If, as expected, the 2003-04 basketball season was the last to be played in Memorial Fieldhouse, then both the Dutchwomen and Dutchmen did their part to give the 48-year-old building a royal send off.
Constructed in 1955 as a tribute to America's war veterans, Memorial Fieldhouse's dirt floor was covered in the early 1970s with the current Tartan surface, allowing the men's basketball team (the College's first women's varsity teams began play in 1975) to move from Alumni Gym.
(The original field house was built by McManus, Longe, Brockwehl Inc., a construction company founded and managed by three 1942 alumni, John J. McManus, Frederick J. Longe and Donald R. Brockwehl. The successor company, MLB Industries, is doing projects for the College.)
If construction goes as planned, the 2004-05 season will open the era of the two-story, $3.5-million Viniar Pavilion. Memorial Fieldhouse will continue to provide shelter for the indoor track teams and the spring teams, which begin their preseason practices in February.
“There are a lot of great memories in this building,” said Bill Scanlon, whose 300 victories are the most in the men's basketball program's history. “There were a lot of great games, a lot of great teams, and most importantly, a lot of great individuals who played in Memorial Fieldhouse over the last 30 or so years.”
Union basketball fans have indeed experienced a great many thrills in Memorial Fieldhouse. However, never in the long, proud, and successful history of Union College basketball have fans been treated to a combined single-season record of 44-11. The recently concluded campaign marked the first time that both the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament and the ECAC Upstate New York Tournament games were played in Memorial Fieldhouse in the same year.
The Dutchwomen enjoyed the best season in their 29-year history by posting an overall record of 24-4. Along the way, Union won its first-ever Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's regular-season and tournament championships, and qualified for its first-ever NCAA tournament. On March 3, the Dutchwomen hosted Mount Saint Mary in the first women's national tournament game ever played in Memorial Fieldhouse, beating the Knights 78-47.
“It was nice to have won the last game we played here,” said women's head coach Mary Ellen Burt. “Since Union is my first head coaching job, this building holds some good memories for me.”
Included in those memories is a string of five-straight .500 or above seasons that produced a record of 92-42. The last two years witnessed the Dutchwomen compile a standard of 46-9 with trips to the ECAC Upstate New York tournament and the NCAA event.
The men's program hosted several postseason tournament games in Memorial Fieldhouse, including the program's only NCAA tournament contest. On February 28, 2002, the Dutchmen defeated Lasell, 75-73. The 1981-82 Dutchmen were the first to reach the national event, but they played at SUNY Potsdam and lost their opening game before winning the Eastern Regional's consolation game (which is no longer played).
Union enjoyed a 20-7 season during the recently concluded campaign and was the top seed for the ECAC Upstate New York event. This year's winning record marked the third time in the program's history that the Dutchmen enjoyed at least six consecutive winning seasons. However, this is the first time in the program's history that one coach has been at the helm throughout the string of successes.
O. Kuolt, F.T. Dawson and Kuolt combined for nine consecutive winning campaigns between 1910-11 and 1918-19 while Gary Walters and Scanlon teamed up to produce six straight winning years between 1970-71 and 1975-76.
Bob Montana, who just completed his eighth year at the helm, has guided his last six teams to winning records, including the 21-8 campaign in which the Dutchmen earned the program's second NCAA berth in 2001-02 (Scanlon's team of 1982-83, which finished at 21-5, earned Union's first NCAA invitation).
Montana compiled a career record of 121-94 since taking over prior to the 1996-97 campaign. He recalled two outstanding games among the many he participated in at Memorial Fieldhouse.
“My second game was my first year with Bill [Scanlon, his assistant]. It was great winning the Capital District tournament against Albany State in triple overtime. It was a great win for us; I remember the Albany State pep band playing our Fieldhouse, which I thought was strange. That win seemed to give our kids confidence and they went on to our first NCAA bid.
“The other game that comes to mind,” Montana continued, “was when we hosted our first NCAA game [and the program's second] on February 28, 2002. Seeing Memorial Fieldhouse packed, and to see our players get our first NCAA win against Lasell – it was a great reward for the kids to play in that environment and have that crowd support them.”
While the list of Memorial Fieldhouse memories is long, Scanlon, Montana and Burt all agree that they are looking forward to moving into the Viniar Pavilion.
“We've had some great players pass through this building,” said Scanlon. “The Tartan surface and the atmosphere of the Fieldhouse certainly gave us a true home court advantage. But it is time to move on. Union is one of the last schools to play on a court other than wood.”
“I am very appreciative of Dave Viniar for his generosity and continued support of the men's basketball program and his major gift of the Viniar Pavilion,” said Montana. “I know the kids are impressed with the gift of the Viniar family and are excited to be able to play on a wood surface next year.”
“I'm excited about moving into the Viniar Pavilion next year,” said Burt. “Not only will it be a great place to play, it will be an outstanding recruiting tool for our program and for the college as a whole.”
The memories of Memorial Fieldhouse and the anticipation of the future of Union basketball in the Viniar Pavilion were best summed up by Montana who said,
“I feel that the new facility is a very exciting addition for both the men's and women's basketball programs. However, as I think back to my memories of Memorial Fieldhouse it always comes back to the people who made it special. Our new facility will be the same; it will be the people who make the facility special.”