Namesake:
John E. Worthen, who served as president of the university from 1984 to 2000.
Year completed: 1992, renovated in 2015
Worthen Arena, which originally opened as University Arena in 1992, was renamed Worthen Arena in honor of the former University president, John E. Worthen.
The arena is home to the Ball State men's and women's basketball teams, men's and women's volleyball teams, and gymnastics squad. Worthen Arena has also been the site of other special events such as concerts, trade shows and graduations.
Since opening its doors in 1992, John E. Worthen Arena has proven to be one of the premiere athletic venues in the Mid-American Conference. Built at a cost of $29.4 million, the 11,500-seat arena was the host site for the 1992 NCAA Men's Volleyball National Championships, as well as Ball State's first round match of the 1995 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships.
Worthen Arena made its official debut Jan. 15, 1992 when the Ball State men's & women's basketball teams hosted Miami University in a doubleheader. The men's game drew a sellout-crowd of 11,500 fans that would go home happy after seeing the Cardinals post a 70-64 victory over the archrival RedHawks. The game was the first of two sellouts in the arena in 1992 and the first of eight to date in the arena's history.
The fan experience at Worthen Arena was enhanced for the 2015-16 athletics season by the addition of a state-of-the-art, center-hung Daktronics video board.
The custom-designed LED board features six panels, one on each of the four sides and two angled at the bottom for those sitting in the lower sections. It was the latest in a series of 2015 summer upgrades to the arena, including new corner scoreboards, a new speaker system and a new floor.
The video board panels facing each sideline measure more than 11 feet tall by nearly 20 feet wide, while the panels facing the baselines are more than 7 feet tall by more than 12 feet wide. The angled panels underneath measure more than 5 feet tall by nearly 9 feet wide.
Like the previous single-panel video board in the arena, the new board will showcase live game action, replays, special features and fan participation opportunities. The board's content will continue to be provided by the athletic department, the Ball State Teleplex and Ball State Sports Link.
