McGonigle Hall
Construction


Location	1800 Broad St Philadelphia, PA 19121
Coordinates	39°58′52″N 75°09′29″W / 39.981029°N 75.158033°W / 39.981029; -75.158033
Owner	Temple University
Operator	Temple University
Capacity	3,900
Opened	December 2, 1969
Architect	Nolen & Swinburne Associates (1969) H2L2 Architects / Planners, LLC (2012)
Tenants
Temple Owls (Recreation and offices)

McGonigle Hall is an athletic facility that is located on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple women's basketball splits games between McGonigle Hall and the Liacouras Center. The gym is also home to Temple women's fencing, women's gymnastics, and volleyball.^[1]

History and notable features

McGonigle Hall was built between 1967 and 1969 as part of a 250,000-square-foot building for Temple's intercollegiate athletics. The entire facility was built at a cost of $8 million and included teaching, research, and training facilities. The basketball arena originally sat 4,500 and was also home to the school's wrestling and gymnastics program. The building was named for Arthur T. McGonigle, a Temple University trustee and pretzel magnate from Reading, Pennsylvania who donated the new facility's furniture and equipment.^[2]

McGonigle Hall opened on December 2, 1969, with a Temple University men's basketball win over St. John's. The venue served as the home of men's basketball until it was replaced in 1997 by the Liacouras Center.

In 2012, the University completed a $48 million renovation and expansion of Pearson and McGonigle Halls, providing additional classrooms, faculty and coaching staff offices as well as state-of-the-art men's and women's basketball practice facilities.

Temple Men's Basketball

The Temple men's basketball program held a practice open to the public at McGonigle Hall on October 15, 1969. The team played three home games that season at McGonigle and the rest of its home schedule at the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.^[3] Temple dedicated the venue on December 2, 1969 before its game against St. John's which was preceded by a Temple freshman game against LaSalle.^[4]

Due to the venue's small size, Temple played the majority of its home schedule at the Palestra through 1984.

Coach John Chaney and the school decided to move most of its home games to McGonigle Hall to have a home-court advantage and build on campus spirit. Temple reached number one in the national rankings in February 1988. Despite ticket demand, then-school president Peter J. Liacouras refused to move the February 10, 1988 game against Villanova to the Spectrum, insisting the game be played at McGonigle on campus.^[5]

For basketball events such as selected 1987, 1990, and 1992 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament games, its capacity was 4,500.

The Temple men's team played its final game at McConigle Hall on February 24, 1997, a 69–53 win over Fordham. The school welcomed back Harry Litwack for the game, along with the other players from the team's first season at the gym in 1969.^[6]

Temple played a "Turn Back the Clock Game" at McGonigle Hall against Bowling Green on December 28, 2009, featuring throwback uniforms and 1980s music, attire, and concession prices.^[7]

Temple had a record of 178 wins and 29 losses at McGonigle.

Community Events

The Black Panther Party held its Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention at McGonigle Hall on September 5 and 6, 1970.^[8] Huey P. Newton spoke on September 5, 1970 to a crowd of 6,000 with another thousand outside.^[9]

President Jimmy Carter held a "Philadelphia town hall" meeting before an audience of 1,100 at McGonigle Hall on November 13, 1979. The president's helicopter landed at Geasy Field, 15th and Berks Street.^[10]

McConigle Hall has served as a concert venue on multiple occasions. Soul Asylum played the venue on April 17, 1997; Hüsker Dü and Christmas on March 22, 1987; and Kris Kristofferson played on August 18, 1976.^[11]

NBC Sports Network held a "Fight Night" boxing event at McGonigle Hall on December 8, 2012 that featured Philadelphia native heavyweight Bryant Jennings.^[12]

Following the 2016 Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine held a campaign rally on July 29, 2016 at McGonigle Hall.^[13]

References

^ "McGonigle Hall". OwlsSports.com. Sidearm Sports. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
^ "35,000 Enrolled at Temple; New Building Ready". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 24, 1969. p. 5.
^ "Temple Opens Court Practice As Litwick Begins 18th Year". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 15, 1969. p. 42.
^ "Strunk in Forecourt for Temple Quintet". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 27, 1969. p. 21.
^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (February 14, 1988). "McGonigle leaves out many fans". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. 2-E.
^ Smith, Stephen A. (February 24, 1997). "Last hurrah for McGonigle". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. 2-E.
^ Parrillo, Ray (December 28, 2009). "Temple turns back clock, Bowling Green". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^ Washington, Paul M.; Mcl. Gracie, David (1994). "Other Sheep I Have": The Autobiography of Father Paul M. Washington. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. ISBN 1566391784.
^ "Photos: 50 years later, a look back at The Black Panthers". The Bismarck Tribune. October 23, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^ "Stations plan maximum effort for President's scheduled visit". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 12, 1979. p. 16-D.
^ "McGonigle Hall Philadelphia Concert Setlists". setlist.fm. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^ "Photos and Quotes From Broad Street Boxing Press Conference" (PDF). phillyboxinghistory.com. December 8, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^ Homan, Spencer; Cordner, Jordyn (August 3, 2016). "Stronger Together: Hillary Clinton Holds Rally at Temple University Following DNC". The Spirit of Penn's Garden. Retrieved April 2, 2020.

v t e Temple University
Located in: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Campuses	Main Campus (location) Ambler Campus Japan Campus Rome Campus
Schools	Beasley School of Law Boyer College of Music and Dance Fox School of Business and Management Tyler School of Art Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry School of Medicine School of Podiatric Medicine School of Pharmacy College of Science and Technology
Athletics	Temple Owls Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's soccer St. Joe's – Temple rivalry Liacouras Center McGonigle Hall Temple Stadium Veterans Stadium Lincoln Financial Field Erny Field Skip Wilson Field
People	Alumni and faculty Graduate Students Association
Miscellaneous	2023 strike Temple Health Temple University station Cecil B. Moore station The Temple News Temple University Press TECH Center WRTI
Founded: 1884 Students: 39,515 Endowment: 873 million

v t e Temple Owls men's basketball
Venues	Mitten Hall South Hall Convention Hall (1938–1955) Palestra (1955–1984) McGonigle Hall (1969–1997) Liacouras Center (1997–present)
Rivalries	Saint Joseph's
Culture & lore	City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 (Robert V. Geasey Trophy)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 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 1944–45 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
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Temple Owls women's basketball
Venues	Convention Hall (1938–1955) ? (1955–1969) McGonigle Hall (1969–present) Liacouras Center (1997–present)
Rivalries	Saint Joseph's
Culture & lore	City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 Hooter T. Owl
People	Head coaches
Seasons	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 1944–45 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

Basketball arenas of the American Athletic Conference

Dale F. Halton Arena (Charlotte)
Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (East Carolina)
Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (Florida Atlantic)
Elma Roane Fieldhouse (Memphis, women)
FedExForum (Memphis, men)
UNT Coliseum (North Texas)
Tudor Fieldhouse (Rice)
McGonigle Hall (Temple, women)
Moody Coliseum (SMU; leaving in 2024)
Yuengling Center (South Florida)
Liacouras Center (Temple)
Devlin Fieldhouse (Tulane)
Reynolds Center (Tulsa)
Bartow Arena (UAB)
Convocation Center (UTSA)
Charles Koch Arena (Wichita State)