The Curry Hicks Physical Education Building, better known as the Curry Hicks Cage, is an athletic facility on the campus of the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

in Amherst. It was built in 1931 as the Physical Education Building by alumnus Clinton Goodwin. It was rededicated in 1941 and named in honor of

Curry Hicks Curry Starr Hicks (January 17, 1885 – February 28, 1964) was an American football coach, athletic director, and professor of physical education. Early years Hicks was born in January 1885 at Enfield, New York. At the time of the 1900 U.S. Censu ...

, who had been the athletic director at the school since 1911. With a capacity of 4,000, the venue served as the site of indoor athletic contests including men's basketball from its opening until January 1993 when it was replaced by the more modern and much larger

Mullins Center The William D. Mullins Memorial Center, also known as the Mullins Center, is a 9,493-seat multi-purpose arena (10,500 for 360 concerts), located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Mullins Center is th ...

. While the basketball team played at the Cage, it was known as one of the loudest buildings in the Northeast. It was the site of the 1992 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament championship game, when UMass defeated

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, 97-91. One of the most memorable events in The Cage's history may be the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

/UMass men's basketball game on February 16, 1992. UMass had never beaten Temple in 21 attempts, but the rivalry had intensified greatly in recent contests. Much of the crowd stormed the court after the final buzzer, as UMass won 67-52. During its final years as the Minutemen's basketball home, home games came to be marketed as "Rage in the Cage". Perhaps appropriately, the final Minutemen home game before the opening of the Mullins Center was against Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana)—the "Ragin' Cajuns". However, the Minutemen would play a one-off home game in the Cage in 2010 against Holy Cross. The building is still very much in use today, containing a pool, an indoor track, offices, and the occasional symphony performance. The building's name is memorialized b
Curry Hicks Sage
a popular twitter account devoted to chronicling

UMass Minutemen basketball The UMass Minutemen basketball team represents the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts, in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. They play their home games in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. The Minutemen cur ...

References

1931 establishments in Massachusetts Basketball venues in Massachusetts Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Massachusetts UMass Minutemen and Minutewomen basketball Sports venues completed in 1931 University and college buildings completed in 1931 University of Massachusetts Amherst buildings {{Massachusetts-sports-venue-stub