Hope Coliseum remains one of the nation's supreme showcases for college basketball. Whether it is during the day with the sun shining down on the massive structure, or at night when its golden lights make it an evening showcase, the Coliseum stands as one of the most striking facilities on the WVU campus and played a major role in the expansion of West Virginia's growing Evansdale Campus.

Hope Coliseum first opened on Dec. 1, 1970, when the Mountaineers played host to Colgate. Nearly 10,000 showed up to see the Mountaineers defeat the Red Raiders, 113-92. Six nights later, West Virginia nearly knocked off fifth-ranked Kentucky before more than 13,000 fans to begin a long history of raucous crowds and unforgettable games.

In 1971, Hope Coliseum received a major architectural design award from the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Concrete Institute for being the "Outstanding Concrete Structure of the Year."

Through the years, the Coliseum has experienced several upgrades. In 2004, those included: renovations to the men's basketball locker room, renovations to the women's basketball locker room, construction of a players' lounge and team video theater, expansion of the Coliseum strength and conditioning center, expansion of the equipment room and training room and refurbishment of the Coliseum roof. Construction of a club seating area in the main arena was completed, with private space for concessions, hospitality areas and rest rooms under the lower level seats.

In 2008, state-of-the-art score/video boards complete with high resolution video and expanded messaging capabilities became part of the fan experience at the Coliseum in addition to a new sound system. A Coliseum Marquee at the intersection of Monongahela Boulevard and Patteson was constructed to help promote West Virginia University events.

In 2016, the entire concourse of the Coliseum was renovated with additional restrooms and concessions, as well as the expansion of the concourses to improve the fan experience at home basketball games.

In September 2025, the WVU Coliseum was renamed Hope Coliseum, marking the first name change in the 55-year history of the most visible building on the Evansdale campus.

The 14,000-seat domed arena has been the home of Mountaineer cagers for more than five decades, but its many uses include commencement, concerts, conferences, floor shows and a host of educational and athletic events.

Hope Coliseum has hosted conference basketball tournament championships, NCAA basketball, NCAA rifle and gymnastics regionals as well as many other tournament events.

Initially constructed in 1970 at a cost of $10.4 million, the Coliseum once served as the home of the WVU School of Physical Education and much of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. It is also the home competition site for Mountaineer women's basketball, gymnastics, wrestling and volleyball teams.

Extensively used by the University, Hope Coliseum remains the centerpiece of the athletic facilities that are now such an important part of the WVU Intercollegiate Athletic Program.

Top 10 Men's Basketball Crowds

No.	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1.	2/24/82	Pitt	W, 82-77	16,704
2.	1/27/18	Kentucky	L, 76-83	15,835
3.	2/27/83	#1 UNLV	W, 87-78	15,638
4.	2/8/10	#4 Villanova	L, 75-82	15,593
5.	2/3/10	#22 Pitt	W, 70-51	15,417
6.	12/4/82	Marshall	W, 95-82	15,409
7.	1/31/81	Pitt	W, 76-63	15,299
8.	2/20/16	#3 Oklahoma	L, 62-76	15,289
9.	1/16/10	#5 Syracuse	L, 71-72	15,271
10.	12/2/95	#6 Georgetown	L, 83-86 (OT)	15,193

Top 10 Women's Basketball Crowds

No.	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1.	3/2/13	#1 Baylor	L, 49-80	13,447
2.	11/21/19	Coppin State	W, 82-47	10,663
3.	12/6/24	ETSU	W, 85-40	8,489
4.	11/15/19	Bryant	W, 94-48	8,307
5.	2/16/08	DePaul	L, 80-81	8,307
6.	3/22/92	#20 Clemson	W, 73-72	8,268
7.	2/5/11	Pitt	L, 53-60	8,025
8.	12/10/23	Wright State	W, 77-72	7,535
9.	12/7/82	Indiana (Pa.)	W, 131-44	7,000
10.	2/14/10	#16 Georgetown	W, 55-46	6,754

Top 10 Gymnastics Crowds

No.	Date	Opponent	Attendance
1.	2/18/18	Maryland, Pitt	4,517
2.	2/28/24	Denver, Iowa State	4,139
3.	3/18/23	Big 12 Championship	3,742
4.	4/19/94	NCAA Southeast Regional	3,492
5.	2/1/97	Penn State	3,269
6.	1/14/11	Michigan State	3,206
7.	4/14/07	NCAA Southeast Regional	3,074
8.	2/2/25	Florida, Utah	2,798
9.	3/15/97	George Washington Massachusetts Rutgers	2,767
10.	1/5/18	Florida	2,613

Top 10 Volleyball Crowds

No.	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1.	8/29/12	#2 Texas	L, 3-0	3,112
2.	9/24/14	#2 Texas	L, 3-2	1,914
3.	9/17/21	#20 Penn State	L, 3-0	1,826
4.	10/23/13	#1 Texas	L, 3-0	1,812
5.	10/23/21	#11 Baylor	L, 3-1	1,340
6.	8/26/17	#6 Penn State	L, 3-0	1,332
7.	10/3/25	#19 BYU	W, 3-2	1,285
8.	10/13/17	Oklahoma	W, 3-1	1,264
9.	10/8/16	Oklahoma	L, 3-1	1,251
10	10/16/09	DePaul	W, 3-0	1,200

Top 10 Wrestling Crowds

No.	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1.	2/18/18	Clarion (Beauty and the Beast)	W, 25-13	4,517
2.	2/28/24	Glenville State (Beauty and the Beast)	W, 42-3	4,139
3.	1/14/11	Michigan State (Beauty and the Beast)	L, 21-18	3,206
4.	12/18/16	Virginia Tech	L, 36-4	2,822
5.	1/24/26	No. 23 Wyoming (Beauty and the Beast)	W, 21-15	2,629
6.	2/10/13	Ohio (Beauty and the Beast)	L, 29-9	2,522
7.	2/14/14	Clarion (Beauty and the Beast)	W, 28-7	2,468
8.	1/17/16	#9 Oklahoma (Beauty and the Beast)	L, 23-11	2,390
9.	2/23/20	Utah Valley (Beauty and the Beast)	L, 20-19	2,250
10.	1/12/25	#18 Pitt	L, 25-17	2,220

Quick Facts

Name	Hope Coliseum
Year Opened	1970
Original Cost	$10.4 million
Capacity	14,000

Top 10 Men's Basketball Crowds

Top 10 Women's Basketball Crowds

Top 10 Gymnastics Crowds

Top 10 Volleyball Crowds

Top 10 Wrestling Crowds

Quick Facts

Men's Basketball Facilities

Women's Basketball Facilities

Gymnastics

Volleyball Facilities

Wrestling Facilities

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Golf versus Big 12 Golf Championship on Apr. 27, 2026 at 9:30 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Golf versus Big 12 Golf Championship on Apr. 28, 2026 at 11 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Golf versus Big 12 Golf Championship on Apr. 29, 2026 at 9 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Penn State on Apr. 29, 2026 at 6 PM

Upcoming Event: Track & Field at East Coast Relays on May. 1, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Kansas State on May. 1, 2026 at 6:30 PM

Upcoming Event: Rowing at Duquesne Invitational on May. 2, 2026

Upcoming Event: Track & Field at East Coast Relays on May. 2, 2026 at TBA

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