G. Rollie White Coliseum

The G. Rollie White Coliseum was an on-campus arena at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, in the United States. Often referred to as the "Jollie Rollie" or "The Holler House on the Brazos", the arena was the home of Texas A&M's Aggie volleyball team, which played there since its inception in 1975 until 2009. Before the building of Reed Arena in 1998, G. Rollie White was also the home to the men's and women's basketball teams. Demolition of the Coliseum in August, 2013 made way for the redevelopment of Kyle Field.

The building was built in 1954, and was located directly to the northeast of Kyle Field. The U-shaped building seated 7,800 in the main grandstand on three sides, with a small auxiliary bleacher section on the flat end of the building. The sandstone exterior was originally visible outside the northern corner of the field.

The renovation of the Memorial Student Center (MSC), directly to the north of where the coliseum stood, required the relocation of the campus bookstore, which occupied the arena floor at G. Rollie from the summer of 2009 until April 2012 when the MSC reopened. G. Rollie White hosted the NCAA volleyball tournament ten times.

In November 2012, the request for proposal to renovate Kyle Field called for the demolition of G. Rollie White.Texas State
Began in August 2013, the demolition resulted in the removal of nine dual basketball-volleyball courts, fourteen racquetball-handball courts, four activity rooms, several classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices, although some of these were from the adjacent Read Building, which was also razed.

John David Crow, former Aggie football player and athletic director, regarded the demise of G. Rollie White as a farewell to an old friend: "I hate to see anything demolished." Crow was present when G. Rollie White opened to replace DeWare Field House.

References

External links

Texas A&M University article about the history of the coliseum

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Texas A&M Aggies sports venues
Indoor arenas in Texas
College volleyball venues in the United States
Texas A&M Aggies basketball
Basketball venues in Texas
Defunct college basketball venues in the United States
Sports venues in College Station, Texas
Volleyball venues in Texas
Sports venues completed in 1954
Event venues established in 1954
Sports venues demolished in 2013
Demolished sports venues in Texas
1954 establishments in Texas
2013 disestablishments in Texas