War Memorial Gymnasium

War Memorial Gymnasium
Tenants

Location	2335 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California 94118
Coordinates	37°46′37″N 122°26′58″W / 37.77694°N 122.44944°W / 37.77694; -122.44944Coordinates: 37°46′37″N 122°26′58″W / 37.77694°N 122.44944°W / 37.77694; -122.44944
Owner	University of San Francisco
Operator	University of San Francisco
Capacity	5,300
Opened	1958
San Francisco Dons (NCAA) (1958–present) San Francisco Warriors (NBA) (1964–1966)

The War Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco, California is an athletic venue on the University of San Francisco campus. It currently serves as home for the USF men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team. It also houses athletic department offices and training facilities for the university's other athletic teams. It is currently the oldest basketball venue in the West Coast Conference. It is popularly known as "The Hilltop" because of USF's position on the summit of Lone Mountain.

Prior to 1958, the USF basketball team had no permanent home. During the 1955 and 1956 NCAA championship seasons, Phil Woolpert's teams had to practice and play home games at either nearby Kezar Pavilion in Golden Gate Park or the gym at neighboring St. Ignatius High School. The aftermath of USF's back-to-back national championships spurred a fund-raising effort that ultimately made building an on-campus venue possible and in 1958, War Memorial Gym opened its doors.

Originally serving all of USF's athletic needs, War Memorial Gym also briefly hosted the San Francisco Warriors from 1964 to 1966. Upon the arrival of women's sports on campus, War Memorial Gym also became the home of the women's basketball and volleyball teams. Though the gym missed the Russell and Jones era by three years, it was the home of the great Dons teams of the late 1970s led by Bill Cartwright, Phil Smith and Quintin Dailey (though some high-profile matches were held at the Cow Palace or the Oakland Arena). In 1989, with the construction of the Koret Health and Recreation Center, War Memorial became exclusively an athletic venue, though training facilities continue to be housed in the Moran Center beneath the gym.

Dedicated to the USF dead of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, War Memorial Gym currently seats 5,300 spectators. Above the court can be seen banners commemorating USF's national and conference championships in basketball, including titles won by the women's basketball team in their old conference, the Northern California Athletic Conference. Players' retired numbers can also be found, including banners for Pete Newell and Phil Woolpert. The gym's foyer houses a mini-hall of fame, displaying trophies and memorabilia from USF's athletic history.

In 2008 and 2009, USF made upgrades to the gym. The old floor, which was the original installation, was replaced, along with the bleacher seating in the upper level. The old baskets were replaced with stand-alone versions, and new banners were installed.

War Memorial Gym was also the site of CBS's first national college basketball broadcast, a 1982 match-up between USF and the University of Georgia. It hosted the 1987, 1989, and 1993 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournaments.

References

Golden State Warriors

Founded in 1946 Played in Philadelphia (1946–1962) and San Francisco (1962–1971) Based in Oakland, California

Franchise	Franchise Team history All-time roster Draft history Seasons Head coaches Current season

Arenas	Philadelphia Arena Philadelphia Convention Hall Cow Palace San Francisco Civic Auditorium War Memorial Gymnasium (University of San Francisco) San Jose Arena Oracle Arena Chase Center

General managers	Tyrell Gottlieb Feerick Vertlieb Stirling Attles Nelson Twardzik St. Jean Mullin Riley Myers

D-League affiliate	Santa Cruz Warriors

Retired numbers	13 14 16 17 24 42

Hall of Famers	Paul Arizin Rick Barry Wilt Chamberlain Joe Fulks Tom Gola Neil Johnston Jerry Lucas Šarūnas Marčiulionis Chris Mullin Mitch Richmond Don Nelson Robert Parish Andy Phillip Guy Rodgers Ralph Sampson Nate Thurmond Jamaal Wilkes

NBA Championships (4)	1947 1956 1975 2015

Conference Championships (8)	1947 1948 1956 1964 1967 1975 2015 2016

Culture	Wilt the Stilt 100 point game Nate the Great Nellie Ball Run TMC The Sleepy Floyd game Splash Brothers Warrior Girls 73–9

Media	TV Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Radio KGMZ Announcers Bob Fitzgerald Jim Barnett Tim Roye

University of San Francisco San Francisco, California

Academics	School of Law School of Nursing St. Ignatius Institute Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning Swig Judaic studies program International Business Plan Competition

Campus	Saint Ignatius Church Residence Halls Lone Mountain College

Athletics	Men's basketball Men's soccer West Coast Conference War Memorial Gymnasium Negoesco Stadium Dante Benedetti Diamond at Max Ulrich Field

Student life	San Francisco Foghorn KUSF

People	Alumni Faculty Presidents Anthony Maraschi

San Francisco Dons men's basketball

Venues	Kezar Pavilion (1924–1958) St. Ignatius Gym (1924–1958) War Memorial Gymnasium (1958–present)

Culture & lore	History The Don

People	Head coaches All-Americans

Seasons	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 1999–00 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

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

Basketball arenas of the West Coast Conference

Marriott Center (BYU) McCarthey Athletic Center (Gonzaga) Gersten Pavilion (Loyola Marymount) Alex G. Spanos Center (Pacific) Firestone Fieldhouse (Pepperdine) Chiles Center (Portland) McKeon Pavilion (Saint Mary's) Jenny Craig Pavilion (San Diego) War Memorial Gymnasium (San Francisco) Leavey Center (Santa Clara)

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