Playing Facility History

The first games in Georgia basketball history took place in the old YMCA building, located at the corner of Lumpkin and Clayton streets.

Since the inaugural season of 1905-06, Georgia basketball has called six different buildings home. These facilities have held a wide range of usefulness and pertinence to basketball. There’s little doubt, however, that the Bulldogs’ current home of Stegeman Coliseum is the best, most accommodating home they’ve ever had.

During the 1906-12 seasons, Georgia games were played in the old Athens YMCA building located at the corner of Lumpkin and Clayton Streets, currently the site of the Georgia Theater. The seating capacity for spectators was about 200, but it didn’t seem to matter in those days. The earliest Bulldogs played their games in relative anonymity. Very rarely did the attendance reach full capacity at the YMCA building.

The building that is now called Memorial Hall on campus was the second gymnasium used by the Bulldog cagers. Construction on this facility began in 1910 and was to be built by the Alumni and the YMCA in a joint effort. The Alumni Association, however, eventually assumed full responsibility for the funds for its construction. Only in a partial state of completion, the team began to use the auditorium of “Alumni Hall,” as it was called then, for its home games. Spectators viewed the games from a balcony which ran around the playing court, and the baskets were affixed to this balcony. In fact, the balcony became quite the advantage for Bulldog hoopsters, who had to tailor the arc of their shots to avoid hitting it.

Alumni Hall was used until about 1920, when the team moved to another on-campus location known as “The Octagon.” It was located about where the current Main Library parking lot is, between the library and Jackson Street. Built in 1916 for $3,600 and for the purpose of accommodating summer-school functions, the Octagon was made of wood and sat approximately 1,400 people. The main problem for basketball was the lack of a heating system in this 8-sided building. There was also a four-foot opening around the wall up to the roof, with the roof overhanging to prevent rain from blowing in. The Octagon was used sparingly because of the absence of heat and also because of the ever-growing crowds.

Moss Auditorium, formerly the third floor of what became the Gallant-Belk store, was used for most of the games from 1920 until Woodruff Hall was completed. Crowds of up to 1,500 were estimated to have attended some of the home games.

Around this time, however, Coach Herman J. Stegeman was building quite a program. It became necessary for the basketball team to enjoy its own facility to accommodate the large crowds. Just before the completion of Woodruff Hall in 1925, the Bulldogs moved back into Alumni Hall, the construction of which had finally resumed after a fund-raising drive.

Excavation began on November 20, 1924 for the construction of Woodruff Hall, the building that was named for George and Harry Woodruff of Columbus, Ga. This facility was built in a central on-campus location, where the Journalism/ Psychology building now stands, and had a seating capacity of 3,500. There was space enough for three basketball courts, with the main court measuring not quite the required length of 94 feet. Built at an estimated cost of $53,000, Woodruff Hall was officially dedicated by Dr. S.V. Sanford on Feb. 21, 1925 in a game where Georgia defeated Georgia Tech 34-24.

Woodruff Hall served as the Bulldogs’ home for nearly 40 years. By the end of that stretch, however, many believed it had become the bane of the program.

Harbin “Red” Lawson was Georgia’s coach for the last 13 years in Woodruff Hall. Publicly, he joked that it was the only basketball facility where wind direction and velocity affected his strategy. Other coaches, led by Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp, despised playing games there. So dimly lit was Woodruff Hall that Auburn coach Joel Eaves turned out half the lights in his own gym, just to prepare for the Georgia game.

Eventually, Eaves became Athletic Director at Georgia. Two years into his tenure, in 1964, the Bulldogs dedicated their current home as the Georgia Coliseum. In 1996, it was given its current name of Stegeman Coliseum in honor of the man that first lifted the Georgia basketball program into prominence.

Over its 50 years, Stegeman Coliseum has hosted its share of memories, and also extracurricular functions. Operated in a co-op agreement with the University’s agricultural college, the Bulldogs once shared the building with various rodeos and other livestock shows. And in 1996, the world’s sporting attention turned to Athens, where Stegeman played host to volleyball and rhythmic gymnastics competitions at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

GEORGIA BASKETBALL HOME COURTS

Facility

Athens YMCA

Years Spanned

1905-11

Alumni Hall “The Octagon” Moss Auditorium 1911-19 1920 1920-25

Woodruff Hall

1925-64 Georgia Coliseum 1964-96 Stegeman Coliseum 1996-Present

Zippy Morocco, Georgia’s first All-American in 1953, played three years in the spartan conditions of Woodruff Hall, home of the Bulldogs from 1925 until 1964.