time.

One thing you may not know about Alabama is that they also like to spend big on their basketball program, although that’s been with varying levels of success.

Coleman Coliseum is most notable for a performance by an opposing player — LSU guard Pete Maravich. His single-game scoring record of 69 points set at Alabama on Feb. 2, 1970, stood for 21 years.

23. Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Charlie Neibergall / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,400

School: University of Iowa

Location: Iowa City, Iowa

Opened: 1983

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Brian Ray / AP Photo

Iowa may not have national titles in basketball, but they do have an impressive history of college basketball success and a really cool place to play games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They also have a national championship team that competes there with the wrestling program, but that’s another story altogether.

The Hawkeyes are a regular participant in the NCAA tournament, and the men’s team has made three Final Four appearances in school history.

22. The Pit

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,411

School: University of New Mexico

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Opened: 1966

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: The Pit

Jake Schoellkopf / AP

The University of New Mexico can sell the naming rights to its arena to anyone it wants. We’re always going to call it The Pit.

What’s so cool about The Pit? Mainly that it’s set up like a subterranean vault, located 37 feet below sea level and coinciding with some amazing success for its men’s basketball team, which has won 80 percent of its home games there.

The most famous moment in The Pit’s history actually didn’t involve the home team. It was the host of the 1983 NCAA championship game between North Carolina State and Houston, when the Wolfpack pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history.

21. State Farm Center

Rick Danzl / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,500

School: University of Illinois

Location: Champaign, Illinois

Opened: 1963

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: State Farm Center

State Farm Center / Facebook

The State Farm Center looks like what spaceships looked like in movies in the 1960s. Not a huge surprise when you take into account the arena opened in 1963.

You would think in a state with as much basketball talent and being the flagship university in said state that the University of Illinois would be better at basketball.

The Fightin’ Illini are stupefyingly average and haven’t been to the Sweet 16 since 2005, when they made it all the way to the national championship game.

20. SaveMart Center at Fresno State

Gary Kazanjian / AP Photo

Capacity: 15,544

School: Fresno State University

Location: Fresno, California

Opened: 2003

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: SaveMart Center at Fresno State

Save Mart Center / Facebook

There haven’t been a lot of great eras of basketball at Fresno State, but you can draw a direct line between the SaveMart Center opening in 2003 and the preceding great years of hoops gifted to the school by the late, great Jerry Tarkanian.

Fittingly, the Bulldogs have only been to the NCAA tournament once since Tarkanian resigned in 2002 and haven’t won a game in the NCAA tournament since his tenure.

19. Allen Fieldhouse

Reed Hoffmann / AP Photo

Capacity: 16,300

School: University of Kansas

Location: Lawrence, Kansas

Opened: 1955

Men’s national championships: 4 (1952, 1988, 2008, 2022)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Allen Fieldhouse

Charlie Riedel / AP Photo

At the top of any college basketball arena bucket list should be Allen Fieldhouse, the oldest arena on the list.

There is something that echoes historic when you walk into an empty Allen, much less on a night where just over 16,000 have packed inside to watch a basketball game between their beloved Jayhawks and the opposing team.

What’s been astounding about Kansas basketball over the years has been the consistency. Head coach Bill Self has been there since 2003 despite yearly overtures from not only the NBA but other top college basketball programs around the country and has led the Jayhawks to two national titles.

Like they say in Lawrence, “Beware of the Phog.”

18. Frank Erwin Center

Michael Thomas / AP Photo

Capacity: 16,540

School: University of Texas

Location: Austin, Texas

Opened: 1977

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 1 (1986)

Bottom Line: Frank Erwin Center

Michael Thomas / AP Photo

Football rules at the University of Texas, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t build a really groovy arena in Austin in the late 1970s.

First-time visitors should be prepared for the sheer amount of booze they sell at the Frank Erwin Center (or anywhere in Texas, for that matter), which is a contrast to most college basketball home arenas across the country.

There isn’t a great tradition of basketball at Texas despite seemingly producing NBA talent year in and year out. Remember, this is where Kevin Durant played his one year of college basketball.

17. Kohl Center

Andy Manis / AP Photo

Capacity: 17,230

School: University of Wisconsin

Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Opened: 1998

Men’s national championships: 1 (1941)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Kohl Center

Andy Manis / AP Photo

Former U.S. Senator and former Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl paid for a good chunk of the Kohl Center with a $25 million donation in the mid-1990s. The arena ultimately cost about $75 million to build in total.

One interesting thing about the Kohl Center is that besides hosting the men’s and women’s basketball programs, it can also convert easily into a hockey rink and has been home to the Wisconsin men’s team since it opened in 1998 and was home to the women’s team until 2012.

16. Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Darron Cummings / AP Photo

Capacity: 17,222

School: University of Indiana

Location: Bloomington, Indiana

Opened: 1971

Men’s national championships: 5 (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Darron Cummings / AP Photo

Rupp Arena and Allen Fieldhouse might be 1A and 1B on the list of college basketball arenas to visit, but Assembly Hall isn’t far behind.

Assembly Hall saw two national championship teams in the decade after it opened in 1971 — Bobby Knight’s famously unbeaten team in 1976 and then again in 1981.

Knight and the Hoosiers added another championship in 1987 on Keith Smart’s last-second shot against Syracuse.

15. Xfinity Center

Brien Aho / AP Photo

Capacity: 17,950

School: University of Maryland

Location: College Park, Maryland

Opened: 2002

Men’s national championships: 1 (2002)

Women’s national championships: 1 (2006)

Bottom Line: Xfinity Center

Baltimore Business Journal / Facebook

The University of Maryland got its state-of-the-art college basketball arena for its beloved Terrapins in 2002, following the one-and-only national championship for its men’s team.

They’ve seen another national championship since then, with the women’s team in 2006, but the men haven’t even come close to sniffing that kind of rare air since then.

The Terrapins haven’t even advanced past the Elite Eight since winning it all in 2002.

13. Thomas and Mack Center (Tie)

J. David Ake / AP Photo

Capacity: 18,000

School: UNLV

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Opened: 1983

Men’s national championships: 1 (1990)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Thomas and Mack Center

Thomas & Mack Center / Facebook

The Thomas and Mack Center played home to one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time with UNLV’s 1989-90 national championship squad led by future No. 1 overall pick Larry Johnson.

The Thomas and Mack Center is unique. While it primarily plays home to the UNLV basketball programs, since it’s in Las Vegas, it’s also been home to some pretty amazing boxing matches — most notably Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1992.

13. Colonial Life Arena (Tie)

Mary Ann Chastain / AP Photo

Capacity: 18,000

School: University of South Carolina

Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Opened: 2002

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 1 (2017)

Bottom Line: Colonial Life Arena

Richard Shiro / AP Photo

Women’s basketball is arguably as popular as men’s basketball at the University of South Carolina, where over 17,000 fans packed in for the first game in arena history in 2002 to watch the women play.

The women’s team is also the source of the only basketball national title in school history, with head coach Dawn Staley leading them to the title in 2017.

The men’s team is no slouch, either, and made it to the Final Four for the first time in school history in 2017.

12. CHI Health Center Omaha

Kayla Wolf / AP Photo

Capacity: 18,320

School: Creighton University

Location: Omaha, Nebraska

Opened: 2003

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: CHI Health Center Omaha

CHI Health Center Omaha / Facebook

Midwesterners will probably always call Creighton’s home arena the Qwest Center, and it has been home to some pretty amazing basketball since it opened its doors in 2003 — either through the home team or its regular hosting of NCAA tournament play.

Creighton’s basketball team has been elite on the national level for almost 20 years, and the program leaped from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East Conference before the 2013-14 season.

Creighton made it to the Sweet 16 in 2021, its first trip that far into the NCAA tournament since the early 1970s.

11. Prudential Center

Rich Schultz / AP Photo

Capacity: 18,711

School: Seton Hall University

Location: Newark, New Jersey

Opened: 2007

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Prudential Center

Rich Schultz / AP Photo

The Prudential Center is a huge arena playing home to a college basketball team without the success to match that kind of size.

Seton Hall was a basketball powerhouse in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They even made it all the way to the national championship game with coach P.J. Carlesimo before losing to Michigan in 1989.

We can’t explain why the school didn’t push for a more modest-sized arena when it was built in the late 2000s, but we got what we got. Congrats, Newark.

10. Value City Arena

Jay LaPrete / AP Photo

Capacity: 18,809

School: Ohio State University

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Opened: 1998

Men’s national championships: 1 (1960)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Value City Arena

Kiichiro Sato / AP Photo

The biggest arena in the Big Ten belongs to Ohio State. It was built for $110 million and opened in 1998 to house, not just OSU men’s basketball but also women’s basketball and hockey.

The Buckeyes have seen plenty of basketball success in their history and since opening the Value City Arena. They’ve actually been to the Final Four three times since the new digs opened and made it to the national championship game in 2007 behind future lottery picks Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr.

9. Marriott Center

AP Photo

Capacity: 19,000

School: BYU

Location: Provo, Utah

Opened: 1971

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Marriott Center

BYU Basketball / Facebook

Located almost 1 mile above sea level, BYU’s home arena can be an intimidating place to play and gets a little extra oomph from being one of the largest on-campus arenas in the country.

What the Marriott Center doesn’t have is an elite basketball program, for all intents and purposes. BYU has never put a team in the Final Four and hasn’t been to the Elite Eight since 1981.

8. Bud Walton Arena

Sarah Bentham / AP Photo

Capacity: 19,368

School: University of Arkansas

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas

Opened: 1993

Men’s national championships: 1 (1994)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Bud Walton Arena

Beth Hall / AP Photo

Walmart cofounder James “Bud” Walton reportedly donated $15 million — half the construction cost — to have the arena named after him in the early 1990s.

It paid off in a big way. One year after opening its doors for the first time in 1993, the Razorbacks won the one and only national championship in basketball in school history in 1994, behind head coach Nolan Richardson and star players Corliss Williamson and Scottie Thurman.

7. PNC Arena

Gerry Broome / AP Photo

Capacity: 19,722

School: North Carolina State University

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Opened: 1999

Men’s national championships: 2 (1974, 1983)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: PNC Arena

Chuck Burton / AP Photo

We had to do some mind-bending exercises to make sure PNC Arena still qualified for the list and determined it does despite splitting its major tenant status between the North Carolina State basketball teams and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

We were able to make that expert judgment because while the arena opened in 1999, which was the same year the Hurricanes started to play, we don’t think it would have opened without having the North Carolina State men’s team as one of its co-tenants.

6. Rupp Arena

James Crisp / AP Photo

Capacity: 20,545

School: University of Kentucky

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Opened: 1976

Men’s national championships: 8 (1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Rupp Arena

Ed Reinke / AP Photo

Along with Allen Fieldhouse, you probably have to include the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on your college basketball bucket list of arenas to visit.

Basketball fans in Kentucky are notoriously over-the-top, and they’ve had plenty of reasons to cheer at Rupp Arena over the years. They’ve won eight national championships total and four since the arena opened in 1976.

5. Thompson-Boling Arena

Wade Payne / AP Photo

Capacity: 21,749

School: University of Tennessee

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Opened: 1987

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: 8 (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008)

Bottom Line: Thompson-Boling Arena

Wade Payne / AP Photo

If you know anything about college basketball, you know that at the University of Tennessee, two programs reign supreme — football and women’s basketball. And maybe not even in that order.

It’s fitting that Thompson-Boling Arena opened in 1987, because that’s the year the women’s team won the first of eight national championships under legendary coach Pat Summitt.

Summitt, who died in 2016, was the head coach for all eight of those national championships.

4. Dean Smith Center

Jim R. Bounds / AP Photo

Capacity: 21,750

School: University of North Carolina

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Opened: 1986

Men’s national championships: 6 (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017)

Women’s national championships: 1 (1994)

Bottom Line: Dean Smith Center

Gerry Broome / AP Photo

No one deserved to have a basketball arena named after them more than the late Dean Smith, UNC’s legendary coach who won national championships in 1982 and 1993.

What’s interesting and not so great about home games at UNC is donors took all the lower-level seating for themselves and pushed the student section to the upper deck, expertly losing sight of the fact that a team full of students at the school would probably like other students cheering them on in close proximity.

Seems to work at other places.

3. KFC Yum! Center

Garry Jones / AP Photo

Capacity: 22,090

School: University of Louisville

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Opened: 2010

Men’s national championships: 3 (1980, 1986, 2013*)

Women’s national championships: None

*2013 title removed over NCAA violations

Bottom Line: KFC Yum! Center

Ed Reinke / AP Photo

One of the newest arenas on the list, the KFC Yum! Center (bad name, we know) holds the distinction of being the largest basketball arena in the U.S. created specifically for college basketball.

The arena was built for a staggering $238 million in 2010 to house the incredibly popular University of Louisville men’s basketball team, which was seemingly cruising toward an NCAA championship. It won the title in 2013 but had to give it back in 2017 following a multitude of NCAA violations.

2. Greensboro Coliseum

Chuck Burton / AP Photo

Capacity: 23,377

School: UNC-Greensboro

Location: Greensboro, North Carolina

Opened: 1959

Men’s national championships: None

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Greensboro Coliseum

Lynn Hey / AP Photo

It’s not hard to understand why UNC-Greensboro plays in such a large arena, and it ain’t for all those Southern Conference games played there.

No, the reason that UNC-Greensboro has such a large arena is that it plays host to both the men’s and women’s ACC tournament games. It has hosted the men’s tournament 23 times since 1967 and the women’s tournament 12 times since 2000.

1. Carrier Dome

Kevin Rivoli / AP Photo

Capacity: 35,454

School: Syracuse University

Location: Syracuse, New York

Opened: 1980

Men’s national championships: 1 (2003)

Women’s national championships: None

Bottom Line: Carrier Dome

Nick Lisi / AP Photo

The Carrier Dome isn’t just home to the Syracuse men’s basketball team, its most notable tenant. It also is home to the school’s football, lacrosse and women’s basketball teams.

While the Carrier Dome expands to seat almost 50,000 for football games, it can hold around 35,000 for basketball games although it rarely approaches capacity.

That being said, Syracuse set an attendance record in 2015-16 when the men’s team averaged over 26,000 fans per game.