The
Snake Pit
Have you
ever wondered why the UNT Coliseum is often called the "Super
Pit" by Eagle basketball fans and sportswriters?
It all
goes back to 1970, when the men's basketball team
was still playing in the Men's Gym on Highland Street.
Built in
1950, the Men's Gym "had great character
and lousy acoustics," says Bruce Pfieffer ('75), who
spent many hours there as a North Texas cheerleader.
"It was almost rickety. Students would deliberately make
noise during the game to rattle the opposing team," he says.
On Feb.
10, 1970, North Texas played Drake University in the gym and
won 93-81
in double overtime. After the game, Drake Coach Maury
John, angry about the noise from the North Texas fans, told a reporter, "This
is the worst damn place in the world to play basketball! This place
is a snake pit!"
From that
time on, the Men's Gym was known as the "Snake
Pit," or just the "Pit," Pfieffer says.
"The president of the Talons would even wrap a snake around
his hand and carry it around during games," he says. "The
noise in the Pit would be incredible, and it got worse when the
game was close and we were trying to rattle the other team."
North Texas
played its last game in the Men's Gym in 1973.
The following year, the team had a new home, the Coliseum, which
students dubbed the "Super Pit."
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