The Kolf Sports Center is a 5,800-seat multi-purpose

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 ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UW Osh) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to nearly 14,000 students e ...

in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was named for Robert Kolf, the university's head track coach from 1931 to 1959.

History

Kolf Sports center was considered to be a state-of-the-art facility when it was built in 1971. It contains a one eighth of a mile all-weather indoor track on the second floor. The track hosted the 1994, 1997 and 2001 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship meets.

Uses

Athletics

The UW-Oshkosh Titans track and field teams practice in the indoor track. The track hosts the annual Oshkosh High School Invitational, which is attended by a large number of Wisconsin high school track teams. The basketball court is the home of the

Titans men's and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

teams. The university also uses the facility for wrestling and gymnastics.Page on UW–Oshkosh website
/ref> The university holds physical education classes at Kolf. The offices of the physical education department, the university's athletic director, athletic coaches, and the Military Science Department are located at Kolf.

Professional wrestling

Numerous professional wrestling

house shows A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

have been held at the Kolf Center. Apart from a television taping in 1986, the American Wrestling Association held house shows there between 1986 and 1988. WWE/WWF held house shows between 1992 and 2009.

Commencement

Kolf is used for the spring commencement ceremony for

Fox Valley Technical College Fox Valley Technical College (Fox Valley Tech or FVTC) is a Public college, public community college, technical college in Grand Chute, Wisconsin. It is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College System and serves people in the Appleton, Wiscon ...

Concert venue

Kolf has been used for concerts since the early 1970s. Artists such as

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included '' Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), '' Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and ...

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sou ...

, Everclear,

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: '' The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop C ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, Lifehouse, Simple Plan,

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single "Fly". The ...

and comedian Dave Chappelle have performed there.

Political rallies

On February 15, 2008, Democratic presidential candidate

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

made a campaign speech at Kolf.

References

College basketball venues in the United States Basketball venues in Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh {{Wisconsin-sports-venue-stub