Sports
Blackham Coliseum was built with dual purposes: men's basketball games and livestock shows – The Advocate
Blackham Coliseum on Johnston Street has seen on Thursday, June 15, 2023 in Lafayette, La..
Blackham Coliseum on Johnston Street has seen on Thursday, June 15, 2023 in Lafayette, La..
The University of Southwestern Louisiana men’s basketball team plays in Blackham Coliseum in the 1980s.
Head coach Beryl Shipley and assistant coach Tom Cox, right, watch practice during their glory years at Blackham Coliseum where they Cajuns rose from the NAIA ranks to be ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA.
Dogs are sheltered at Blackham Coliseum, where some flood evacuees’ pets are being housed, Monday, August 15, 2016, in Lafayette, La.
Barrel racer Tiany Schuster warms up with her horse Hoosier Fame Wednesday, January 11, 2017, on the grounds of Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette, La.
Couples dance to the music of Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie during the 32nd Annual Zydeco Extravaganza at Blackham Coliseum on Sunday, May 27, 2018, in Lafayette.
Blackham Coliseum on Johnston Street has seen on Thursday, June 15, 2023 in Lafayette, La..
Blackham Coliseum on Johnston Street has seen on Thursday, June 15, 2023 in Lafayette, La..
The University of Southwestern Louisiana men’s basketball team plays in Blackham Coliseum in the 1980s.
Head coach Beryl Shipley and assistant coach Tom Cox, right, watch practice during their glory years at Blackham Coliseum where they Cajuns rose from the NAIA ranks to be ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA.
Dogs are sheltered at Blackham Coliseum, where some flood evacuees’ pets are being housed, Monday, August 15, 2016, in Lafayette, La.
Barrel racer Tiany Schuster warms up with her horse Hoosier Fame Wednesday, January 11, 2017, on the grounds of Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette, La.
Couples dance to the music of Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie during the 32nd Annual Zydeco Extravaganza at Blackham Coliseum on Sunday, May 27, 2018, in Lafayette.
Blackham Coliseum was built in 1949 by Southwestern Louisiana Institute as a multi-purpose arena to host the school’s men’s basketball games and for livestock exhibitions.
Prior to construction of Blackham Coliseum, the men’s basketball team played in Earl K. Long gym on the main campus.
The building was named after Stafford Morgan Blackham, a former dean of the Department of Animal Husbandry at SLI.
Records show it has undergone at least one extensive renovation.
Read more: Here’s the story behind how Lafayette and the university collaborated to build Cajundome
The 25,000 square-foot arena is accompanied by two barns adding 46,500 square feet of space to the complex that hosts annual rodeos and agriculture competitions like 4H contests and livestock shows.
Blackham Coliseum, from the 1960s to early 1980s, hosted concerts by a variety of artists ranging from The Supremes, the Righteous Brothers, Ray Charles and James Brown to Willie Nelson and the Charlie Daniels Band to Chicago, Three Dog Night, Linda Ronstadt and the Beach Boys.
The arena hosted many other events, including circuses, LAGCOE oil and gas industry exhibitions, ice skating shows and boxing matches.
In the early 1970s, with the university renamed University of Southwestern Louisiana, the men’s basketball team headed by Coach Beryl Shipley and featuring guard Dwight “Bo” Lamar filled Blackham Coliseum with some of the best basketball the school has ever produced.
When construction on the Cajundome was finished in 1984, the university’s men’s basketball team as well as most concerts relocated to the new arena.
Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.
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