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Since its opening in 1969, the Fieldhouse has seen the Broncs win 65.1 percent of their home games (263-141), including memorable triumphs over Oklahoma State, Wichita State, Baylor, Rice, Southern Mississippi and Washington State, as well as many home conference victories. The likes of Houston, Arizona, Illinois and DePaul have also visited in its 29-year history. The Broncs have posted a winning home record 22 times in 32 seasons in the building. In the mid-70’s the Broncs were nearly invincible in the building, posting a 48-2 record from 1975-78, including two undefeated seasons at home. Located on the far east end of the campus, the UTPA Fieldhouse is the among the oldest Division I arenas in Texas. The building has been the home for a pair of NCAA scoring champions: Marshall Rogers in 1975-76 and Greg Guy in 1992-93. While capacity is officially listed at 4,000, a record crowd of 5,649 jammed the Fieldhouse in 1981 to see the Broncs battle Pat Foster’s Lamar Cardinals.
The Broncs followed that up with nine more wins during the 2000-01 season, posting a record of 9-2. That mark was the best since the 1993-94 team went 12-2 at the facility. The nine wins tied for the second most wins in a single season during the last 10 years. While maintaining a sense of history and tradition, the UTPA Fieldhouse has undergone renovations. In the fall of 1994, a new floor was put down. A new electronic scoreboard and chairback seats for spectators were added, as well as new offices for the Bronc basketball coaching staff. The Fieldhouse is also home to the UTPA volleyball team, and is used extensively by the Department of Health and Kinesiology. UTPA Men’s Basketball at the UTPA Fieldhouse Year W L Pct. 1969-70 7 6 .538 1970-71 12 4 .750 1971-72 9 2 .818 1972-73 3 10 .231 1973-74 10 4 .714 1974-75 10 0 1.000 1975-76 11 1 .917 1976-77 11 1 .917 1977-78 15 0 1.000 1978-79 9 3 .750 1979-80 13 2 .867 1980-81 11 3 .786 1981-82 5 7 .417 1982-83 6 7 .462 1983-84 8 5 .615 1984-85 7 9 .463 1985-86 12 3 .800 1986-87 9 4 .692 1987-88 8 5 .615 1988-89 11 2 .846 1989-90 12 1 .923 1990-91 4 8 .333 1991-92 3 9 .250 1992-93 2 7 .222 1993-94 12 2 .857 1994-95 7 5 .583 1995-96 8 4 .667 1996-97 3 9 .240 1997-98 3 8 .273 1998-99 4 5 .444 1999-00 9 5 .643 2000-01 9 2 .818 TOTAL 263 141 .651 |
As
a result of the following that the UTPA Broncs and Lady Broncs
have developed in the Rio Grande Valley, the UTPA Fieldhouse
provides one of the best home court advantages in all of college basketball.
During
the 1999-2000 season the Broncs posted a 9-5 record, their best mark
since 1994 and drew an average of 2,933 fans, including a season high of
4,125 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on February 19th. The
attendance for that game was the highest since the Broncs drew 4,523 a
game against Southwestern Louisiana on January 14th, 1999.