ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center

ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center, previously known as the Memorial Center, and popularly referred to as the "Mini-Dome", is an 8,539-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Until 2014, it hosted ETSU's men's and women's basketball teams. It also serves as the indoor venue for tennis and track. At one time, the facility also hosted ETSU's football team, but the school discontinued its football program at the end of the 2003 season as a cost-cutting measure. The football team was reinstated in 2015, but did not return to the facility; the Buccaneers played the 2015 and 2016 seasons at Kermit Tipton Stadium, a local high school facility, before opening the new William B. Greene Jr. Stadium in 2017. It was the host of the 2006 and 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball tournaments, and the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships from 2001 to 2011. The Mini-Dome has also hosted non-athletic events that could not be housed in an indoor setting on most American college campuses, such as national indoor championships for free flight model aircraft. It has also hosted a Bands of America Regional (marching band) since 2019.

In December 2009, the Tennessee Board of Regents approved the renaming of Memorial Center to ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center, adding the name of the hospital system headquartered in Johnson City to the official name of the Mini-Dome.^[1]

On October 16, 2010, the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center hosted an NBA exhibition game between the New Orleans Hornets and Atlanta Hawks.^[2]

History

Dominating the campus skyline, the building was opened in 1977 largely as an attempt to increase attendance at the university's struggling football program and to help its recruiting, but also as a large, multi-purpose campus building. The contract ran both well over budget and the allotted time, with the eventual opening occurring two football seasons later than had been planned.

The building has had its successes but never truly put the Buccaneer football program on the map, despite being one of very few on-campus domed stadiums in the United States. The decision was made by ETSU president Dr. Paul Stanton for ETSU to drop football following the conclusion of the 2003 season.

For the 2006–2007 academic year and basketball season, the Mini-Dome's occupancy was decreased to around 6,800 due to fire code restrictions. Efforts are underway to build a true basketball arena on campus, but the Mini-Dome will likely remain intact due to the large number of offices and training facilities it contains, as well as the enormous cost of demolition.

In 2006–2007, ETSU made an attempt to bring back the football program, but it failed when the student body voted down an increase in the athletic fee that was needed to fund it. The Mini-Dome was not considered as a possible venue for the new program. ^[3]

The interior of the Mini-Dome is pictured briefly in the ending moments of the film We Are Marshall during a sequence of highlights of the Marshall University football team.

References

^ "Johnson City Press: Mini-Dome has new name. 3 December 2009". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
^ "ETSU Athletics, International Storytelling Center set to host NBA exhibition game Oct. 16, 2010. 3 December 2009". Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
^ "indoor basketball". Wednesday, 11 January 2017

External links

Facilities - Home - Official Site of East Tennessee State Athletics

36°18′13″N 82°22′15″W / 36.30361°N 82.37083°W / 36.30361; -82.37083

[1] "Johnson City Press: Mini-Dome has new name. 3 December 2009". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2009.

[2] "ETSU Athletics, International Storytelling Center set to host NBA exhibition game Oct. 16, 2010. 3 December 2009". Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.

[3] "indoor basketball". Wednesday, 11 January 2017

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v t e East Tennessee State Buccaneers football
Venues	Memorial Center (1977–2003) Kermit Tipton Stadium (2015–2016) William B. Greene Jr. Stadium (2017–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1969 Grantland Rice Bowl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004–2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
Venues	ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center (1977–2014) Freedom Hall Civic Center (2014–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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 2024–25

v t e East Tennessee State Buccaneers women's basketball
Venues	ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center (1977–2014) Freedom Hall Civic Center (2014–present)
Culture & lore	History
People	Head coaches Record holders
Seasons	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