Huff Hall is a 4,050-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 ...
in
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...
, United States. The arena opened in 1925 and was known as Huff Gymnasium until the 1990s. It is named after
George Huff, who was the school's athletic director from 1895 to 1935.
Huff Hall is home to the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports.
The university operates a number of athletic fac ...
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 ...
and
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
teams. Prior to the opening of
Assembly Hall
An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...
in 1963, it was home to the
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 ...
team as well.
Currently Huff Hall is used for a variety of sporting events, including men's and women's gymnastics, men's wrestling, and women's volleyball. At each athletic event banners are hung of past Illini heroes to remind the crowd of the rich tradition that Illini athletics have had.
Every March from 1926 to 1962, Huff Gymnasium played host to the state finals of the
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...
boys' basketball tournament.
Huff Hall also served as the home of the women's basketball team. Beginning in the 1970s and continuing through the mid-1990s, the team once again used Huff Hall for home games, as it struggled to fill up the Assembly Hall. Since 1997 the team has used the Assembly Hall exclusively, although it struggles with a losing record and to fill up the Assembly Hall.
From 1927 to 2002 Huff Hall was also home to a 25-yard swimming pool which served as the home of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Underwater Hockey
Underwater hockey (UWH), also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom, is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling ...
club and the University of Illinois Water Polo Club. The pool had a consistent depth of 8 ft. which made it ideal for these activities.

In addition to hosting athletic events, Huff Hall is also the home of the College of Applied Health Sciences.
History
Originally called the "New Gymnasium", Huff Hall was designed in the
Georgian-Revival Style by
Charles A. Platt and university architect
James M. White. The building's architecture matches that of the Armory, Main Library, the Union, and other campus buildings. At the conclusion of its $772,000 construction in 1925, Huff Hall replaced the Military Drill Hall (now known as
Kenney Gym Annex) as the home for Fighting Illini basketball. The "New Gymnasium" was renamed Huff Gymnasium in 1937 following the longtime athletic director's passing.
Men's basketball records at Huff Hall
Notes:
*
* incomplete or partial records.
*
** played 9 games at Huff Hall but finished season at
Assembly Hall
An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...
.
* N/R ''No Records''
References
{{coord, 40.103540, -88.232811, display=t, type:landmark
Defunct college basketball venues in the United States
College gymnastics venues in the United States
College volleyball venues in the United States
College wrestling venues in the United States
Gymnastics venues in Illinois
College basketball venues in Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini basketball
Illinois Fighting Illini sports venues
Illinois Fighting Illini men's gymnastics
Illinois Fighting Illini women's gymnastics
Women's volleyball
Illinois Fighting Illini wrestling
Swimming venues in Illinois
Volleyball venues in Illinois
Wrestling venues in Illinois
Sports venues in Champaign–Urbana, Illinois
Tourist attractions in Champaign County, Illinois
Buildings and structures of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
1925 establishments in Illinois
Sports venues completed in 1925