Tonight is the first regular season game for the Fighting Illini Men’s Basketball Team. They battle Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at 7:00pm at Assembly Hall. It’s time to rise up…

Go Illini!

The Illini Volleyball Team is looking to set an NCAA record for attendance at their game vs. Minnesota on Friday. The game will be held in Assembly Hall in conjunction with this year’s Illini Madness. Illini Madness marks the start of the 2009-2010 basketball season and will also take place on Friday at Assembly Hall.

Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber and volleyball coach Kevin Hambly are combining forces for what promises to be an historic event – “Spike the Record at Illini Madness.” Both coaches have been extremely supportive of each other’s programs through their times at Illinois. Each year Weber plays a visible role during the Illini’s Annual “Stuff Huff” event, for example.

Illinois volleyball will be making its second appearance at Assembly Hall. The Illini and Gophers, both ranking in the top 10, will square off at 6:30 pm. Under the direction of former Olympic Assistant Coach Hambly, Illinois returns six starters from the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 team, including second-team All-American Laura DeBruler. The Gophers, under former Illini and legendary coach Mike Hebert, join Illinois as potential contenders to dethrone two-time NCAA titlist Penn State as Big Ten champions.

Current Regular Season Attendance Record:
13,412–Nebraska (3) vs. LSU (0), Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Nebraska, September 12, 2008.

TV: Friday’s match will be shown tape delayed on the Big Ten Network Sunday at 5 p.m. CDT with Randy Rhinehart (play-by-play) and Jim Stone (analysis) providing the call.

Radio: The match will be heard live on fightingillini.com and WDWS (AM 1400) with Dave Loane (play-by-play) and Mike Trame (analysis) providing the call.

Tickets for the event are free, and doors open at 5:30pm. Admission will be denied once the building is full. The volleyball game will begin at 6:30pm.  

Go Illini!

The Students for Chief Illiniwek will be presenting Chief Illiniwek and the “Next Dance” on October 2nd at Assembly Hall.

Like the 2008 event, which drew over 10,000 people after the disappointing Illini loss to Ohio State, tickets will be sold through the Assembly Hall ticket office, Illini Union Ticket Central, and Ticketmaster.  All revenues from the event will go to support worthy causes.  Tickets are free for all University students who obtain them with their valid i-card.  Similarly, tickets for children 12 & under are free when accompanied by a paying adult.

 At the 2009 event, Students for Chief Illiniwek will be hosting a special surprise guest speaker prior to Chief Illiniwek XXXVII Logan Ponce’s performance.  The event is scheduled to last no more than an hour and will be accompanied by a band of University of Illinois Alumni.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Friday, September 17th at 10am. Tickets are $5 for the public, but free to UIUC students with an i-card. NOTE: Students still must get a ticket.

Students for Chief Illiniwek 
Chief Illiniwek – Wikipedia

Today marks the 46 year anniversary of the opening of Assembly Hall. Did you know that it was a UIUC architecture alum who designed it?

His name is Max Abramovitz. He graduated from the School of Architecture in 1929 with a bachelors and went on to receive his masters degree from Columbia University. He designed three buildings on the UIUC campus including the Hillel building, the Krannert Center and the Assembly Hall. He also designed a number of buildings at the campus of Columbia University.

His most prominent works include the United Nations Headquarters building, New York; Avery Fisher Hall (at Lincoln Center, originally the Philharmonic Hall, opened 1962), New York; the Corning Glass Center, Corning, New York; the U.S. Steel Tower (aka USX Tower) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the National City Tower in Louisville, Kentucky; and the Tour Gan, La Defense (Paris), France.

Mr. Arbramovitz died in the fall of 2004 at the age of 96. His legend at UIUC will be remain forever.

Editor’s Note: I’ve heard rumor that the Assembly Hall design was actually submitted as a final architecture project upon which it recieved a failing grade. The validity of this rumor has yet to be determined. If you have any information please pass it on to The Quad.

Have you heard the rumors surrounding the basketball arena? The fact is, Assembly Hall is old and although it looks pretty sweet from the outside, it is outdated and can only hold so many people. The talk surrounding the issue has explained initial plans for an Assembly Hall remodel, or an entirely new arena as reported by The Quad in April.

Anyway, due to the recent economy, any and all plans for a stadium remodel have been halted.

University spokesman Kent Brown says Athletic Director Ron Guenther decided to indefinitely delay the project because of the economy.

Illinois wrapped up $121 million of work at nearby Memorial Stadium last year. Brown says no dollar figure had been publicly discussed for the Assembly Hall project, but he says it would certainly have cost more.

The university planned to use private funding for the work. But Brown says announcing a big, new project as the university prepares to cut spending elsewhere wouldn’t have been wise.

WandTV – University of Illinois says sour economy puts plans for 46-year-old Assembly Hall on hold

The Illini Men’s Basketball Team will open their 104th basketball season tonight at 8:30pm against Eastern Washington. The Illini are looking to turn heads this season and recover from their 16-19 record of last year.

This year’s highlights:

• Illinois returns three starters on this year’s squad in guards Chester Frazier, Demetri McCamey and Trent Meacham.

• Senior Trent Meacham is the Illini’s leading returning scorer. Meacham was second on the team in scoring in 2007-08 (10.1 ppg) and led the Illini and ranked 11th in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage (.400). He started 31 games last season, scoring in double figures 18 times, and was the UI’s top scorer in eight games on the year.

• Senior Chester Frazier started 29 games last season and led the Illini in minutes, averaging 33.4 mpg.  He averaged 4.9 points and led the team in assists, ranking sixth in the Big Ten with 3.6 apg. Frazier is Illinois’ top defender and leading returning rebounder after ranking third on the team with an average of 4.9 rebounds last season.

• Sophomore Demetri McCamey came on strong last season as a true-freshman. He started 17 games and was fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 8.2 points. He led the Illini in assists during conference play (3.9 apg) and earned Big Ten All-Tournament Team honors.

• In addition to the three returning starters, Illinois returns seven other letterwinners in senior Calvin Brock, junior C.J. Jackson, and sophomores Bill Cole, Mike Davis, Jeff Jordan, Richard Semrau and Mike Tisdale.

• Illinois has four newcomers on the roster: Junior Dominique Keller, from Lee College in Baytown, Texas, freshman Stan Simpson from Chicago Simeon High School, sophomore Alex Legion, who transferred from Kentucky in January and is sitting out the first half of this season per NCAA rules, and junior walk-on Andrew “Bubba” Chisholm.

• Illinois has played in front of 60 consecutive sellout crowds at the Assembly Hall, a streak that began on Dec. 1, 2004.

Get ready for some basketball… and Go Illini!

Complete 2008 Basketball Schedule

Illinois basketball will honor a number of its greatest players this weekend in the “Night of Legends” game. This alumni game is scheduled for 7pm Saturday night. The event is open to the public and tickets are $15. Besides the actual game, Illinois will honor players by hanging a banner with their name and number in the ceiling of Assembly Hall.

A total of 30 men’s players have earned a spot on this distinguished list and their jerseys will be unveiled for the first time on Saturday at A Night of Legends alumni basketball game, scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tickets for Saturday’s alumni game are $15 each and are on sale online or through the UI Athletics Ticket Office by phone at 217-333-3470 or 1-866-ILLINI-1, or in person at the Assembly Hall North Box Office.

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend. Check this out. It’s going to be a great night honoring some legendary Illini.

List of Honored Players

Will our spaceship-looking Assembly Hall be replaced with a better building that can house luxury boxes? That is the big debate happening on campus right now. First it was a small comment by Chancellor Richard Herman about the University either renovating, restoring, or rebuilding the hall. Then the building was placed on the list of Illinois’s most endangered historic places. This list is compiled by Landmarks Illinois, a group that has ’saved’ buildings like the St. Gelasius Catholic Church (Chicago) and the Culver House (Decatur) in the past.

After weeks of rumors and speculation following Athletic Director Ron Guenther’s contract renewal, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Office of Student Affairs discussed potential plans to renovate Assembly Hall Wednesday night at the Illinois Student Senate meeting.

Daily Illini: Chancellor announces possible Assembly Hall renovations
Chicago Tribune: Will University of Illinois Assembly Hall ’spaceship’ survive?
Daily Illini: Assembly Hall may undergo changes

Photo by yuan2003.