Reese Court is a 6,000-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 ...

Cheney, Washington Cheney ( ) is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full-time resident population was 13,255 as of 2020 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. When classes are in session at EWU, the city's population rea ...

, on the campus of

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

. It is home to the EWU Eagles

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 ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

and replaced Eastern Washington Fieldhouse in 1975. It was the host venue of the 2004

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

men's basketball tournament, and is located southwest of the football stadium,

Roos Field Roos Field is an outdoor college football stadium in the Northwest United States, northwest United States, on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, southwest of Spokane, Washington, Spokane. It is the home venue of the ...

Naming

The gem of the Sports and Recreation Center, the Special Events Pavilion opened in 1975 for spring quarter commencement on June 6. The basketball court was named in September 1980 for legendary coach William B. "Red" Reese (1899–1974) and is now referred to as Reese Court. Coach Reese amassed an impressive 473 victories against 298 defeats during his 31 years as head coach of three sports:

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 ...

, basketball, and track.

William Reese

Known for his fierce competitiveness, Reese led the Savages from 1930 to 1964. During World War II, he served as physical fitness officer and football coach for the Second Air Force. Located just off the main court is a conference room named in Reese's honor that has many interesting mementos of his era as head coach. Reese was a 1920 graduate of Pullman High School and played basketball for the

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at Washington State College (now WSU), and graduated in 1925.

Uses

Reese Court has been home to the Eagle basketball and volleyball teams since the 1975–76 season. Other regularly scheduled events in the facility include:

Graduation

Graduation ceremonies for graduate students are held at Reese Court annually. Before 2004, the non-undergraduate graduation ceremony for EWU was held at the Spokane Arena in Spokane.

References

External links