Surface Northern Hard Maple Opened 1 December 1975 | Broke ground September 1973 | |
 | ||
Location 55 Coliseum BoulevardMississippi State, MS 39762 Capacity 10,575 (2011–present)10,500 (1998–2011)9,419 (1975–1998) Construction cost $6 million($26.7 million in 2017 dollars) Owner Mississippi State University Team Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball Similar Mississippi State University, Coleman Coliseum, Vanderbilt University Memorial, Davis Wade Stadium, The Pavilion at Ole Miss | ||
Mississippi state humphrey coliseum
Humphrey Coliseum is a 10,575-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Mississippi State University, just outside of Starkville, Mississippi, that opened for the 1975-76 basketball season. Nicknamed The Hump, it is home to the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's and women's basketball teams. It is the largest on-campus basketball arena in the state of Mississippi. The building is the equivalent of seven stories high and is in the shape of an oval 318' long by 268' wide. The outside is marked by regular concrete columns and Mississippi red brick siding, and the school seal adorns the front of the building. In 2004, a center hung scoreboard was provided by the Henry Mize Foundation. The scoreboard features four sides, each with a video screen. In addition to basketball, the arena is a popular venue for concerts, graduation ceremonies, and other events.
Contents
- Mississippi state humphrey coliseum
- Map of Humphrey Coliseum Starkville MS 39759 USA
- Alabama players warm up in the dark at humphrey coliseum
- Quotes
- References
Map of Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, MS 39759, USA
"The Hump" used to feature a large "Mississippi State" wordmark adorning the middle of the court, but was changed to the M-State logo in the middle before the 2016-17 basketball campaign. The court is rimmed in maroon with "The Hump" written under one basket and the other basket has the term "StarkVegas" written on it, which is a term coined for the city on which Mississippi State University lies. The lanes under the goals have the letters "SEC" spelled out in maroon. The building contains two tiers. Though the seating at Humphrey Coliseum is 10,575, the crowd has surpassed capacity 3 times (10,735 vs Mississippi February 7, 2004, 10,645 vs Mississippi February 23, 2002, 10,541 vs Florida January 7, 2003). In 2000, a catwalk was completed which connects Humphrey Coliseum to Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium, the Bulldogs' baseball stadium.
It was named for George Duke Humphrey, president of Mississippi State from 1934 to 1945. It replaced Mississippi State Gymnasium, which was built in 1950 and has since been converted to an indoor tennis center.
In January 2014, MSU expanded its mobile concessions ordering service — http://dawgsnax.com — to "The Hump", which offers in-seat food delivery to every seat in the arena.
Alabama players warm up in the dark at humphrey coliseum
Quotes
The Hump is one of the hardest places for an opponent to play in the Southeastern Conference as well as the nation. A quote from an article on Gainesville.com expresses this thought.
"(Florida basketball players Joakim) Noah, Al Horford and (Corey) Brewer all named Humphrey Coliseum as the most difficult road arena they played in when they filled out questionnaires as top 50 preseason finalists for the John R. Wooden Award.
'It gets loud,' Brewer said. 'I don't know why. It's a different kind of loud. So loud that you can't think.'"
After Mississippi State's 74-72 win over the Michigan State Spartans in the 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament, Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant credited the arena's intensity.
“I’ve been a head coach for 21 years," Merchant said. "I’ve played in front of some big crowds, probably a few bigger than that one. But I’ve never, ever played in front of a crowd that loud. Ever. That was the loudest crowd I’ve ever played in front of. What was the attendance? 7,000? It sounded like there were 70,000 in here.”