Littlejohn Coliseum
History of Littlejohn Coliseum
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Littlejohn Coliseum is a 9,000-seat multi-purpose arena in the north-west corner of Clemson’s campus, only a few minutes’ walk from Memorial Stadium. Littlejohn Coliseum is where the Clemson men’s and women’s basketball team plays. Littlejohn also hosts concerts. From the Allman Brothers band in 1971, to Alice in Chains in 1992, and Fall Out Boy with Plan White T’s in 2007. Littlejohn also hosts events such as graduation ceremonies, career fairs, and trade shows.
Littlejohn Coliseum was opened on November 30th, 1968, replacing the Clemson Field House (which is now the Fike Recreation Center). Littlejohn was named after James C. Littlejohn, class of 1908, who was Clemson’s first business manager and was involved in the building of various other athletic projects, such as Memorial Stadium.
While Clemson’s basketball program does not have the prestige as Clemson’s football program, Littlejohn Coliseum has been the host to Clemson beating the best of the best when it comes to college basketball. Clemson’s biggest wins inside Littlejohn have been Clemson’s 75-65 win over the then No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels in 2001, and the 74-47 beatdown of then No. 3 ranked Duke Blue Devils in 2009.
Two important monuments that represent Clemson University are on the grounds of Littlejohn: The James Littlejohn Bust on the west end of Littlejohn Coliseum, and the Littlejohn Tiger on the east end. Both monuments were sculpted by A Wolf “Abe” Davidson, a Clemson graduate who was admitted to Clemson College in 1934 in exchange for building a statue of Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of Clemson University. The James Littlejohn Bust includes his credentials and shows his importance to Clemson. The Littlejohn Tiger includes a verse from Clemson’s alma mater song (“That the Tiger's roar may echo O'er the mountain height.”) on both sides and symbolizes the strength and beauty of Clemson University.
Littlejohn was recently renovated in 2015-2016. The $63.5 million-dollar renovation includes much improved Wi-Fi and cell phone coverage, better seating for viewers, premium club section with a bar, food service, and TVs for those who want to pay extra for the experience, a new scoreboard, and new and more spacious weight rooms and practice courts for both Men’s and Women’s basketball teams. These new renovations have made Littlejohn Coliseum one of the best basketball arenas in the region and in the ACC.