Date posted: 2-21-02

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Closing Time

Saturday (Feb. 23) marks end of the line for Chick Evans Field House as NIU basketball venue

By Jacob Burnett.
DeKalb News Service

DEKALB -- Mike Korcek has his memories.

The director of Northern Illinois University's Sports Information Department remembers the night at the Chick Evans Field House when former Huskie forward Kenny Battle gave him an unexpected birthday present.

"Kenny came up to me before a game and heard that day was my birthday," Korcek remembers as he sits in his field house office. "He asked me what I wanted, and I said, jokingly, 'Let's try to break the dunk record.'"

Battle got six of the Huskies' 10 dunks in that game -- both records.

Memories.

Like many college arenas, Evans Field House has played many roles: venue, office, classroom, concert hall, practice facility and storage shed.

But after this season, the 45-year run of Chick Evans Field House as the home of NIU basketball will come to a close as the school's new Convocation Center nears completion.

Saturday's (Feb. 23) "The Last Hurrah" celebration (2:05 p.m. start time for the women's game, 7:05 for the men) will mark the final two regular-season games at Chick Evans, and will feature a halftime appearance by Huskie legends who have made their marks on the NIU basketball program, including George Bork, Matt Hicks, Allen Rayhorn and current NIU men's assistant coach Donald Whiteside.

Former men's basketball coaches Tom Jorgensen and John McDougal also will appear, along with four former Huskies who played the first varsity game at the field house back on Dec. 3, 1957.

Although Saturday's games will not be the field house's final intercollegiate competition-the women's gymnastics team will host Illinois-Chicago on March 10 - NIU expects a high turnout.

"We've pre-sold about 3,000 tickets so far," said ticket manager Eric Schultz. "If we get a big walk-up crowd, we may pack the building."

By all accounts, the Field House has been a good home to the Huskies. Going into Saturday's games, the NIU men's basketball team has an overall 368-165 record there. The NIU women have compiled a 197-107 record since their first season in 1979-1980.

HISTORY

Ground was broken on the then-Northern Field House on April 26, 1956, at the corner of Annie Glidden Road and Lucinda Ave. The building would replace Still Gym as the Huskies' home court.

The first game, a 79-58 win against Winona State, was played Dec. 3, 1957. During the early years of the field house, many athletes worked out on a floor that was a mixture of clay and dirt.

"I remember the players used to wipe the dirt off of themselves," Korcek said.

The building has gone through numerous renovations and seating capacities. In 1974, it was renamed to honor former athletic director and basketball coach George "Chick" Evans.

"The ironic thing," Korcek said, was that he was a better coach at football then he was at basketball."

Along with the hundreds of NIU athletes, the building has hosted some of the most recognizable names, teams and faces in sport and culture, from politicians to future NBA stars to thousands of NIU graduates.

Some of the most recognizable faces that have stepped onto the Field House floor include former Indiana coach Bob Knight, former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett, DePaul legend Ray Meyer and current Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton.

Opposing players who have taken the hardwood floor -- the current floor has been in use since 1967 -- include former DePaul standouts and NBA stars Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings; former Centenary center and Boston Celtic Robert Parrish; former Chicago Bull and Miami (Ohio) Red Hawk Ron Harper; current Washington Wizards coach Doug Collins; and many current NBA players including Bonzi Wells, Dan Majerle, Bryce Drew and Vitaly Potapenko.
Current WNBA Most Valuable Player and Los Angeles Spark Lisa Leslie and women's basketball legend Cheryl Miller played and coached, respectively, at Chick Evans when the University of Southern California visited.

The Harlem Globetrotters, who played their first game in nearby Hinckley, Ill. in 1927, and the Jesse White Tumblers also have performed at Evans.

The field house also has hosted some of the most recognizable names in popular music, including Steppenwolf, Hall and Oates, the Black Crowes, REM, Rage Against the Machine, Blues Traveler, the Wallflowers, Frank Zappa, Wyclef Jean, Nelly, Less than Jake, Counting Crows, De La Soul, Cheap Trick, Santana, REO Speedwagon, Bob Dylan, Cypress Hill and The Grateful Dead.

The building hosted job fairs and numerous graduations, one of which featured NIU graduate and current U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert as commencement speaker.

NIU also hosted a gymnastics exhibition between the Huskies and the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. While a large crowd filled Evans to watch the competition, Korcek came away with an interesting memory.

"We had a press conference in the Hall of Fame Room, and there were about 30 to 40 people jammed in there," he said. "What you have to understand, is that no one really understood each other, due to the different languages. All of a sudden, one of the Russian coaches said, 'Da, da, da, Huskie dog,' and people broke out laughing. It really broke the ice."

RENOVATIONS

Although the building no longer will host NIU games after this season, the field house, unlike many old arenas, will not face the wrecking ball. Instead, it will be used as a recreational facility.

"We expect to begin construction in the fall," said John Sweeney, director of the Office of Campus Recreation. "We have already hired an architect, and the plans are under consideration."
Sweeney says the $2.5 million field-house renovation plan will feature new multi-use courts, along with some special areas for indoor soccer and floor hockey.

"Some of the busiest team sports-basketball, volleyball - will have more room than we have now," he said. "We have limited field space (at the Recreation Center) right now."

However, Sweeney believes the building may still be used for public events.

"Right now, we're planning on keeping the north bleachers, which seat 2,500 to 3,000."

The B.L.D.D. Architects group will design the renovated field house.

While many are excited about the pending move to the 9,100-seat NIU Convocation Center on DeKalb's West Side, Korcek will leave the field house with many good memories.

"I've been here 33 years, 29 of them work, and I think my car can get here by itself," he said. I've pulled all-nighters in this building. I can navigate it in the dark. When I'm here at night, you can here the sounds; it's like a huge spaceship. I'll miss it."

Not all of it, though.

"I won't miss the phone lines and cords at press row that keep losing power."

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Sources:
Mike Korcek, SID (815) 753-1706
Eric Schultz, Ticket Manager, 753-9562
John Sweeny, OCR Director, 753-9419
Numerous media guides provided by NIU Sports Information.