The Bobby Tully Gymnasium (in full Lucy McDaniel Court at Robert Tully Gym) 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 ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

that serves as the home for the Lady Seminoles

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 and offices of the student recreation department. A million-dollar donation in the late 1990s paid for a renovation that included lighting and armchair seating (which reduced capacity by half). The locker rooms were renovated in 2011 and a Taraflex floor was installed in 2022.

History

Teams

The building was constructed and opened in 1956 as the venue for Men's basketball and gymnastics, followed by women's basketball. At the time, a gym with 4,200 bleacher-style seats was considered large. The women’s volleyball team began competing in 1973 and the gym was referred to as ''"Tiny Tully"''. When the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center opened in 1981, men'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 ...

moved there, followed by women's basketball in 1995.

Namesake

The gym was named for Robert Henry Tully. At 24, he was the first FSU varsity athlete to pass away. Bobby was a World War II veteran who played football, was an

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters an ...

brother and member of

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

and Gold Key societies. He graduated in 1952 and died in 1954 after a lingering illness. His brother Jim was a real estate agent who helped found Capital Regional Medical Center; older brother Jack was the 1947 captain of FSU's first football team. His mother Winnie was the first juvenile officer in Leon County from 1942-1971. Lucy McDaniel was the first woman to donate over $1 million to women’s athletics. FSU dedicated the Tully Gym floor to McDaniel in a November 2, 2000 ceremony. It is officially the ''Lucy McDaniel Volleyball Court at Tully Gymnasium''.

Other uses

The arena played host to numerous concerts including the

Rolling Thunder Revue The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–76 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with numerous musicians and collaborators. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan, who was a major recording artist and concert performer, to play ...

Tour on April 27, 1976, headed by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. It is home to the ''Seminole Dance Force''. The gym has also hosted a Big Shots Basketball Tournament, the Gym Force Gymnastics Championships, the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball tournament, Tallahassee Indoor Archery Shoot, and an AAU Gymnastics Qualifier competition.

References

External links