The first gymnasium at William & Mary was the "old gym," which opened in 1900 and served the campus' athletic needs for over two decades before the opening of Blow Gym in 1925. This exhibit marks the anniversary of the first basketball games at William & Mary Hall and celebrates the building within the longer history of William & Mary athletics and campus life. The need for a large, modern athletic arena had been identified by William & Mary in its long range planning and the idea gained traction in the budgeting cycles of the 1960s and construction of William & Mary Hall began in September 1969. William & Mary Hall replaced Blow Gym as the university’s premiere athletic facility upon opening in December 1970 when the men’s basketball team played the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The athletic and convocation facility was officially dedicated during Charter Day and Parents Day weekend in February 1971. In 2005, the arena was named Kaplan Arena and is commonly referred to as Kaplan Arena at William & Mary Hall. All historical material and reproductions of historical material in the exhibit are from Special Collections.
Curator: Amy C. Schindler, University Archivist; Exhibit design and installation: Amy C. Schindler, University Archivist, Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant, Kimberley Basset, Special Collections Volunteer, Lisa Sparks Carpenter, Graduate Student Apprentice, Hannah Craddock, Graduate Student Apprentice, Leigh Stokes, Graduate Student Apprentice.
Images of the installed exhibit are available at the Special Collections Flickr page. Further historical information about William & Mary athletic facilities is available from the Special Collections Wiki.
Swem Library's wonderful special collections are due to the generosity of alumni, students, members of the William & Mary community, and the general public who have given personal or family papers, organizational records, memorabilia, and other items over the years. We continue to rely primarily on donations to build our collections to ensure that future alumni, students, and researchers have access to these rich sources of information about life at William & Mary. We would welcome donations related to William & Mary and our other collecting interests. For more information, visit Special Collections or contact us at spcoll@wm.edu or 757-221-3090.