McAlister Field House

Administrative Offices | Men's Basketball Areas | Baseball Locker Room

McAlister Field House is a 5,439 seat multi-purpose facility located in the northwest corner of campus that opened in 1939 and serves as the home of Citadel basketball, volleyball and wrestling.

The facility also houses the athletic department’s administrative offices, meeting and conference rooms, locker room facilities for basketball, baseball and visiting teams, and a third floor which overlooks the playing floor and is used extensively for pregame and postgame receptions.

The Citadel Athletic Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the building.

Originally called The Citadel Armory, it was later renamed for Colonel David S. McAlister, USA, Ret., The Citadel Class of 1924, on March 16, 1973. Col McAlister served The Citadel for 48 years in a variety of capacities. He was an outstanding track and baseball athlete, served as faculty representative to the Southern Conference and was the executive secretary-treasurer of the league. In addition to the arena, the conference sportsmanship award is named in McAlister’s honor. He was inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980.

The arena was renovated in 1989, expanding the seating capacity from 4,500 to 5,439.

The field house has hosted three sellout crowds in basketball. The first sellout came in 1991 when the Bulldogs played host to No. 12 Duke on Jan. 16, 1991. The Citadel would also sell out the arena for games against South Carolina (Feb. 20, 1997) and College of Charleston (Feb. 6, 1999).

In addition to serving as the home for Citadel athletic events, the facility has hosted concerts and outside events, as well as college and high school commencements.

McAlister Field House served as the host site for the 1998 All-Academy Wrestling Championships, as well as the first and second rounds of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament for several years.

The facility has hosted such entertainment acts as Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic, Bob Hope, Kenny Rogers and Patti LaBelle. Events that have utilized the multi-purpose building include WCW Wrestling, Charleston Cup Gymnastics Championships, Special Olympics, Moja Arts Festival and Rotary/Red Cross Roundball High School Basketball Classic.

On July 23, 2007, McAlister Field House was the venue for the Democratic Party’s edition of the CNN-YouTube presidential debates. Vice President Mike Pence addressed the Corps of Cadets inside the arena on Feb. 14, 2020.

Most recently, the field house served as the location for the 2018 NCAA Rifle Championships March 8-10, 2018. The event saw the top eight rifle teams in the nation, as well as qualifying individuals, compete in air rifle and smallbore with Kentucky taking home the national championship trophy. The field included gold-medal winner and Olympian Ginny Thrasher of West Virginia.

In the summer of 2012, the basketball locker rooms underwent an extensive upgrade, including raising the ceilings and removal of walls to provide more space. Other amenities were a plasma television, Smartboard interactive technology for pregame and in-game film review and a new equipment room.

A new scoreboard with video capabilities was unveiled for the 2014-15 season to enhance the fan experience and increase sponsorship opportunities during home events.

Prior to the 2016-17 season, the playing surface was completely sanded down and updated with new graphics and fresh paint, including a silhouette of the campus and the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, which connects downtown Charleston to Mt. Pleasant. The surface was slightly altered prior to the 2019-20 season to accommodate the change in rules for NCAA basketball that saw the 3-point arc moved back to international range.

In recent years, the facility has undergone enhancements as a new graphics have been installed in the lobby entrance, as well as the administrative offices on the second floor.

The baseball offices were renovated in the summer of 2019. The renovations include new flooring, lobby and meeting area and wall designs. The locker room was also updated to include a new equipment room.

New chairback seating was installed in the summer of 2020.

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McAlister Field House

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