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80-696: With an undersized and aging Spokane Coliseum (1954) needing replacement, the Spokane City Council and Board of Spokane County Commissioners formed the Spokane Public Facilities District (SPFD) to acquire, construct, own, and operate sports and entertainment facilities with contiguous parking facilities. In 1990, the SPFD board members unanimously agreed on the following recommendations made by an economic feasibility/market study. The recommendations were: Voters rejected

160-548: A neutral court game at KeyArena that would later become an annual event known as the Battle in Seattle. The event marked the first time that a regular season Gonzaga basketball game was broadcast nationally on CBS Sports , as Craig Bolerjack called the action while Clark Kellogg provided commentary. Ranked third in the country, Missouri was the highest ranked regular season opponent that Gonzaga had faced up to that point;

240-598: A #11 seed and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, dismantling #6 seed Seton Hall and #3 seed Utah, before falling to Syracuse by three points . The 2016–17 team won its first 29 games, setting a new school record for consecutive games won, before falling to WCC rival BYU. The Zags made the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed and advanced to the school's first-ever championship game, with wins over South Dakota State, Northwestern, West Virginia, Xavier, and South Carolina. The Zags set

320-781: A #7 seed to a Davidson team that went to the Elite Eight as a #10 seed. The 2008–09 team won both the WCC Regular Season Championship and the WCC Tournament Championship. Entering the NCAA tournament as a #4 seed, the team reached the Sweet Sixteen, before losing to eventual NCAA Champions North Carolina. For the next five seasons, the team advanced to the NCAA tournament, but fell in the Round of 32 each time. The 2012–13 team became

400-566: A 13–1 conference record. The Bulldogs would avenge their only conference loss of the season by defeating Pepperdine 96–90 for their fourth straight WCC tournament title. The win gave the Zags an automatic bid as a six-seed in the NCAA tournament , opening against 11th-seeded Wyoming . Despite beating the Cowboys four years earlier in the NIT , they lost 73–66, marking the first time the Zags lost in

480-421: A little kiss... Gus... Oh! Major onions ... all on his own! Look at the contesting... oh, what a smooch... woo... wow!"] Crunch time you go to your best player. [Raftery says, "This kid is extraordinary... and watch the contesting Gus, it's not like he's standing still. Two defenders, knowing... look at that.] Adam Morrison refusing to let his team lose. In 2008, the game broke the state attendance record for

560-577: A new home-and-home series in Spokane and have agreed to continue the rivalry annually until at least the 2025–26 season. The Huskies lead the series 30–20. Although the Zags have won 14 of the last 16 matchups, the most recent game was won by Washington on December 9, 2023, 78–73. A notable rivalry with Brigham Young University (BYU) has developed throughout the past decade. BYU and Gonzaga first played on December 16, 1949, with Gonzaga winning 46–41. The two teams would not meet again until March 19, 2011, in

640-642: A new school record for wins in a single season with 37 and also had the most wins of any team that season. The 2017–18 team also enjoyed success. Despite what was considered a "rebuilding year" after the Loss of Karnowski, Williams-Goss, Mathews and Collins among others (causing the Bulldogs to not be picked to win the West Coast Conference), the team won the WCC regular season title outright before winning

720-461: A regular season college basketball game, as a sold-out crowd of 16,763 watched the Bulldogs play Connecticut . In the 2016–17 season, Gonzaga failed to schedule the Battle in Seattle, ending an annual tradition of participating in the event every December for 13 consecutive years. Representatives from the Zags cited an inability to find a quality opponent to schedule and wanting to maintain strong résumé. The Zags have compiled an 9–4 (.692) record in

800-442: A three-seed. The Zags beat 14th-seeded Winthrop 74–64 before falling to Texas Tech 71–69 in the second round, where they ended the season with a 26–5 record. Before the 2005–06 season got underway, Gonzaga junior Adam Morrison became the first player in team history to be named to the preseason Associated Press All-America team . The Zags also received their highest preseason ranking in program history at number seven in

880-519: Is a 5,900-seat theater configuration used for theater concerts, Broadway , family shows and other events. The seating capacity of the configuration positions the "venue" between the seating capacities of the nearby First Interstate Center for the Arts and the full-theater seating configuration of the Spokane Arena. Spokane Coliseum Spokane Coliseum (nicknamed The Boone Street Barn )

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960-512: The USA Today / ESPN preseason poll. The Bulldogs captured their third straight WCC Tournament title when they beat Loyola Marymount 68–67 in the championship game. They received an automatic bid into the 2006 NCAA tournament as a three-seed, where they beat Xavier 79–75 in the first round. The Zags would go on to beat Indiana Hoosiers 90–80, where they would advance to the Sweet 16 for

1040-496: The 1998–99 season, the Bulldogs had a 28–7 record after winning the conference tournament , and were seeded tenth in the West regional of the NCAA tournament . In the tournament's "Cinderella" run and Gonzaga's "coming out party" (Gonzaga has made the NCAA tournament each year since) the Zags beat seventh-seeded Minnesota 75–63 in the first round in Seattle and followed it with an 82–74 win over second-seeded Stanford to advance to

1120-526: The 1999 and 2000 NCAA tournaments , as freshman enrollment increased to 796 in 2000 and to a then-record 979 in 2001. A 65 percent increase in the size of the freshman class between 1997 and 2003 is part of a phenomenon called the Flutie effect , the increase in attention and applications for admission that results after a particularly notable and unexpected sporting victory by a school's athletic team. Gonzaga University president Rev. Robert Spitzer said that

1200-400: The 2004 NCAA tournament with a two-seed, which was the highest seed they had received in school history in seven tournament appearances. The Bulldogs would go on to beat 15th-seeded Valparaiso 76–49 before being upset in the second round by tenth-seeded Nevada 91–72, where they finished the season 28–3. Gonzaga opened up the 2004–05 season with a home game against Portland State in

1280-513: The All-America . Morrison... six... fires... OH... HE BANKED IN A THREE! [Raftery shouts "OH!"] OH... WOW... [Raftery: ONIONS!] WHAT A GAME... [Raftery shouts "OH!" again] LARRY BIRD ... BABY... [Raftery makes an unintelligible sound...] WHOA! [Raftery laughs in the background... Replay is shown as Raftery says, "Look at the clock. And when you're sleepless in Seattle , why not get

1360-809: The Indoor Football League in 2015 but the AFL withheld the franchise rights from the ownership. The owners then created the Spokane Empire and played in the IFL in 2016 and 2017 before ceasing operations. New ownership relaunched the Shock in 2020, but had its lease terminated by the city in February 2022. The Spokane Chiefs of the WHL play their home games at the arena. The 1998 Memorial Cup , hosted by

1440-772: The National Invitation Tournament (NIT), while being led by forward Jeff Brown, who was the WCC Player of the Year, and point guard Geoff Goss, who was made the All-WCC First Team that season. In the following season, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs won the WCC tournament to secure their first appearance in the NCAA tournament . In 1997, Gonzaga assistant coach Dan Monson , the son of veteran Oregon and Idaho head coach Don Monson , became

1520-655: The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) made a stop in Spokane Arena for a Bud Light Cup Series event in mid-April; it was one of six wins for Cody Hart in 1999, the same year he became a PBR World Champion. In January 2007, the Spokane Arena was one of two facilities to host the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (the other being the Group Health Exhibit Hall at the Spokane Center several blocks away.) The arena, as well as

1600-570: The University of Idaho for the first time. Prior to the arena's opening, the NCAA tournament was held in the region on the WSU campus in Pullman at Beasley Coliseum ( 1975 , 1982 , 1984 ). The arena was a women's regional site in 2008 , 2011 , and 2015 . The 2011 regional was notable as Gonzaga became the lowest-seeded team ever to make a regional final in the women's tournament. In 1999,

1680-866: The West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs play home basketball games at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington , on the university campus. Gonzaga has had 15 of its players receive the WCC Player of the Year award, and two players, Frank Burgess in 1961 with 32.4 points per game, and Adam Morrison in 2006 with 28.1 points per game, have led

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1760-405: The #1 overall seed in the tournament and cruise to the national championship game over Norfolk State, Oklahoma, Creighton, USC, and UCLA. In the national championship, their undefeated season came to an end, losing to Baylor 86–70. Basketball started at Gonzaga in February 1905 after a gymnasium was put in as an addition to the east end of the new college building that was being built. In 1955,

1840-512: The 2016–17 season and ending on January 15, 2024, being tied for the tenth longest streak in Division I history. They have also appeared in all but one WCC conference title game since 1995, and in every conference title game since 1998, winning 16 of them. This culminated in 2016–17 , when the Bulldogs went to their first Final Four in school history, advancing to the national championship game, where they lost to North Carolina . They returned to

1920-492: The 22 years with a record of 12–6 (1–2 vs. ranked opposition). In-state rivals Washington State and Gonzaga have faced off against each other in the arena on five occasions (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2014) with the Zags owning a 3–2 record against the Cougars in those games. The Bulldogs' faced off against local rival Eastern Washington University at the arena in four consecutive years (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005), each won by

2000-464: The Arena. Measure 1 was voted yes, and the 750 seats will eventually be added to the arena. However, the seats that are to be added may have sight obstruction to the video wall, as it would be on the same side facing away. After this phase of new seating, full expansion of the arena including a center hung scoreboard and full seating expansion will cost roughly $ 3.547 million. It is unknown as to whether

2080-513: The Bulldogs would go on to beat the Tigers 87–80 in overtime. The 2005 Battle in Seattle is remembered for Adam Morrison 's game-winning shot against Oklahoma State that sealed a 64–62 victory for the Bulldogs. Gus Johnson 's call at the end of the game with Bill Raftery was ranked fourth on a list of 25 of his most "over-the-top calls" by Complex . Johnson's call at the end of the game: Zags no timeouts. They gotta hurry. But here comes

2160-519: The Charlotte Y. Martin Centre, Gonzaga trustees approved construction for a new 6,000-seat arena on April 11, 2003. The McCarthey Athletic Center was named after Gonzaga trustee Philip G. McCarthey and Gonzaga regent Thomas K. McCarthey, who contributed a significant portion of the funds needed to build the arena. The first official game took place on November 19, 2004, against Portland State , whom

2240-653: The Chiefs, was played at the arena. The arena hosted a National Hockey League preseason game between the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks on September 26, 2021. This is not the first time an NHL game has been played at the arena. In fact, the first event in the arena's history was a preseason game between the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver in 1995 . The arena hosted All Elite Wrestling 's Title Tuesday event on October 8, 2024. The Star Theatre

2320-639: The Coliseum in 1979 , their first year in the West Coast Athletic Conference , for conference home games only, then returned to Kennedy Pavilion for the 1980–81 season. They continued to use the Coliseum for occasional home games until its demise. The venue was used for some events of the 1990 Goodwill Games . During 1990, discussions for a new arena to replace the Spokane Coliseum began. One factor that led to

2400-467: The Elite Eight. Gonzaga also won the WCC regular-season and tournament championships for the third consecutive season. The 2014–15 also set the school record for wins in a single season with 35. The 2015–16 team suffered 4 losses at home and nearly missed the NCAA tournament entirely, but shared the WCC regular-season crown with Saint Mary's and then won the WCC Tournament. The Zags were awarded

2480-525: The Events Level, there are five truck docks with 8-by-10-foot (2.4 by 3.0 m) loading doors, one 8-by-10-foot (2.4 by 3.0 m) drive-in door, and one 20-by-24-foot (6.1 by 7.3 m) drive-in loading door, allowing large shows to load and unload eight trucks simultaneously. Trucks can load and unload unobstructed, directly into the marshalling area at the arena floor's west end. Backstage are three star dressing rooms, two promoter offices (located in

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2560-472: The Final Four in 2021 , losing in the national championship game to Baylor . Gonzaga introduced a basketball program during the 1907–08 basketball season and, although the season wasn't an official one, they achieved a record of 9–2 (.818) under head coach George Varnell . In the 1908–09 season, Varnell became the first official coach for Gonzaga, earning a 10–2 (.833) record. William Mulligan coached

2640-423: The Final Four that the school would remain in the WCC for the immediate future. In the 2018 Maui Invitational Final on November 21, 2018 #3 Gonzaga defeated #1 Duke 89–87 for their first win over Duke and first win over a number 1 ranked team in team history. The 2020–21 season would be a historic year for the team, going 26–0 in the regular season and being the final undefeated team in the country. They would earn

2720-481: The McCarthey Athletic Center, which was also the longest active home winning streak in the NCAA at the time. Through February 6, 2020, the Zags are 223–15 (.937) in the McCarthey Athletic Center, which includes a 105–8 (.929) record in non-conference games, a 116–7 (.943) record in conference games, and a 2–0 (1.000) record in the WCC Tournament. On December 13, 2003, Gonzaga participated in

2800-464: The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Bulldogs have appeared in 26 NCAA tournaments . The COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament. This interrupted, but did not end, the Bulldogs' ongoing streak of 25 consecutive tournament appearances, including 9 straight Sweet 16 appearances. Gonzaga's combined record is 46–26 (.639). The NCAA began seeding

2880-623: The NCAA may tighten its criteria and require a true minimum of 12,000, with no allowance for seats lost due to tournament infrastructure. In early 2012, the Spokane Public Facilities District had "Measure 1" put on the April ballot, which was proposing to extend 0.1% sales tax and a 2% room tax to pay for a 91,000-square-foot addition to the Convention Center and other projects, including adding 750 seats to

2960-522: The PFD will max out the arena's capacity. Spokane Arena, in addition to its duties as being the host of Chiefs and Shock games, also has served as a secondary home for the men's basketball programs of Gonzaga University and Washington State University for nearly every year since opened. Washington State has played 33 matchups in the Spokane Arena in 19 of the 22 years with a record of 18–15 (1–7 vs. ranked opponents), while Gonzaga has hosted 18 games in 15 of

3040-400: The Spokane Arena four times in six years before agreeing to build it in 1991. In the fall of that year, two ballot measures were put out to voters, and passed: In the fall of 1991, another funding measure was put out to voters and was passed. It involved a 0.1% raise in the sales tax. The passage of all three measures completed the $ 44.8 million financining needed to build the arena. Ground

3120-645: The Spokane Arena once since 2012. It also hosted the WIAA Class B state high school basketball tournament annually until 2006. The tournament came back to the arena in 2007, but as the Class 2B tournament. The WIAA had split the B classification into 1B and 2B. The Yakima SunDome in Yakima hosts the 1B tournament. The Class 1B tournament returned in 2011 when the WIAA changed the state tournament format. Notably, this

3200-400: The WCC Tournament for the fourth year in a row, being the only Division I school to do so that year. They received an automatic bid into the 2007 NCAA tournament , where they were given a 10-seed. The Zags would end their season by losing in the opening round for the first time since 2001, as Indiana beat Gonzaga 70–57. In 2007–08 the Bulldogs went 25–8, but lost in the Round of 64 as

3280-552: The WCC for the Big 12 Conference, starting with the 2023–2024 season, and since then, no matchups have been confirmed for the future between the Cougars and Zags. Freshman enrollment at Gonzaga in the mid-nineties hovered around 500 students annually, including a total of 569 as late as 1998. In 1999, enrollment jumped to 701 five months after the Zags went to the Elite Eight . This trend continued after Gonzaga won five games in

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3360-688: The WCC tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. They were ultimately bounced by Florida State, and finished the season at 32–5. Near the end of that season, Gonzaga considered a potential move to the Mountain West Conference (MW) after nearly 40 years as a WCC member. When asked by a reporter from the San Diego Union-Tribune about rumored MW expansion plans, MW commissioner Craig Thompson confirmed that six schools had been considered, with Gonzaga being

3440-579: The Zags to a 26–9 record, which was highlighted by winning the WCC tournament and advancing to the Sweet ;16 of the NCAA tournament with wins over Louisville and St. John's in Tucson, Arizona . In the 2000–01 season, the Bulldogs faced a tough schedule highlighted by games against Arizona , Washington , Florida , and New Mexico . Despite starting the season 5–1, the Zags dropped four of their next five games. Gonzaga rebounded and finished

3520-541: The Zags were able to bring high major schools like Washington (1998), Georgia (2003), Memphis (2007, 2009, and 2011) and Oklahoma (2009) to the Spokane Arena, with the Gonzaga holding a 2–3 record in those matchups, but with conference realignment and the West Coast Conference 's additions of BYU (2011) and Pacific (2013), the Zags have been more selective and limited in their scheduling with four less matchups in their non-conference schedule, so they have only played in

3600-488: The Zags would beat 98–80 in front of a sold-out crowd. The Bulldogs opened the arena with a 38-game winning streak, which was the nation's longest active winning streak at the time. When combined with 12 wins at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre, the overall home-game winning streak ended at 50 games with a loss to the Santa Clara on February 12, 2007. In February 2015, BYU snapped Gonzaga's 41-game home winning streak in

3680-667: The Zags, but just like with the Cougars, the rivalry has gone dormant due to the rise of the Zags' program to major status since the late 1990s, while the Cougars and Eagles have not seen much national spotlight. Washington State has often hosted home games at the Spokane Arena as a part of its Pac-12 Conference men's basketball schedule, holding a 7–9 against conference foes in the arena, facing UCLA (1996 and 2004), Oregon (1997 and 2011), Oregon State (1997, 2011, and 2017), Arizona (1998, 2001, and 2006), Washington (1999), USC (2000 and 2004), Stanford (2004), California (2005), and Colorado (2014). With Gonzaga's rise to prominence,

3760-409: The arena floor. The arena also features a 350° color LED ribbon board, which is mounted on the fascia of the Spokane Arena bowl. It is capable of displaying text messages, animations, logos, scores and statistics. Powered by Crown Amplifiers, the audio system is driven by Community RS880 speakers in the arena bowl, Altec Lansing satellite speakers for the upper seating areas, and Bose speakers serve

3840-482: The basketball team moved from the gymnasium, nicknamed "the cave", and began to play at the newly constructed Spokane Coliseum . On June 3, 1964, construction began for a new 3,800-seat athletic facility called the John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion. To raise money for the $ 1.1 million project, Gonzaga's student body had each student pay $ 10 per semester until $ 500,000 was raised. The university matched that amount, while

3920-496: The city, received many rave reviews and also shattered the previous attendance record for the event, previously held by Los Angeles, California , by over 30,000 attendees. On May 5, 2008, it was announced that Spokane would once again host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics . Spokane Arena was the sole venue for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships . Held January 15–24, it broke its own attendance record with 158,170 tickets sold during

4000-434: The concourse, dressing rooms, and backstage hallways. Large public areas are one of the greater features of the Spokane Arena. The arena floor is 32,000 square feet (2,970 m), and the 14-foot (4.3 m) high concourse is a spacious 35,000 square feet (3,250 m). Sixteen luxury suites contain a total of 146 seats. In addition, there are six meeting rooms, totaling 10,050 square feet (930 m) of meeting space. On

4080-561: The event since they first appeared in it back in 2003. Gonzaga's biggest rivalry is with fellow West Coast Conference foe Saint Mary's . Many analysts and members of the media have touted the Gaels vs. Zags as one of the best, if not the best, college basketball rivalry on the West Coast, as both teams have been consistently the two top teams in the conference over the last 2 decades. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's have combined to win 24 out of

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4160-414: The first Gonzaga squad to be ranked as the #1 team in the country and was awarded as a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time. The Zags also won over 30 games for the first time in program history with a 32–3 overall record. The 2014–15 team advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Duke. This was the first time since 1999 that Gonzaga had advanced to

4240-1005: The first of a series of major campus buildings that opened between 2004 and 2017. Booming freshman enrollment led Gonzaga to introduce a more selective admissions process in 2003, which led to a significant increase in the academic credentials of incoming freshmen. Even with greater selectivity, freshman enrollment has continued to grow, reaching 1,200 for 2016–17. Under Mark Few:        National champion          Postseason invitational champion          Conference regular season champion          Conference regular season and conference tournament champion        Division regular season champion        Division regular season and conference tournament champion        Conference tournament champion Since

4320-463: The first round of the tournament under Mark Few. In the 2002–03 season, Few led the Bulldogs to their fifth regular season title in six years with a 12–2 conference record. Despite this, Gonzaga lost to San Diego in the WCC tournament championship game 72–63, marking the first time the Zags had lost in the championship game in four years. Gonzaga garnered a nine-seed in the 2003 NCAA tournament , where they beat Cincinnati 74–69 to advance to

4400-444: The first time since 2001. Despite being ahead by as many as 17 points, the Bulldogs ended their season in the Sweet 16 by losing to UCLA 73–71, finishing 29–4. The 2006–07 season marked the first time that the Zags suffered at least ten losses in a season since the 1997–98 season . Despite this, Few still led the Bulldogs to their seventh straight regular season title with a conference record of 11–3. Gonzaga would go on to win

4480-449: The following season and acquired an 11–3 (.786) record. Frank McKevitt took over for Mulligan during the 1910–11 basketball season, acquiring an 8–1 (.889) record. From 1944 to 1994, the Bulldogs compiled a record of 628–531 (.542), earning regular season titles in 1965–66 and 1966–67 ( Big Sky ) under Hank Anderson , and in 1993–94 (WCC) under Dan Fitzgerald . That season also saw the team qualify for its first postseason tournament,

4560-469: The game in an 87–80 overtime victory. This season marked the last time Gonzaga would play home games in the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre ; their last game in the building took place February 28, 2004, where they beat Santa Clara 80–64. The win gave the Bulldogs their first undefeated run through the WCC in school history with a 14–0 conference record. Gonzaga would go on to receive an automatic bid into

4640-467: The head coach of Gonzaga as Fitzgerald wanted to focus on his athletic director's duties. During his first season, Monson led the Zags to a 24–10 record and a WCC regular season title, which was not enough to land an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament . They earned a bid into the NIT and beat Wyoming 69–55 in the first round in Laramie , but fell at Hawai'i 78–70 in the second round. During

4720-564: The idea included several damages to the arena which had a leaking roof and rusted boilers. Another major issue was the size of Spokane Coliseum, which had then recently lost potential bookings from ZZ Top and New Kids on the Block due to its small size; Spokane was losing concert dates to larger venues in Pullman and Boise . The Spokane Coliseum was replaced by the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in 1995, and

4800-400: The last 26 conference championship games (Gonzaga 20, Saint Mary's 4, San Diego 2). Currently Gonzaga leads the series 81–35. Gonzaga's most heated in-state rivalry is with Washington . They played a 10-year home-and-home series from 1997 to 2006, but then it went dormant until they were forced to play each other in first round of the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. In 2016, they began

4880-444: The marshalling area), and seven team dressing rooms, as well as a dressing room for officials. The elevation at street level is approximately 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level . Incorporated into its original design was an area designated for future expansion of the arena. Expansion of the upper bowl would raise the seating capacity of the arena to over 15,000. In 2011, the Spokane Public Facilities District became concerned

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4960-540: The nation in scoring. Morrison was named the Co-National Player of the year for the 2005–06 season. Since the mid-1990s, Gonzaga has established itself as a major basketball power in a mid-major conference. They have been to every NCAA tournament held since 1999, a year in which they made a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight, and have appeared in every final AP poll since the 2008–09 season. Gonzaga had an active weekly poll streak of 143 weeks, starting from

5040-410: The new 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center on November 19, 2004. Despite losing five seniors, including second-round NBA draft pick Blake Stepp , Few was still able to lead the Zags to their ninth regular season title since 1994 with a 12–2 conference record. The Bulldogs would go on to win their second straight WCC Tournament title, giving them an automatic bid into the 2005 NCAA tournament as

5120-535: The only school he specifically named. A later Union-Tribune report indicated that talks were advanced enough that the conference's presidents planned a vote on an invitation to Gonzaga during the MW men's and women's basketball tournaments in Las Vegas, but decided to delay the vote until after the Final Four. The vote ultimately never took place, as Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth notified both conferences during

5200-533: The regional semifinals in Phoenix. Gonzaga beat Florida 73–72 to advance to the regional finals after Casey Calvary tipped in the winning basket with four seconds remaining. They trailed eventual national champion UConn by one point with a minute remaining before losing 67–62 in the regional finals. After Monson departed for Minnesota that summer, assistant coach Mark Few was promoted to head coach on July 26, 1999. In his inaugural season , Few led

5280-540: The regular season 15–6 before winning their third consecutive WCC tournament title. The win gave the Bulldogs an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament , where they were seeded twelfth in the South regional. In the first round in Memphis against fifth-seeded Virginia , Casey Calvary put back a blocked shot with nine seconds left to give the Zags an 86–85 victory. Gonzaga then beat 13th-seeded Indiana State 85–68 in

5360-401: The remaining $ 100,000 came from contributions. Gonzaga's first game in the pavilion took place on December 3, 1965, against Washington State , who beat the Bulldogs 106–78. In 1986, the facility was renamed the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre after an eponymous donor donated $ 4.5 million to finance a remodel of the arena that could hold up to 4,000 people. After competing for over 39 years in

5440-471: The rotation; the WCC tournament moved to the neutral Orleans Arena in Las Vegas in 2009 . Spokane Arena has been the site of several NCAA Division I basketball tournament games (men and women), with Washington State University as the designated host school. For the men , the arena hosted in the opening rounds in 2003 , 2007 , 2010 , 2014 , 2016 , and 2024 , the latter two of which were hosted by

5520-648: The season of Gonzaga's 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament run to the Elite 8, Gonzaga has played a total of 132 games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll. Gonzaga has a record of 61–71 (.462) against such teams. They have beaten top-3 teams seven times in all, taking down #3 teams four times (Missouri in 2003–04, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State in 2004–05, and Iowa in 2020–21), #2 twice (North Carolina in 2006–07 and UCLA in 2021–22), and #1 once (Duke in 2018–19). Teams in bold represent games Gonzaga played in

5600-437: The second round of the tournament for the fourth time in five years. The Bulldogs would go on to lose to Arizona 96–95 in double overtime to finish 24–9. The 2003–04 season marked the first time that the team participated in the annual Battle in Seattle game. Gonzaga faced third-ranked Missouri , who was the highest-ranked regular season opponent that the Zags had played against up to that point; they would go on to win

5680-409: The second round to advance to their third consecutive Sweet 16. In Atlanta, the Zags lost to defending national champion Michigan State 77–62 and finished the season with a 26–7 record. Prior to the 2001–02 season, the Bulldogs were unanimously favored to win the WCC title in the WCC preseason coaches poll. Few led the Zags to a share of the WCC regular season title, as Pepperdine also had

5760-436: The team's success was responsible for the school receiving the $ 23 million required to build the McCarthey Athletic Center, most of which was received through major gifts. Gonzaga has been viewed as reaping benefits from its basketball-related exposure to this day. The university's financial position and fundraising success dramatically improved. This led to a campus building boom; the McCarthey Athletic Center proved to be just

5840-482: The ten-day event. Also, the Spokane Arena hosted the very first 2016 Team Challenge Cup , where athletes from North America , Europe , and Asia , competed against each other in teams. Team North America won the event. The Spokane Shock of the af2 and the Arena Football League played at the arena from 2006 until 2015. The Shock hosted ArenaBowl XXIII in 2010. The Shock then attempted to join

5920-703: The third round of the NCAA tournament, as a BYU team led by Jimmer Fredette advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating the Zags 89–67. The following season, BYU left the Mountain West Conference and joined the West Coast Conference for the 2011–2012 season. BYU is one of few teams to win multiple times at the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane over the last decade, with wins at the Kennel in 2015, 2016 and 2017. BYU

6000-471: Was an indoor arena in the northwestern United States , located in Spokane, Washington . Opened in late 1954, it had a seating capacity of 5,400. After more than a year of construction, the arena was dedicated on December 3, 1954, in a program headlined by Metropolitan Opera soprano Patrice Munsel , a Spokane native. The largest crowds in its early years were for a Catholic Mass and stage shows by Lawrence Welk and Liberace , respectively. It

6080-601: Was broken on March 5, 1993, and it opened 2½ years later, in September 1995. The Spokane Arena has a capacity for: The arena has a state-of-the-art audio and video system. It consists of a 15-by-20-foot (4.6 by 6.1 m) Viacom Sports 12 mm LED display, which is capable of being used as two separate units. The video board has exceptional color reproduction and the best off-angle viewing available for any LED format. It can even be moved forward approximately 100 feet (30 m) and down to approximately 20 feet (6 m) off

6160-594: Was demolished that spring and summer. The space it occupied is directly north of the new arena, towards Boone Avenue, now a parking lot. This article about an ice hockey arena is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a sports venue in Washington state is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Gonzaga Bulldogs men%27s basketball The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University . The school competes in

6240-620: Was host to a number of teams, including the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The arena served as the home of the Gonzaga University basketball team , from its entry into NCAA University Division (now Division I ) competition in 1958 , until the opening of the on-campus John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion in 1965 , later the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre . The Bulldogs returned to

6320-456: Was the only team to beat #1 ranked Gonzaga during the 2016–17 regular season in which Gonzaga earned its first trip to the Final Four and National Championship game. BYU has played Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament Final in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2021 with Gonzaga winning all four of these matchups. Gonzaga leads the overall series 25–7, with the most recent meeting on February 11, 2023, in which Gonzaga won 88–81 in Spokane. BYU departed

6400-404: Was the reason why the West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament had never been in Spokane before 2006; the Class B and WCC tournaments clash every year, and Gonzaga's on-campus arena at that time, the 4,000-seat Charlotte Y. Martin Centre , was too small to host the WCC tournament. In 2004 , Gonzaga opened its new on-campus arena, the McCarthey Athletic Center , which enabled it to enter

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