The University of Central Oklahoma athletic department is home to some of the finest facilities in the country. Over the past five years, construction projects have taken place that physically transformed the face of the campus. We're taking a closer look at each of those facilities each Wednesday.
Up this week is our final facility – and our oldest facility – Hamilton Field House.
Built in 1965, Hamilton Field House is the hub of UCO athletics. It served as the base for the entire athletic department, housing administration, athletic training, strength & conditioning, and all 14 varsity sports, until just a few years ago when Central's great facility improvements took on life. Even without half of the department, Hamilton can still call itself the center of the Broncho athletic world.
Hamilton Field House hosts every Central volleyball match in the fall, and all of UCO's wrestling matches, along with each men's and women's basketball contests, in the winter. Hamilton has also served as the home for several campus events, none bigger than the commencement ceremonies in December and May. Concerts, UCO's annual cheer & dance event, as well as orientations and banquets all take place in the field house.
Central opened Hamilton Field House in 1965. This from The Vista ahead of the first basketball game.
… A new era in Central State College sports will be launched at 8 p.m. Friday, January 8, when the first basketball contest will be played in the school's magnificent new Broncho Field House. Opening of the sports structure will initiate the celebration of Central's 75th year of existence and serve as another milestone in the development of the school's athletic complex. …
Broncho Field House was renamed in 1993 after longtime coach and Athletic Director Dale E. Hamilton, who oversaw the construction and opening of the facility in the 1960s.
The amenities at the time are a bit different than what is offered 55 years later.
Aside from the main gym floor, a swimming pool, classrooms, areas for weight training, gymnastics, wrestling, judo, and fencing were all listed as the building opened.
As the athletic department grew, many changes have been made. A significant change was made just last year.
The North Hamilton Addition was constructed in 2018-19 and opened in the fall of 2019. The old swimming pool, which hadn't been used in sometime, the old wrestling room, the old strength & conditioning space, all were demolished. The NHA includes a practice gym for volleyball, men's and women's basketball, a new wrestling room – one of the largest in the country – and new locker rooms for wrestling, men's basketball, women's basketball, as well as for women's tennis, women's soccer, and women's volleyball.
