Irving Gymnasium

Former athletics facility in Muncie, Indiana, U.S.

40°12′19″N 85°24′21″W / 40.20528°N 85.40583°W / 40.20528; -85.40583Named forIrving Family (Irving Brothers Sand and Gravel)Completed1962Demolished2009Design and constructionArchitect(s)Walter Scholar & Associates
Lafayette, IndianaOther informationSeating capacity4,200

Irving Gymnasium was an indoor athletics facility on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, USA. Opened in 1962 with a capacity of 6,600 spectators, it hosted primarily Ball State Cardinals basketball and volleyball games until Worthen Arena opened in 1992. It hosted the 1972 and 1976 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship games.

In 2008, Irving Gymnasium closed to undergo renovations for the new Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The Student Recreation and Wellness Center has since opened and offers 5 basketball courts, an indoor turf building for indoor football and soccer, a rock climbing wall, an expanded weight lifting and cardio equipment space, an 1/8 suspended walking/jogging track, a Quiznos and space devoted to yoga and martial arts. ^[1]

Notable appearances

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy spoke in Irving Gymnasium on April 4, 1968, to a crowd of 12,000 people, almost three times the seating capacity. The university had only 7,000 seats to offer, which left 5,000 students to stand during Kennedy's half-hour speech. A little over an hour after his speech, on the way to another campaign stop in Indianapolis, Kennedy learned of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.^[2]

President Barack Obama made a stop in Irving Gymnasium on April 12, 2008, on his campaign trail, 40 years and one week after Kennedy's 1968 speech there.^[3]

References

^ Student Recreation and Wellness Facility(Ball State University Website), Retrieved December 15, 2008.
^ "Robert Kennedy remembered?". Ball State Daily. April 4, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
^ Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama plans weekend campaign stop on campus (Ball State University Website), Retrieved December 15, 2008.

External links

Facility information

Ball State University

Located in: Muncie, Indiana

Academics

Other: Burris Laboratory School
Center for Business and Economic Research
Center for Energy Research/Education/Service
Center for Middletown Studies
Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities

Athletics

Campus

History
Beneficence
Bracken House
Bracken Library
Christy Woods
Emens Auditorium
Frog Baby
LaFollette Complex
Observatory
Owsley Museum of Art
Shafer Tower
Wheeler-Thanhauser Orchid Collection and Species Bank

Student life

People

Founded: 1918
Students: 21,597
Endowment: $212.8 million

v t e Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
Venues	Ball Gymnasium (1925–1963) Irving Gymnasium (1963–1992) Worthen Arena (1992–present)
Culture & lore	Charlie Cardinal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1942–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25