The Hawkins Arena is the basketball arena on the campus of

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The arena is located in the University Center, a large multi-purpose facility centrally located on the university campus.

History

The University Center opened in 2004. The $40 million, center, houses Mercer's athletics department, a 3,500-seat basketball

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

, an indoor pool, work-out facilities,

intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

basketball courts, offices, a food court, and numerous meeting facilities. Mercer's

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

fields are located adjacent to the center along with the university's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

complex and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

complex

Moye Complex The Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex (also known as Moye Complex, the stadium itself is officially named Five Star Stadium) is a 10,200 seat football and lacrosse stadium on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, ...

. The University Center replaced Porter Gym, which stood on the Mercer campus from 1937 to 2004; Porter Gym was located on the central quadrangle and was razed when the University Center opened. The center is also located on the central quadrangle on the site of the university's original fraternity row, which was razed after a new Greek Village opened. In 2007, a 101-room

Hilton Garden Inn Hilton Garden Inn is an American chain of mid-priced, limited or focused service hotels owned by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, it has 862 properties with 126,086 rooms in 49 countries and territories, including 81 that are manage ...

opened on university-owned land adjacent to the University Center. Parking lots are available for visitors-spectators arriving via the Mercer University Drive exit off

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

. The University Center arena was renamed Hawkins Arena in 2012 to honor J. B. Hawkins, former high school athletic director and basketball coach in

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

Athletics

Mercer is an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I member competing in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

; the university's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

teams play in Hawkins Arena. The men's team won the first game played at the center, a 73-55 victory over

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

, on January 27, 2004. The women's team won the first game it played in the center, a 43-40 victory over

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

, on January 30, 2004. In 2010, for the first time in university history, Mercer hosted the men's and women's Atlantic Sun Conference basketball tournaments. The men's team advanced to the championship game losing 72-66 to

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

. Mercer hosted the 2011-13 tournaments as well. In 2013, the men's team was undefeated at Hawkins Arena and won the regular season

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisi ...

championship. The team advanced to the Hawkins Arena conference tournament championship game losing to

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

; FGCU advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the

Tournament.

Other uses

Aside from athletics events, Hawkins Arena hosts commencement, university press conferences, concerts, and other special events. The

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

meeting room, named for Mercer alumnus

Griffin Bell Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fift ...

, and the president's dining room are also in the University Center.

References

External links

Official Website of the University CenterFacilities - Mercer University Athletics
{{Southern Conference basketball venue navbox College basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Georgia (U.S. state) Indoor arenas in Georgia (U.S. state) Mercer Bears basketball Buildings and structures in Macon, Georgia

History

Athletics

Other uses

See also

References

External links