Ohio has won 483 games at home.
The Convo. The Roundhouse on Richland. The Dome. Or just The Convocation Center.
Whatever you call it, the 13,000-seat arena on the corner of Richland Avenue and Shafer Street has been a staple of Ohio University since its inauguration in 1968.
From the “Shaq of the MAC” to the 2012 Sweet 16 appearance, not much about The Convo has changed. The aluminum roof still covers the arena, a catwalk hangs slightly below that and four scoreboards adorn the corners of the court, as they have for the past decade.
Nothing flashy, nothing out of the ordinary. And the Ohio Bobcats wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Not only does The Convo draw in fans — Ohio led the Mid-American Conference in attendance nine out of the past 10 years — but it has also seen its share of wins over the past 48 years.
Ohio owns a .760 winning percentage all-time at The Convo. For comparison, that’s roughly the same winning percentage as Mississippi, which has won 495 games at the Tad Smith Coliseum since 1968. Ohio has won 483 at home.
Ohio isn't a stranger to top programs. In one of the best wins in The Convo’s history, Ohio defeated the 14th-ranked UConn, 85-76, in 1993. It was its first win against a ranked opponent in the building’s history.
The Bobcats certainly have a handful of memorable moments inside The Convo.
In 1989, Dave Jamerson dropped a program-high 60 points in a 110-81 rout of Charleston.
In 1998, the Bobcats outlasted Central Michigan, 122-121, in a marathon, two-overtime win.
In 2010, a three-pointer from Tommy Freeman in the waning moments of the game gave Ohio a win over archrival Miami.
In 2012, in front of a sellout crowd of 13,011, the Bobcats defeated the Redhawks again, 69-65, on "Gary Trent Day."
However, "Gary Trent Day" was only the fourth-largest crowd in The Convo’s history.
The largest crowd in history was 1970, when 14,102 fans watched the Bobcats defeat Bowling Green, 77-76, to clinch the MAC title. That crowd is still the largest ever for a conference regular season game.
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Of course, winning always draws the crowd in.
After 16 consecutive home wins, a MAC title and an appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2012, The Convo had its largest single season attendance on record, welcoming 124,782 fans.
The athletics department also has gone and spruced up the building in the past few years.
This year, all of the seats in The Convo were replaced with new padded seats. The project cost $2.85 million, according to a previous Post report.
Previous renovations included replacing the flags in the rafters with Ohio-branded signage, resurfacing the hardwood and replacing the lights.
What’s next for The Convo in the upcoming future? Not much, as no major renovations are planned for the interior or exterior.
However, as part of the proposed Master Plan, a "Welcome Center" for the university may be constructed in front of The Convo, according to Kevin Petersen, a principal for Ayers Saint Gross, an architectural firm hired by University and Planning Space Management to assist with planning.
No timetable is scheduled for the project.
But with all of the history that’s taken place in the building, a “Welcome Center” in front of The Convo could be perfect placement.
@efelderstein14
ef684013@ohio.edu
