The document discusses the history and development of sports at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) over time. It notes that UIUC's enrollment has grown from 800 students in 1890 to over 48,000 students today. It describes how many Big Ten schools were originally land grant universities. It traces how sports have increasingly become a focus and source of memories and revenue for universities. It provides details on the construction of UIUC's large domed basketball arena, the State Farm Center, in the 1960s.

1. The Game
Prof. David A. Lange

3. The Game: Educate a Nation
Morrill Land Grant Act 1862
Each State got proceeds from sale of fed land that
could be used to establish a university.
UIUC enrollment
1890 = 800
1920 = 8,000
1950 = 17,000
1980 = 34,000
2010 = 42,000
Today = 48,000
College of Engineering Today = 12,000

4. Big Ten Schools
• Illinois, 1867
• Michigan State, 1863
• Ohio State, 1870
• Minnesota, 1868
• Rutgers, 1864
• Purdue, 1869
• Maryland, 1865
• Nebraska, 1869
• Wisconsin, 1866
• Penn State, 1863
• Not land grant: NU, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana

5. Illinois motto: Learning and Labor

6. Alma Mater with her side kicks Learning and Labor
The Alma
Mater:
1929 bronze
statue by Lorado
Taft with
inscription --
“To Thy
Happy
Children of
the Future
Those of the
Past Send
Greetings"

7. The Game: Tilting toward Sports
As Abraham Lincoln once said,
“Yes, it would be nice to create
a nation of great universities.
But it will be absolutely
awesome to create a nation of
great football teams.”

8. Learning, Labor, and Revenue Sports

9. Learning, Labor, and Revenue Sports

10. Power Five are pretty well off

11. The Game: Tilting toward Sports
Memorial Stadium – 1924 in memory of soldiers in WWI
Other memorial stadiums honoring WWI:
Illinois, USC, Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas

12. The Game: Creating Memories
Red Grange
BTN named him Greatest Big Ten Icon
DATELINE: Oct 18, 1924
THE SCENE: First game in brand new
Memorial Stadium
THE FOE: Reigning national
champs Michigan
Wolverines
THE LEGEND: Opening kickoff…

13. The Game: Creating Memories

14. The Game: Claims of Glory
UIUC State Farm Center (circa 1963)
LARGEST DOMED STADIUM IN THE WORLD per Wikipedia

15. No, the Pantheon is not bigger.
State Farm is 121 m dia.
To SCALE

16. Glory comes at a price.
In 1976, Seattle Kingdome beat UIUC
Assembly Hall as largest concrete domed
stadium in the world
In 2000, Seattle Kingdome was imploded
[I guess UI State Farm Center may be
largest concrete domed stadium in the
world again.]
In 2015, bonds for Kingdome were paid
off
UIUC never had a payment problem
because student fees backed the
construction.

18. The Game: Claims of Glory

19. The Game: Claims of Glory

20. The Game: Claims of Glory

21. TRUE GLORY
Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers
2017
Yes, I was there, Cam.

22. The Game: Naming Rights
Value City Arena
Home of the OSU Buckeyes
$12.5M/yr in perpetuity
State Farm Center
(formerly Assembly Hall)
Home of the Fighting Illini
$60M/yr over 30 yr
A 2016 ranking of toughest Big
Ten Arenas to play in
by ESPN put the venue #10 in
the conference, citing its name
as a contributing factor for not
being tough. Toughest is
Indiana’s Assembly Hall.

23. Designer
Max Abramovitz
UI grad 1929
Also designed UI
Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts

24. The Game: Constructing a Huge Dome

25. The Game: Constructing a Huge Dome
20 sections
Each 15°arc
Falsework to
support casting
piers
614 miles of
¼” steel wire
wrapped at the
base of the dome

26. The Game: Making a Huge
Dome

27. The Game: Amazing Moments

30. The Game: Personal Best
Jonathan Wells
Personal Best
High Jump 7’5”
Nicole Choquette
Personal Best
800m 2:08.10
What’s your Game? What’s your Personal Best?

31. Thank you!