A prized basketball recruit makes his visit to Elon University, and as the coaching staff tries to schmooze him and his parents as best they can, the group arrives at Alumni Gym.
They walk into the arena where the recruit would be playing his home games for the next four years should he decide to attend Elon. And he’s not impressed.
“It’s so much smaller,” the recruit thinks, “compared to the gyms at William & Mary and James Madison.”
That’s precisely the challenge Elon faces right now with its move to the Colonial Athletic Association. The schools Elon is competing with play in arenas far larger than Alumni Gym, which in turn are more attractive to prospective incoming freshmen.
By building a multi-use convocation center where the Phoenix could play its basketball games, Elon would instantly become a sexier place to play Division I basketball.
Alumni Gym has been a serviceable home court for Elon basketball teams for more than 50 years while the Phoenix competed through the NAIA, Division II and ultimately Division I ranks as a member of the Big South Conference and the Southern Conference.
The arena’s capacity is 1,607 — by far the smallest in the CAA. The next closest is Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, which seats 2,532.
The largest is Kaplan Arena at William & Mary, which holds about 8,600 for basketball games.
Sure, CAA teams don’t sell out their gyms for most home basketball games. James Madison, which plays at the 6,426-seat Convocation Center, has sold out just one of its 16 home games this year, and that was the season opener against No. 9 University of Virginia.
But attendance shouldn’t be an issue. Elon hovers between 1,200 and 1,500 fans for most of its home games.
Instead, look at the “If you build it, they will come,” approach. If Phoenix basketball boasts a big arena, recruits will be more attracted to the program.
Elon is currently in ninth place out of 10 teams in the CAA in men’s basketball. Elon isn’t necessarily struggling because of its small home gym, but it’s clear its opponents have better facilities in place to assemble high-level talent.
To attract the caliber of player required to compete in the CAA, Elonneeds a better selling point than Alumni Gym. It pales in comparison to gyms at other conference schools, giving recruits less of an incentive to play here when other CAA schools have an offer on board.
The uses of a convocation center extend beyond athletics. Right now, the rain plan for Commencement moves the ceremony to Alumni Gym, and limits each graduate to two tickets for guests.
If Elon had a larger convocation center, the rain plan would be more comfortable. More guests of graduates would be able to attend.
The convocation center could also host concerts. Elon could avoid noise complaints and wouldn’t be forced to use a parking lot on campus, since the arena would hold upwards of 7,000 people with additional floor seating for concerts.
Elon has made it known it wants to compete at a higher level athletically. No longer is the Phoenix competing with the likes of Wofford College or Furman University.
Basketball is one of the more popular spectator sports on campus. For Elon to be competitive once again in those games, building a larger arena is just one step in the right direction.