Tudor Fieldhouse is 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 spectator ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. Previously known as Rice Gymnasium, it was renamed in honor of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

alum Bobby Tudor, who spearheaded the renovation of the facility with a multimillion-dollar donation. The court is designated "Autry Court" in memory of Mrs. James L. Autry. Her husband James Lockhart Autry was a descendant of

Micajah Autry Micajah Autry (1793March 6, 1836) was an American merchant, poet and lawyer who died in the Texas Revolution at the Battle of the Alamo. From Natchitoches, Louisiana, on December 13 he wrote: "About 20 men from Tennessee formed our squad.... e ...

, who was a hero of the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

. Her daughter, Mrs. Edward W. Kelley, made a generous donation to the gymnasium building fund in honor of her late mother, an ardent supporter of Rice. The arena opened in 1950. It is home to the

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanct ...

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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

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

History

The facility was constructed in 1950 for the Rice basketball, volleyball and swim teams. An air conditioning system was added in 1991. Other renovations include a new ceiling, new lighting, and a new scoreboard. The facility currently seats 5,000 people. Autry Court is also home of the notorious Autry Army, a group of students who attend every basketball game and heckle opponents. They have recently been referred to as the "Blue Army of Death" by former

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

men's head basketball coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College ...

. The blue curtain on one side of the court is called a "distraction" by many colleges. At the end of the game, young fans are invited onto the court to shoot a free throw. If they make it, they win a basketball. On February 7, 2007, a $23 million renovation of Autry Court was announced by

. The renovations are to be completed in time for the 2008-09 basketball season. In the interim, Rice played its home games at Merrell Center in Katy (5 games),

Reliant Arena The NRG Arena (formerly the Astroarena and Reliant Arena), is a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) sports center in NRG Park, in Houston, Texas, USA. Building format The main partition on the first floor is the "Arena Proper", a 24,000 gross squa ...

(8 games) and

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Hous ...

(1 game) in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. On July 29, 2008, Rice unveiled the new name of the arena, Tudor Fieldhouse, within a press release outlining non-conference opponents for the upcoming basketball season.

References

External links

Facility details
College basketball venues in the United States College volleyball venues in the United States Basketball venues in Houston Indoor arenas in Texas Volleyball venues in Houston Rice Owls basketball College swimming venues in the United States Swimming venues in Texas Sports venues completed in 1950 1950 establishments in Texas {{Houston-stub

History

See also

References

External links