The G. Rollie White Coliseum was an on-campus arena at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in College Station,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, in the

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 territori ...

. 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 Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

team, which played there since its inception in 1975 until 2009. Before the building of

Reed Arena Reed Arena is a sports arena and entertainment venue located at the corner of Olsen Boulevard and Kimbrough Boulevard in College Station, Texas. This facility is used for Texas A&M University basketball games and commencement ceremonies, concerts, ...

in 1998, G. Rollie White was also the home to the 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. Demolition of the Coliseum in August, 2013 made way for the redevelopment of

Kyle Field Kyle Field is the American football stadium located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, United States. It has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent con ...

. 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 Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

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 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 ...

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 John David Crow Sr. (July 8, 1935 – June 17, 2015) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 as a halfback for the Texas A&M Aggies. After college, he played professional f ...

, 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
{{Coord, 30.611323, -96.340023, type:landmark, display=title 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