Its official name was the "William P. Cole Jr. Student Activities Building."
That is the name that can be read on the structure that still sits between the tennis courts and the university's student union, on the main thoroughfare of the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. It is no longer, however, the home of Maryland basketball, as it was for 47 years since December of 1955.
Everyone just called it "Cole." Like Kentucky, where the Wildcats play at "Rupp." Or in Westwood, where UCLA plays at "Pauley." The building is Cole Field House, even though that description appears nowhere officially. The nation's only on-campus arena to play host to multiple Final Fours, it has hosted numerous NCAA tournaments for basketball, volleyball and wrestling. It also hosted a U.S. vs. China ping-pong match in 1972 before a capacity crowd in what was the first sporting event held between the two nations; it hosted U.S. Presidents and, in September 1974, it even hosted Elvis.
Besides the all-black starting five of Texas Western taking the floor against Kentucky in the national championship game of 1966, Cole Field House was also home to the first black basketball players in the ACC -- Maryland's Billy Jones (1966-68) and Pete Johnson (1967-69).
In 47 seasons, Terrapin teams were 486-151 at Cole Field House. A few of Cole's most memorable basketball moments:
1955
• Cole Field House dedicated at a cost of $3.3 million. Maryland defeats Virginia, 67-55, on Dec. 2 in the first game in the new facility.
1958
• Cole is home to the Atlantic Coast Conference champions and Maryland's first NCAA Tournament team.
1965
• Bill Bradley scored 41 points in the NCAA East Region championship game as Princeton topped Providence, 109-69.
1966
• Cole plays host to the NCAA Final Four. In the semifinals, Kentucky defeats Duke and Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) defeats Utah. Texas Western then defeats Kentucky in one of the most historic championship games in history.
1970
• Cole plays host to the NCAA Final Four for the second time. UCLA defeats Jacksonville for the title as Sidney Wicks outduals Artis Gilmore. It was the fourth of UCLA's seven consecutive NCAA championships.
1971
• Maryland defeats No. 2 South Carolina, 31-30, in one of the great "slow-down" games in the history of Cole. Leading only 4-3 at halftime, Maryland needed a lay-up from Jim O'Brien to tie the game with five seconds to go in regulation and an 11-foot jumper from O'Brien to win the game with four seconds remaining in OT.
1972
• Cole is home to the National Invitation Tournament champions - the Maryland Terrapins.
• The Cole Field House single-game attendance record of 15,287 was set as Maryland played host to North Carolina on Feb. 16. Maryland won 79-77 in an overtime thriller.
1975
• Cole was the site of the first women's basketball game ever to be televised.
1979
• On Super Bowl Sunday, Larry Gibson sank a free throw with one second on the clock to boost the Terps past top-ranked Notre Dame, 67-66, on Jan. 27, 1979. Gibson scored 11 points that day while Ernest Graham scored 28 and Buck Williams grabbed 15 rebounds.
1984
• Cole is home to the ACC champion Terrapins.
1991
• In the NCAA Eastern Regional first round, 15th-seeded Richmond defeats No. 2 seed Syracuse, 73-69, in one of the great upsets in NCAA Tournament history. It was only the second time in the history of the tournament that a No. 15 seed had defeated a No. 2 seed.
1992
• On Jan. 15, 1992, No. 3 Maryland hosted No. 2 Virginia in a women's basketball shootout before a sellout crowd of 14,500. The game still stands as the ACC attendance mark for a women's game.
• Maryland defeats No. 10 North Carolina, 82-80, on a last-second tip-in by All-American Walt Williams. Williams put the Terps up 81-80 with 1.3 seconds remaining to lead the Terps past the Tar Heels in Cole for only the second time since the 1982-83 season.
1994
• Before a sellout crowd on March 5, Maryland defeats Virginia, 70-68, to clinch a fourth-place tie in the ACC standings and virtually assure its first NCAA Tournament bid under Gary Williams.
1995
• Maryland defeats No. 1 North Carolina, 86-73, in front of a sellout crowd and a national television audience.
1998
• Maryland defeats No. 1 North Carolina, 89-83 in overtime, as Laron Profit scores 19 points overall and six during an overtime period. It marks the second time in three years that the Terps beat No. 1 North Carolina in Cole.
1999
• Maryland sets a school record with 28 wins on the season, and the Terps host a record 14,455 fans per game at Cole. Junior sensation Steve Francis is named an All-American and later chosen as the second pick in the NBA draft.
2001
• Maryland defeats Virginia 102-67 in the final game of the regular season to mark the most lopsided win ever, in the longtime series against its ACC rival. One week later, the Terps advance to their eighth straight NCAA Tournament berth and bring back to College Park the first Final Four banner in school history.
2002
• Maryland defeats top-ranked Duke before a national television audience, 87-73, to take over first place in the ACC and mark the seventh time in Cole history that a No. 1 ranked team has been defeated.
• Maryland beats Virginia 112-92 to win its first ACC regular season title since 1980, in what is the final game at Cole. A standing-room only crowd witnesses an emotional postgame event with returning All-Americans commemorating Cole's final game, followed by a net-cutting ceremony to celebrate the Terps' league title.
• The NCAA Champion Terrapins return to Cole before a crowd of over 12,000 adoring fans, just hours after winning the first national championship in school history.
