Prather Coliseum
Tenants


Location	220 S. Jefferson St., Natchitoches, LA 71457
Coordinates	31°44′38.5″N 93°05′42.6″W / 31.744028°N 93.095167°W / 31.744028; -93.095167
Owner	Northwestern State University
Operator	Northwestern State University
Capacity	3,900
Surface	Multi-surface
Opened	1964
Northwestern State Demons basketball Northwestern State Lady Demons basketball Northwestern State Lady Demons volleyball

Prather Coliseum is a 3,900-seat multi-purpose arena in Natchitoches, Louisiana, United States. It opened in 1964 and is home to the Northwestern State University Demons basketball team.^[1] The arena also holds concerts and events. It was named in honor of the school's most successful basketball and football coach, H. Lee Prather, who served from the 1910s through the 1940s before becoming NSU President in 1951.

History

The coliseum is among projects credited to the late State Senator Sylvan Friedman of Natchitoches Parish. It opened two years before Friedman's retirement.^[2]

Prather Coliseum is also known as the venue for the final concert performed by rock star Jim Croce on Thursday, September 20, 1973. Shortly after the concert, Croce's plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Natchitoches Regional Airport, killing him and all others aboard the plane.^[3]

The arena hosted the Southland Conference men's basketball tournament in 2005–06.^[4] Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball player Keiva Council set the single-game scoring record in the building with 48 points in an 84–80 Wolfpack victory over Northwestern State on November 25, 2011.

References

^ Prather Coliseum Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at nsudemons.com, URL accessed November 17, 2009. Archived^{[dead link]} 11/17/09
^ Friedman Student Union at facilityuse.nsula.edu, URL accessed November 17, 2009. Archived 11/17/09
^ Jim Croce Archived 2009-12-09 at the Wayback Machine at vegasvalleycomputers.biz, URL accessed November 17, 2009. Archived 11/17/09
^ Northwestern State Wins Men's O'Reilly Auto Parts/SLC Tournament Title at southland.org, URL accessed November 17, 2009. Archived 11/17/2009

v t e Northwestern State Demons basketball
Venues	Prather Coliseum (1964–present)
Culture & lore	Vic the Demon
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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

v t e Northwestern State University
Campus	H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud Field Harry Turpin Stadium Lady Demon Diamond Louisiana Scholars' College Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts NCPTT Prather Coliseum
Athletics	Northwestern State Demons and Lady Demons Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Softball
Media	KNWD
Student life	Marathon Rowing Championship Vic the Demon

Basketball arenas of the Southland Conference

Sharp Gymnasium (Houston Christian)
McDermott Center (Incarnate Word)
Montagne Center (Lamar)
The Legacy Center (McNeese)
Lakefront Arena (New Orleans)
Stopher Gymnasium (Nicholls)
Prather Coliseum (Northwestern State)
University Center (Southeastern Louisiana)
Texas A&M–Commerce Field House (Texas A&M–Commerce)
American Bank Center (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

v t e NCAA Division I college basketball venues in Louisiana
The American	Devlin Fieldhouse (Tulane)
Conference USA	Thomas Assembly Center (Louisiana Tech)
SEC	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (LSU)
Southland	The Legacy Center (McNeese State) Lakefront Arena (New Orleans) Prather Coliseum (Northwestern State) Stopher Gymnasium (Nicholls) University Center (Southeastern Louisiana)
Sun Belt	Cajundome (Louisiana men) Earl K. Long Gymnasium (Louisiana women) Fant–Ewing Coliseum (Louisiana-Monroe)
SWAC	F.G. Clark Center (Southern) Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (Grambling State)

v t e Music venues of Louisiana
Arenas/stadiums	Alario Center BREC Memorial Stadium Burton Coliseum Caesars Superdome Cajundome CenturyLink Center F.G. Clark Center Fant–Ewing Coliseum Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Houma Terrebonne Civic Center Ike Hamilton Expo Center Independence Stadium Lakefront Arena Lamar Dixon Expo Center Monroe Civic Center Pete Maravich Assembly Center Pontchartrain Center Prather Coliseum Raising Cane's River Center Arena Rapides Parish Coliseum Shrine on Airline Smoothie King Center Stopher Gymnasium Sudduth Coliseum Tad Gormley Stadium Thomas Assembly Center Tiger Stadium University Center Yulman Stadium
Concert halls	Jefferson Performing Arts Center LSU Tiger Band Hall Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts McAlister Auditorium Orpheum Theater River Center Theater for Performing Arts RiverView Theater Saenger Theatre Shaw Center for the Arts
Historic venues	Congo Square New Orleans Municipal Auditorium Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium
Outdoor venues	Champions Square Fair Grounds Race Course Greek Theatre New Orleans City Park
Theaters and clubs	Carver Theater Civic Theatre Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts House of Blues The Howlin' Wolf Joy Theater Maple Leaf Bar Preservation Hall Rock n' Bowl Snug Harbor State Palace Theatre Tipitina's
Festivals	Bayou Country Superfest DeltaFest Essence Music Festival Festival International French Quarter Festival Highland Jazz & Blues Festival New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Satchmo SummerFest Voodoo Experience

History

See also

References