The Venue: Eblen Center OVC Enrollments and Arenas Members of the Ohio Valley Conference, listed by enrollment: Eastern Kentucky...............16,000 Eastern Illinois.....................12,040 Southeast Missouri............. 9,971 Tennessee Tech............. 10,850 Murray State........................10,022 Austin Peay............................ 9,401 Morehead State.................... 9,066 Tennessee State................... 9,024 Jacksonville State...............9,351 Tennessee-Martin................ 6,500 SIU Edwardsville.................XXXXX Arenas of the Ohio Valley Conference, listed by capacity: Gentry Center, TSU............10,500 Eblen Center, TTU..........10,152 Regional Center, MUR........ 8,500 Dunn Center, APSU............. 7,875 Show-Me Center, SEMO.... 7,000 McBrayer Center, EKU........ 6,500 Johnson Center, MORE...... 6,500 Mathews Arena, JSU........... 5,500 Lantz Gym, EIU..................... 5,300 Skyhawk Arena, UTM......... 5,000 Hanna Center, SAM................... 4,000
Eblen Center Facts
Name - The center is named for long-time Tech athletic administrator and coach Hooper Eblen. He served the university for 33 years, and was instrumental in planning the football stadium and basketball arena. Capacity - There are 10,152 seats in the arena with cushioned theater-type seating throughout the lower level. Largest Crowds - A crowd of 10,352 squeezed into Eblen Center for a first-round NIT game against Tennessee on March 14, 1985. There have been two other sellouts. Surface - The wooden floor was put in place in Eblen Center in 1989 and underwent a facelift in the summer of 2008 with the floor getting a new design to include the current Tech logo and new men’s three-point line. Events - Eblen Center also hosts women’s basketball and volleyball contests, concerts, lectures and all of Tech’s graduation ceremonies. Tech Record In Eblen Center - The Golden Eagles enter the 2007-08 season with a 284-111 record in Eblen Center, including going 90-9 since 2000 for an .894 winning percentage.
Largest Home Crowds By Month
November: 7,000 December: 4,737 January: 10,150 February: 10,150 March: 10,352
November 26, 1977, vs. Vanderbilt December 4, 1989, vs. Sam Houston January 22, 1988, vs. Austin Peay February 3, 1990, vs. Middle Tennessee March 14, 1985, vs. Tennessee
Attendance and Results in Eblen Center
Season........ G...... Record......... Attend........... Avg. . ...........OVC ......... Avg. 1977-78........13.............8-5..................48,800.............3,754.............30,500........... 4,357 1978-79........11.............9-2..................37,700.............3,382.............25,000........... 4,167 1979-80........15............5-10................34,900.............2,327.............19,750........... 3,292 1980-81........11.............5-6..................29,347.............2,668.............20,414........... 2,916 1981-82........14.............8-6..................43,552.............3,111.............31,829........... 3,979 1982-83........13............10-3................42,758.............3,289.............26,522........... 3,789 1983-84........12............11-1................48,049.............4,004.............36,038........... 5,148 1984-85........16............14-2................80,164.............5,010.............44,063........... 6,295 1985-86........12.............9-3..................54,023.............4,502.............36,727........... 5,247 1986-87........14.............7-7..................50,581.............3,613.............33,048........... 4,721 1987-88........13.............8-5..................50,572.............3,890.............33,897........... 5,650 1988-89........13.............7-6..................47,907.............3,685.............33,084........... 5,514 1989-90........12............10-2................58,639.............4,887.............39,813........... 6,635 1990-91........13.............9-4..................54,202.............4,169.............33,203........... 5,533 1991-92........13............11-2................49,432.............3,802.............31,992........... 4,570 1992-93........13............10-3................47,114.............3,624.............33,403........... 4,175 1993-94........10.............5-5..................34,163.............3,416.............29,186........... 3,648 1994-95........13.............8-5..................39,212.............3,016.............31,532........... 3,941 1995-96........12.............7-5..................41,572.............3,464.............30,572........... 3,821 1996-97........13.............9-4..................42,175.............3,244.............32,475........... 3,608 1997-98........13.............4-9..................28,833.............2,218.............22,550........... 2,255 1998-99........13.............9-4..................35,798.............2,754.............29,350........... 3,261 1999-00........14............11-3................47,251.............3,375.............34,306........... 3,811 2000-01........14............14-0................54,179.............3,869.............37,925........... 4,741 2001-02........14............14-0................50,834.............3,389.............35,000........... 4,375 2002-03........14............13-1................42,776.............3,055.............31,572........... 3,946 2003-04........15............11-4................46,579.............3,105.............33,897........... 4,237 2004-05........13............13-0................46,213.............3,555.............39,541........... 4,393 2005-06........15............12-3................45,509.............3,034.............35,676........... 3,568 2006-07........14............13-1................37,171.............2,655.............27,869........... 2,787 2007-08........13.............7-6..................24,331.............1,871.............20,731........... 2,073 2008-09........15.............8-7..................23,407.............1,560.............15,612........... 1,735 2009-10........14.............9-5..................22,368.............1,598.............17,692........... 1,966 Totals...... 437..... 309-129... 1,440,111......... 4,950...... 984,267........ 5,864
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Eblen Center Firsts
First Event - TTU Invitational Volleyball Tournament, Sept. 20, 1977. Teams in first matches were UT-Chattanooga vs. UT-Martin, and Middle Tennessee vs. Tennessee. First Basketball Game - Dedicated on November 26, 1977, with the Golden Eagles defeating Vanderbilt, 72-71. First Points - Five-footer by Vanderbilt’s Charles Davis at 19:38. First Tech Point - A free throw by Marc Burnett with 19:22 to play in the first half. He was one-for-two. First Tech Basket - A 15-footer by Butch Blalock at the 18:21 mark. First Sellout - Tech’s NIT contest with Tennessee on March 14, 1985, drew a crowd of 10,352.
Eblen Center Streaks
Longest Winning Streak - 33; began Dec. 2, 2000, with an 86-70 victory over Eastern Michigan. Tech’s winning streak ended in their loss, 72-70, on Jan. 4, 2003, to Morehead State. Longest OVC Winning Streak - 21; began Jan. 20, 1999, with an 88-70 victory over Tennessee State. The last victory in Tech’s current streak of seven games was on March 1, 2003, with an 97-84 decision over Eastern Illinois. Longest Losing Streak - 7; began Dec. 6, 1997, with 67-48 loss to Middle Tennessee. Ended Feb. 5, 1998, with 77-57 win over Southeast Missouri.
Top Crowds in Eblen Center
The Golden Eagles are 20-12 in home games before 6,000 or more fans. Attend........ Date........... W/L.........Results 10,352...........3-14-85............ L............. Tennessee 65, TECH 62 (NIT) 10,150...........2-3-90..............W............ TECH 79, Middle Tennessee 69 10,150...........1-22-88............ L............. Austin Peay 78, TECH 56 (ESPN) 9,170.............1-6-86.............. L............. Middle Tennessee 79, TECH 77 (OT) 8,686.............2-11-91............ L............. Middle Tennessee 93, TECH 88 8,565.............2-21-85............W............ TECH 74, Middle Tennessee 70 7,484.............2-16-91............ L............. Murray State 72, TECH 64 7,244.............1-20-90............W............ TECH 83, Austin Peay 81 7,211.............1-5-87.............. L............. Middle Tennessee 114, TECH 79 7,180.............1-7-84..............W............ TECH 70, Middle Tennessee 60 7,100.............1-22-90............ L............. Murray State 81, TECH 75 7,012.............2-16-02............W............ TECH 86, Austin Peay 84 / (ESPN) 2OT *7,000............2-9-95..............W............ TECH 78, Middle Tennessee 65 *7,000............11-26-77.........W............ TECH 72, Vanderbilt 71 *7,000............2-11-78............W............ TECH 65, Middle Tennessee 60 6,975.............2-8-97..............W............ TECH 77, Middle Tennessee 68 6,722.............1-16-89............ L............. Middle Tennessee 79, TECH 77 6,703.............2-26-00............ L............. Murray State University 64, TECH 63 6,659.............1-14-89............W............ TECH 73, Tennessee State 59 (ESPN) *6,648............2-15-01............W............ TECH 64, Austin Peay 62 6,582.............1-24-85............W............ TECH 58, Eastern Kentucky 57 *6,500............1-13-79............W............ TECH 83, Middle Tennessee 73 6,400.............1-23-93............ L............. Middle Tennessee 86, TECH 73 6,400.............1-28-89............W............ TECH 57, Eastern Kentucky 54 6,346.............1-20-92............W............ TECH 99, Middle Tennessee 90 (OT) 6,282.............2-9-85..............W............ TECH 53, Murray State 51 (2OT) 6,205.............1-15-00............W............ TECH 78, Middle Tennessee 66 *6,104............1-29-05............W............ TECH 71, Tennessee State 50 *6,103............1-25-01............W............ TECH 85, Murray State 80 6,080.............2-26-90............W............ TECH 88, Tennessee State 79 6,070.............1-11-96............ L............. Middle Tennessee 78, TECH 68 6,040.............3-03-88............ L............. Middle Tennessee 92, TECH 89 / 2OT * estimated crowds
TENNESSEE TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA GUIDE / 2010-11