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Manley Field House History
Pictorial History of Manley Field House

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 1959 football season at Syracuse University ended with a bang as the Orange captured its first and only National Championship in program history. The success of the football program at that time may have been what launched the plans for what became Manley Field House. Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder, the longest-tenured coach in the history of the Syracuse football program, spent 25 seasons on the Orange sidelines. The legendary Schwartzwalder was named the 1959 National Coach of the Year after leading the Orange to the national title.

Manley was built to replace the old Archbold Gymnasium, which was constructed in 1908 for a mere $400,000. The field house is named for Dr. George L. Manley, a University trustee and graduate of the College of Medicine, who was the benefactor of the building.

When construction for the $2 million state-of-the-art facility began in the early 1960's it was intended to be used primarily as an indoor practice facility for the football program. Upon completion, Manley was used as an indoor practice facility for many of the Orange's intercollegiate athletic teams, as a competition site for some of those teams and for multi-purpose scheduling of non-athletics events and student activities. The original plans for an indoor practice facility have come full circle now that renovations to Manley, which began in May, are complete.

Manley now features an indoor FieldTurf practice area, complete with three-lane running track. The facility will benefit many athletics teams, including football, lacrosse, softball, soccer, field hockey, cross country and track & field. The addition will alleviate many of the scheduling issues at the Carrier Dome caused when teams are competing for practice space.

"Manley can benefit many of our sports and we are excited about that," said Director of Athletics, Dr. Daryl Gross.

"This is about enhancing Syracuse athletics as we are trying to be extraordinary in all of our sports."

Basketball in a Football Facility
The first basketball floor installed in Manley was made of maple and rested 18 inches above the permanent dirt floor of the field house. The floor was supported by 320 adjustable steel jacks distributed evenly under the 60 by 112-foot floor. It could be put up or taken down in one day to enable the area to be used for other activities. Other similar courts had been installed around the country at the time, but it was the first in Central New York. A running track, identical to that of Madison Square Garden's at the time, and only the second of its kind in New York state, was also put in place around the outside of the field house.

The inaugural 1962-63 season in Manley was the first of many successful ones for Syracuse basketball. The Orange enjoyed tremendous success throughout the 1960's and 70's, recording an overall record of 339-146 through 18 seasons. The passionate Orange student section, often referred to as the "Manley Zoo", gave SU an incredible home court advantage.

In 1974, three Tartan synthetic basketball courts and a six-lane 220-yard indoor track were installed in the field house to replace the elevated court and dirt floor.

In 1977, additional seating was installed to accommodate the growing number of Syracuse basketball fans. The court and scoreboard were moved to house the 1,300 additional seats, bringing the total capacity to 9,546.

When the Orangemen moved into their new home in the Carrier Dome in 1980, it marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one for the nationally-renowned SU program.

However, the Orange returned to play one last game in Manley against George Washington in the 1994 NIT Preseason Tournament. Michael Lloyd banked a 3-pointer off the glass at the buzzer of regulation to send the game to overtime. Despite losing to the Colonials 104-111, the game is one of the most memorable in program history.

Following the relocation of the men's basketball program, women's basketball and track & field became the primary occupants of the field house. The move opened space for other athletics programs, including wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics, and made scheduling for the facility much easier.

The women's basketball program permanently joined the men in the Dome starting in the 2005-06 season.

The Many Phases of Manley
When the field house was built in 1962, it included two single-story wings that housed offices for the athletics department, the ticket office, and a lounge in one wing and locker rooms and medical facilities in the other. Through the years, several renovations and additions have been made to accommodate the growing needs of the coaches, student-athletes and athletics staff.

The complex at Manley currently houses athletics and administrative offices, as well as academic support offices, study facilities, lockerrooms, the sports medicine complex and an extensively equipped weight room. During the summer of 1995 the Roy Simmons Sr. Coaches Wing was added onto the front of the building, while the former coaches' office space was converted into the Stevenson Educational Center, an expansive student-athlete support services area. This area also accommodates student-athletes' needs for computer clusters and individual study rooms.

The women's volleyball team played the majority of its home matches in Manley for many years. With the renovations to the field house, the team now calls the newly renovated Women's Building their permanent home. The playing surface at the volleyball facility was recently refinished and painted to make it a more playable and visually appealing court.

Throughout its lifetime, Manley has also been the site of many high school indoor track and field meets and Section III boys basketball post-season games. Through 2007, Midnight Madness was held in Manley to kick off of the men's and women's basketball season with the fans. Manley has also housed many non-athletics events, including University convocations and Senior Celebration.

A new page in Syracuse University athletics history is upon us with Manley once again opening its doors as an indoor practice facility.