Tudor Fieldhouse is a 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 ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

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, who was at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

. 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 The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

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 (appro ...

, 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 Summ ...

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 in ...

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 (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

men's head basketball coach John Calipari. 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 (8 games) and Toyota Center (1 game) in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. 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
{{Conference USA basketball venue navbox College basketball venues in Texas College volleyball venues in the United States Basketball venues in Houston Rice Owls sports venues 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

History

See also

References

External links