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EagleBank Arena
EagleBank Arena serves as the home of George Mason University men's and women's basketball and is one of the finest on-campus facilities on the East Coast. The arena, which opened in 1985, continues to be a gem on the scenic Mason campus, but on basketball game nights, an avid George Mason following transforms the elegant edifice into a raucous and intimidating home court advantage.
EagleBank Arena offers fans excellent sight lines and has a basketball capacity of 7,860, yet retains an intimate home court atmosphere. The facility has attracted basketball fans from the entire Washington metropolitan area since it opened on October 4, 1985. The inaugural event was a NBA exhibition game between the New York Knicks and the Washington Bullets, with the sellout contest marking the professional debut of Patrick Ewing. Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs also made his first professional appearance in an exhibition contest at EagleBank Arena in 1997.
EagleBank Arena houses the men's and women's basketball offices and the offices of Monumental Sports, which manages the facility.
The building will undergo a renovation in the coming years to create more amenities for the fans and a greater environment as part of the facilities master plan.
While basketball remains the primary tenant, the multi-purpose facility also hosts a wide array of family programming, concerts, sports and entertainment events. An October 8, 1994, Phish concert set the overall attendance record of 10,356. Other headline acts, which have performed in the EagleBank Arena include Jimmy Buffett, David Copperfield, Prince, Alan Jackson, REM, Neil Diamond, Barenaked Ladies and Hillary Duff, among others. Family entertainment acts such as Sesame Street Live and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Men's Basketball History at EagleBank Arena
George Mason played its first men's game in the arena on November 26, 1985, against local rival Maryland.
That first year of 1985-86 held the single-season attendance mark of 62,555 until the Patriots shattered it in 2006-07. The Patriots drew 88,837 fans the year after making the 2006 NCAA Final Four. In 2007-08, the Patriots drew the two largest crowds in school history. On Feb. 2, 2008, Mason had 9,840 fans on hand to see a 73-46 win against James Madison. That crowd was matched on Feb. 16, 2008 against UNC Wilmington. The Patriots have equaled the 9,840 sellout-crowd a total of eight games, with the last time coming against Virginia in the 2012 home opener.
George Mason hosted the first ever Colonial Athletic Association Tournament in the building in 1986. The Patriots have posted a .687 winning percentage with an overall record of 306-139 in the friendly confines of EagleBank Arena. The Patriots set a school record for wins at home in 2003-04, earning a 14-1 mark and have gone unbeaten at home with matching 14-0 records during the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons.
The Patriots set a school and facility scoring record in a 148-132 win over Troy State on December 12, 1994.
The Patriots set a school and facility scoring record in a 148-132 win over Troy State on December 12, 1994.
Women's Basketball History at EagleBank Arena
Since 1985, the Patriots have compiled a record of 208-153 at EagleBank Arena for a .576 winning percentage.
In 2017-18, the Patriots broke several EagleBank Arena women’s basketball records. The team earned their first-ever postseason victory at EagleBank Arena against Stephen F. Austin in the 2018 WNIT. Mason played a record 19 games at EagleBank Arena, including a record-high 17 wins. The previous record of 11 wins was set in 2000-01. Graduate student Natalie Butler set the school record for rebounds in a game and tied the Atlantic 10 mark with 28 against Davidson on December 28. Butler broke the NCAA Division I women’s record for rebounds in a season with 563.
For two straight seasons (2004-06), Mason hosted the CAA Women's Basketball Championship at the EagleBankArena. In 2005, five of the nine games were decided by five points or less for the first time in league history. Second-seeded Old Dominion earned a 78-74 victory over top-seeded Delaware in the only overtime game ever played in the CAA title contest. In 2006, Old Dominion edged out James Madison, 58-54, for its 15th-straight CAA Championship title.
A number of significant Mason performances have come at EagleBank Arena as well.
During the 2004-05 campaign, Mason collected a 60-35 win over BIG EAST member school, Miami, on Nov. 30. The Patriots held the Hurricanes to just eight points in the first half, which was tied for second in the NCAA Division I record books for fewest points scored by one team in a single half.
On Feb. 1, 2004, Mason set the school record in three-point field goals made with 15 in a 92-64 win over Hofstra in front of a EagleBank Arena season-high 2,275 fans.
The win over UT-Chattanooga on Nov. 24, 2001 featured a historic EagleBank Arena and CAA freshman-record 41-point performance from standout guard and then-freshman Laura Kooij, as Mason tied a school record with 10 three-point baskets in the victory.
The Patriots hosted their first-ever postseason tournament contest in 2001-a 66-56 loss to Georgetown (Mar. 14)-after totaling 11 home victories.
On Jan. 23, 2000, a record-breaking 3,152 fans were on hand as the Patriots fell to CAA foe East Carolina, 91-79. This number broke the attendance record of 2,811 that was set in the 1997-98 season when JMU slipped by Mason, 68-67 (Jan. 18).
On Jan. 3, 1999, Trish Halpin became the all-time blocked shots leader in George Mason history as she swatted block number 137 against Old Dominion in EagleBank Arena.
