Facilities
The Tennessee Vols play in Thompson-Boling which was at one time the largest facility ever built specifically for basketball in the United States with a seating capacity of 24,678 until its 2007 renovation. Named for the late B. Ray Thompson and former UT President Dr. Edward J. Boling, the arena regularly hosts women's volleyball matches, concerts, camps, conferences and other special events throughout the year.
Thompson-Boling Arena opened during the 1987-88 season, with Tennessee defeating Marquette 82-56 before a crowd of 25,272. In its opening season, the Vols finished third nationally with an average attendance of more than 20,000 fans per game. But much of the facility's storied history has centered around men's and women's basketball. In the last two decades, the Vols and Lady Vols have hosted record college basketball crowds, as well as WNBA and NCAA Tournament basketball games.The Vols have ranked fourth in the nation in average home attendance for each of the past three seasons, including an average of 20,483 fans per game in 2008-09. Tennessee's 1989 men's game against Kentucky set the SEC regular-season record with a crowd of 25,610. The Lady Vols drew 24,597 for their 1998 game with Connecticut to establish a women's NCAA record, while a Celtics-Bullets game in 1988 attracted a then-record NBA exhibition record crowd of 23,611. The arena's largest basketball crowd since its capacity dipped to 21,678 prior to the 2007-08 season came on Jan. 7, 2009, when the Vols hosted Gonzaga in front of a sellout crowd of 22,326.
UT hosted the NCAA Tournament's South Regional Finals in 1999 and 1994 in the spacious facility. The 1990 NCAA Southeast Region's first and second round games, followed by the NCAA Women's Final Four made Knoxville a basketball hotspot. The 1989 SEC Tournament was the first of what promised to be many postseason tournaments to be held in Thompson-Boling Arena. The riverfront arena has drawn rave reviews from teams, administrators and media for its modern facilities needed for hosting major tournaments.
As of November 18, 2008, Bruce Pearl's home record at Thompson-Boling Arena was 47–2, a home winning percentage at Tennessee of 96%.
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Famous quotes containing the word facilities:
“I have always found that when men have exhausted their own resources, they fall back on “the intentions of the Creator.” But their platitudes have ceased to have any influence with those women who believe they have the same facilities for communication with the Divine mind as men have.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)