Women's Basketball 9/28/2022 10:20:00 AM Karl Henkel, WSUAthletics.com Guest Contributor

Feature Story: First Year in the Fieldhouse

The newest facility on the athletic campus is set to turn one-year old in November.

The following feature first appeared in the football game program on Sept. 24, 2022.

These days, the busiest person in the Wayne State athletic department might be Jim Campbell.

Campbell, an assistant athletic director in charge of the Wayne State Fieldhouse – which is quickly approaching its one-year anniversary – is a 22-year athletic department team member who is trying to juggle surging demand for use of the 70,000-square foot, 3,000-person capacity basketball arena.

Home to the Wayne State men's and women's basketball teams, plus the National Basketball Association's G League team – the Motor City Cruise – and with facilities for use by all WSU student-athletes, that is more than enough work to fill a day. Then add in new requests to use Wayne State Fieldhouse from high schools for basketball tournaments and graduations, plus entertainment companies, and corporate college fairs.

"It's been an exciting challenge," said Campbell, who previously oversaw the Matthaei Center, where men's and women's basketball played since 1971. "We've been getting a lot of interest and it's been great to get positive feedback as people have come to see games or any other events we've done, to see the excitement for the arena and the potential that it holds not only for Wayne State, but for the community and Midtown at large."

WSU Fieldhouse is now serving as a centerpiece of sorts for the entire Wayne State athletic campus, most of which has either been significantly upgraded or built from scratch since Director of Athletics Rob Fournier took over in 2000. The courtyard in front of the Fieldhouse is noticeable for anyone crossing over the Lodge Freeway overpass, especially at night, when it is illuminated. Guests of the Fieldhouse are greeted by a new team store and ticket booth inside the main doors, then murals of basketball players before they enter the arena space.

"We just had someone stop by to buy something for his grandkids at the arena store," Campbell said. "He graduated 40 years ago and had come back for a game and was blown away by not only the arena, but the entire campus and the Midtown area.

"People don't expect WSU Fieldhouse to be something that a NCAA Division II college has," he added. "This is what they have in mind when they visit a major Division I program."

Outside of WSU women's basketball games, men's basketball games, and 22 Motor City Cruise games, in its first year Wayne State Fieldhouse also hosted spring commencement and the Catholic High School league girls' basketball tournament.

Campbell says he and the athletic department methodically scheduled the first year of events to ensure they were first serving the home teams – WSU men's and women's basketball and the Cruise – and that staff was able to work through any hiccups that come with a brand-new facility. The facility was not immune to the recent supply chain issues that have affected practically every industry, with some key items backordered for most of the last year. In year two, the university looks to expand the number of non-WSU, non-Cruise activities – but not at the expense of fan or attendee experience.

"We still want to be selective to make sure we can provide the top experience for everyone that comes in here," he said.

A Year of Firsts
The first anniversary of the Fieldhouse is unofficially Nov. 5, one year after the men's basketball team played the inaugural game, challenging Division I University of Michigan in an exhibition contest.

Given the proximity for both fanbases to get first glimpse at the freshly finished arena, it was no surprise that a sellout crowd of more than 3,000 took in the game.

Wayne State gave home fans something to cheer about by taking an early lead over the Wolverines, but Michigan proved too much to handle, knocking off the Warriors, 87-54.

"When we played Michigan, that was the most exciting environment I've ever played in," said Cortez Jackson, a graduate student guard on the men's basketball team. "It's something you dream about – to play in an environment like that."
Less than two weeks later – at the first regular-season Wayne State men's basketball game at WSU Fieldhouse – the Warriors notched the first victory in their new home and did so with a dramatic finish.

Tied with opponent Lewis University at 66, WSU forward Avery Lewis blocked a Lewis shot with 10 seconds left and guard Brailen Neely grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast for the winning basket. Dre Bell's three-point attempt as time expired gave Wayne State a 68-66 victory.

Fan participation for the men's basketball games averaged more than 500 – spiking to 1,192 for the Senior Night game on Feb. 26 – though a surge in COVID-19 cases in early 2021 resulted in two men's basketball home games played without fans and likely contributed to suppressed crowds throughout the year.

"We were limited at times last season because of pandemic-related restrictions," said Wayne State women's basketball coach Carrie Lohr. "But I'm optimistic we'll be able to start the season with fans and continue to play in front of fans, and I'm hoping that will grow our student fan base."

The men's team, which finished the 2021-2022 campaign with a 5-18 overall record, will need to improve this upcoming season to win the attention of students and fans, said new men's head coach Bryan Smothers.

"We've turned the page from last year and we've turned our focus to how we can make this season the best we can," Smothers said. "A majority of the guys coming were on the team that won the [GLIAC] championship in 2020 and those guys want to get back to that point."

The women's basketball team, meanwhile, enjoyed great success at WSU Fieldhouse during the 2021-2022 season. Wayne State posted a 10-4 record at home – their best home record since going 10-3 in 2019-2020 – and cemented itself in the record books as being the first WSU team to host a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament game in the new arena. WSU hosted the game by virtue of its stellar 13-7 GLIAC record in the regular season, third best in the conference.

Wayne State's 70-65 victory over Wisconsin-Parkside was another nail-biter: the Warriors led 64-62 with less than a minute to play before guard Kate Sherwood sunk four free-throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory.

Part two of this feature will be posted next week.

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