I wrote the following post on the WAC message boards on CSNBBS.com. I had pondered it for a while, and after rediscovering an article where the Sun Belt Conference coaches ranked College Park Center the best in the conference, I had a renewed vigor to do the same for UTA's current home. After a robust conversation on Twitter, there is no better home for this than here on the Maverick Rambler.
I ranked all 13 current members in the conference. New Mexico State and Sam Houston State will depart, but since there are no new members on the horizon, I say the more the merrier.
The list includes on-campus venues only. All schools played three-quarters of their games on-campus and as such, I believed that ranking was best.
With out further ado, ranked worst to first, here's the list of best on-campus basketball venues.
13. Redhawk Center, Seattle U - The smallest, lowest-capacity venue in the WAC, and third smallest in all of NCAA DI. My son's high school seats more and would look better on TV as well. Climate Pledge has been their pre-dominant home in past years, but more games are played on campus in recent years.
12. Wisdom Gym, Tarleton St. - the second smallest gym in the WAC is in a near tie for 11th. The weird thing to me is the seats are broken in two sections on both sides, making me feel farther from the action than otherwise for a gym of this size. It mutes a possible noise advantage as well. Their time in the gym is limited with a new venue approved, so this won't be here forever.
11. UTRGV Fieldhouse, UT Rio Grande Valley - This one is a combination of the first two, similar design to Seattle with a similar capacity to Tarleton. This was how college gyms were built generations ago. Several schools have moved into bigger, modern venues, but kept this type of gym for volleyball and rec use. This place can get rowdy, though, the main advantage to this kind of design. The Vaqueros have started to play at Bert Ogden, home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League, but UTRGV has been their home for decades with no change on the horizon.
10. Johnson Coliseum, Sam Houston St. - The next few arenas were the hardest for me to rank, as other than Sam, I haven't been to them and they share some similarities in some capacity. The main drawback here is that weird space behind press row. This was one of the few facilities I wouldn't have traded for in the old Southland Conference when UTA played on a theater stage, mainly because of that weird space.
9. Burns Arena, Utah Tech - A smaller venue that was built in the mid-80's. The arenas built during that time haven't aged well. There isn't a bad seat in the house, but, like Sam Houston's, there's a weird sightline behind one of the goals. It doesn't standout like Sam's and is functional.
8. UCCU Center, Utah Valley U - The UCCU Center has the second largest spectator capacity in the conference. There's a unique lopsided seating, resembling the home and visitor seating at some mid-level football stadiums. I'm personally not a fan of collapsible seating either. The odd seating with slightly graded seating behind one of the baselines detracts as well. The larger size creates a smaller sound, but the place was rocking when Southern Utah came to town.
7. Johnson Coliseum, Stephen F. Austin St (UTSFA?) - The better of the Johnson Coliseums benefits from a less is more design. The concourse is at ground level and fans descend to their seats. The concourse can bring views of the action. There's a wall that surrounds the court, removing the feeling courtside seats bring to the gameday experience and broadcast. However, the simplistic design means 2,000 sounds loud. When students are there and on their game, the place can be intimidating.
6. America First Event Center, Southern Utah U - This arena is very similar to SFA's, but with a more attractive look and design. A single-level arena that can be quite loud. The fact that fans can sit on the sidelines put it above SFA's.
5. Pan American Center, New Mexico St - I'm sure Aggie fans will argue with this ranking, and I almost put it fourth. I wouldn't argue with anyone who did. The top five are, IMHO, head and shoulders above the rest. Pan Am is the largest on-campus venue in the WAC. Despite NMSU's good attendance (current events notwithstanding) it is routinely hlaf empty or more. The place has had numerous renovations of the years, keeping it in the running for fan amenities. NMSU uses other off-campus facilities for player development along with strength and conditioning.
4. Moody Coliseum, Abilene Christian U - The highest non-2000's built arena on this list, Moody was renovated this summer and ACU did a quality job. It offers more player amenities and offers a better fan experience. Only a new arena built from scratch could likely increase it any further. The completely circular design has died a justifiable architectural death, deservingly so. That can't be overcome, but the renovation did it's best to limit the drawbacks.
3. CBU Events Center, California Baptist U - The first of the modern venues in the WAC, the CBU Events Center seats the least, is one level and offers great views in addition to the modern amenities. The Lancers are near the top in attendance, and the arena makes the most of it. The place gets loud and offers a home court advantage.
2. GCU Arena, Grand Canyon U - the only arena on the list that's close to number one, and can rightly be switched in any other list. GCU Arena is nearing a decade and a half in existence and still has NBA-features. The place gets rocking when packed and gives the student section at mid-court, a very interesting tweak. Player amenities are pretty high here.
1. College Park Center, UT Arlington - State-of-the-art facility that has the fan amenities and game presentation of the NBA team down the street. Player amenities and resources are second to none.
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