Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Nov. 7, 2018, edition 1 / Page 6
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->■:; '■^- " Elon’s women’s basketball team huddles together before their game against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Schar Center on Tuesday, Nov. 6. LIAM O'COmOR I STAFF PH[)TOGRAPH[R How the dream of opening Schar Center became a reality 3ack Haley & Nick Bisconti Sports Director & Elon News Network @jackhaley171 @elonnewsnetwork One of Elon Universi ty’s major components of its strategic plan began its journey on Oct. 21, 2016. Surrounded by members of the board of trustees, then-President Leo Lambert broke ground on the new 5,100-seat, 160,000-square foot Schar Center. More than two years lat er, the space sees the sun. Elon will get to cele brate the new athletic space with a game to which little is comparable in the his tory of Elon athletics. The men’s basketball team will get the opportunity to break in Schar Center with an in-state basketball power house. On Nov. 9, the Phoenix will welcome the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels to Schar Cen ter in a blockbuster debut for the space. “The attention that we’re getting to open up the facili ty against a storied program like North Carolina is un believable,” said head coach Matt Matheny. “You can’t help but hear from people about tickets or ‘Wow, you guys got North Carolina to open up your building,’ and we’re getting major atten tion from it.” Though Schar Center has already played host to all volleyball home games, the inauguration of Presi dent Connie Book, the Har lem Globetrotters and the women’s basketball team getting to open basketball competition in the arena three days earlier, the Fri day night contest has been circled on the calendar by most as the day Schar Cen ter officially opens. Elon will get the chance to be on the national stage in their own home by bring ing in No. 8 UNC to put on a show. “We’ve got a great facility right now, and for every body that comes in, there’s just this ‘wow’ factor, and there’s been several people already in the facility from Chapel Hill and work at North Carolina, and they have the same response of ‘Wow, this is really awe some,”’ said Director of Athletics Dave Blank. The Tar Heels have a long, storied history in the world of college basketball. WE’VE GOT A GREAT FACIEI^ RIGHT NOW, AND FOR EVERYBODY THAT COMES IN, THERE’S JUSTTHIS'WOW’ FACTOR. DAVE BLANK DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS A seat at the table of leg endary programs in college basketball has been official ly reserved for UNC. So how did Elon coax the perennial powerhouse to board buses and make the 37-mile drive west to step Under the Oaks? With the Phoenix look ing to have a big-name team come to open up Schar Center, lots of places were considered. “We considered everybody and anybody be cause it is not an easy thing to get a team to agree to do,” Matheny said. But UNC stuck out in the minds of those in charge of nVaking a schedule because of some key connections. For one, Elon has two former UNC basketball players currently sitting on their bench. Jack Wooten graduated from UNC in 2009 after winning a na tional champitonship with the Tar Heels under Roy Williams that same year. Wooten, who has a strong relationship with the Tar Heel program, is also an integral part of the schedul ing making process for the Phoenix. Blank made it a point to note that this was not the only key to getting UNC to come to Schar Center. “I think that’s always helpful to have that. I don’t think that was the key factor. I think it was the relation ship and the willingness of Coach Williams and the people in the North Caroli na staff that we’re all friends with, and we just thought it would be a great thing to do if they could manage it in their schedule,” Blank said. Matheny and Blank seemed to be on the same page in recognizing the im pact Williams had on mak ing this dream a reality. “A lot of credit goes to coach Williams. I’ve always heard he enjoys doing that; he and I have talked about it, and he told me he likes doing that. There’s a lot of very prominent and power ful supporters that support North Carolina and Elon, and I think that played a major role in his willingness to do it, and the proximity to the school helps too,” Matheny said. “When we made the strong connection to coach [Roy] Williams and he was able to do it, we were pretty thankful.” Another suit on the bench also played for Wil liams. J.B. Tanner played in the Dean Dome and also won a 2009 ring with Woo ten. Tanner is now in his ■fifth season with the Phde- ■LO. LIAM O'CONNOR I STAFF PHUOGRAPHtl Sophomores Shekinah Reese and Lauryn Harper, members of Phoenix Phanatics, dance off tho stress of the game during a timeout in Schar Center on Tuesday, Nov. S nix. WitEi the connections to UNC, it seems only log ical that they pay a visit to Elon. From a marketing per spective, it is not shocking Elon wanted to try and reel in a big name to headline the opening event. Elon is familiar with playing against big-name teams. Elon signed a deal Duke University to them three consecutive years, the last of which was 2017. The difference is that the contract stipulated that the two teams met twice in Cameron Indoor, the 9,300-seat home of the Blue Devils, and they played the third game in the Greens boro Coliseum Complex. While that deal was a great one to get the Phoenix some national recognition, it did not let them play on their home hardwood. Elon struck a deal with UNC similar to the one they had''with Dukeyalsq playing with play SCHAR KNIER BY THE NUMBERS 5,100 total seats in Schar Center. 160K square-footage of Schar Center. -$40M was the approximate cost of the entire space. a trio of games. But this time, Elon gets a true home game while still visiting the Tar Heels twice as they did with Duke. Matheny wants to make sure students take full advantage of being able to see the Phoenix take on a prestigious program like UNC. “What’s going to be re ally cool is the student sec tion. It’s going to be full and packed,” Matheny said. To see an Elon fan base hope fully rabid and enjoying college basketball on our campus is something that we enjoy and have dreamed about for a long time. Win or lose, Elon stu dents will be treated to a marquee matchup that was many months in the mak- ing. For one night, the eyes of one of the nations most popular college basketba programs will be focuse on the scene unfolding Itt " Schar Center. \ _
Elon University Student Newspaper
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