The Nebraska Coliseum (sometimes referred to as the NU Coliseum or The Coliseum) is an indoor coliseum on the campus of the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. It was the home of Nebraska's men's basketball team from 1926 to 1976 and volleyball team from 1975 to 2013. Since volleyball moved to the

Bob Devaney Sports Center The Bob Devaney Sports Center (commonly referred to as the Devaney Center, formerly the NU Sports Complex) is a sports complex on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. The 7,909-seat arena opened in 1976 and serve ...

in 2013, the Coliseum has been primarily used for student recreation, and occasionally hosts

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

meets.

History

The possibility of constructing a new multi-use venue on campus at the University of Nebraska was proposed in 1924 by John Selleck of the school's Athletic Board. The building that would become the Coliseum, located just east of Memorial Stadium, was designed by Ellery Davis and Walter Wilson, who also designed Memorial Stadium,

Morrill Hall Morrill Hall may refer to (all are buildings named for Justin Smith Morrill): *Morrill Hall (Cornell University), the building at Cornell University *Morrill Hall, a campus building located at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign *Morri ...

, and Love Memorial Library. The first event at the arena was a 25–14 men's basketball loss to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

on February 6, 1926. NU's women's team did not play at the Coliseum until 1974, and both moved to the NU Sports Complex (later renamed the Bob Devaney Sports Center) when it was completed in 1976. The NSAA Boys and Girls State Basketball Championship was held in the Coliseum until it also moved to the Devaney Center, and later to

Pinnacle Bank Arena Pinnacle Bank Arena is a 15,500-seat indoor arena in the West Haymarket District of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was completed in 2013 and replaced the Bob Devaney Sports Center as the home of the University of Nebraska's men's and women's basketball ...

Volleyball

After the completion of the NU Sports Complex in 1976, the Coliseum primarily served as the home venue of Nebraska's volleyball team, undergoing numerous renovations to tailor the facility specifically to the needs of the program. NU compiled an all-time record of 511–36 at the 4,030-seat Nebraska Coliseum, losing just three home matches in thirty-three seasons of conference play. In 1991, the Cornhuskers played home games at the Devaney Center while the Coliseum was being renovated. NU has hosted at least one NCAA Tournament match every year since 1984, including a 52–4 postseason record at the Coliseum. Nebraska established an NCAA record with their eighty-eighth consecutive home win in 2009, a streak that ended at ninety when

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

defeated NU in front of an NCAA regular season-record crowd of 13,870. In 2008, the AVCA's Kathy DeBoer described the Coliseum as "the epicenter of volleyball fandom". The Coliseum was one of few collegiate arenas designed specifically for volleyball. It was noted for its classical architecture and intimate atmosphere. At the Coliseum, the Cornhuskers began a streak of 285 consecutive sellouts that continues at the Devaney Center, an NCAA record for any women's sport. The arena was the subject of a

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

documentary in 2011.

Vacancy

The Coliseum is no longer the primary home venue for any of NU's athletic programs, though it is used as an extra practice facility and as office space by Nebraska's gymnastics teams. It is attached to Cook Pavilion and is used as part of the university's City Campus recreation center.

Other events

The Coliseum hosted various non-sporting events early in its history, including an

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

concert in 1956, an address by then-

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

in 1960, and a speech by United States Senator

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

during his 1968 presidential campaign, just two months before his assassination.

References

{{coord, 40.821490, -96.702375, type:landmark, display=title Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball venues College volleyball venues in the United States Sports in Lincoln, Nebraska Sports venues in Nebraska Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln Tourist attractions in Lincoln, Nebraska