Ken Bahnsen Gym, formerly known as the Men's Gymnasium, is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

on the campus of the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...

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. The Men's Gymnasium was home court for the

North Texas Mean Green men's basketball The North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team represents the University of North Texas (UNT) in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, competing as a member of the American Athletic Conf ...

team since the arena opened in 1950 until moving to the Super Pit in 1973.

"The Snake Pit"

The intimate 5,000-seat arena, with its low-hanging ceiling and bleachers right up against the playing surface, was known throughout college basketball as one of the toughest places for opposing teams to visit throughout the 1950s and 1960s, especially during

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

games. The first row of seats were located just two feet from the out-of-bounds and baselines, leaving very little room between fans and the action. While formally known as the Men's Gymnasium for most of its time as the home of the Mean Green, former

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

head coach Maury John, fed up with the raucous crowd noise following a loss at the Bahnsen Gym, inadvertently gave the facility its nickname in the postgame press conference: “This is the worst damn place in the world to play basketball. It's like trying to play in a snake pit.” The name stuck, and when the new 10,000-seat arena opened across the street in 1973, university officials gave the larger venue the Super Pit name in honor of the Snake Pit.

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Arena information

Indoor arenas in Texas Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Sports venues in Texas College basketball venues in Texas North Texas Mean Green basketball North Texas Mean Green sports venues 1950 establishments in Texas Sports venues completed in 1950 {{Texas-sports-venue-stub