Northwestern basketball, wrestling and volleyball have all called Welsh-Ryan Arena home since the venue’s most recent renovation in 1983. Welsh-Ryan is set for a $110 million renovation that will begin at the conclusion of basketball season and is set for completion in 2018, and it will therefore host no home games in the 2017-18 season. Men’s basketball will play its home games at Allstate Arena in Rosemont for a season, but the women’s basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams have yet to announce their temporary homes. To tide over the Northwestern faithful, we decided to compile some of the best moments at Welsh-Ryan since 1983.
Jan. 14, 2017: Northwestern women win emotional game over Indiana – Trevor Lystad
One of Welsh-Ryan’s best moments was also perhaps its most emotional, and most recent: the women’s team win over Indiana following the tragic loss of sophomore guard Jordan Hankins.
Several tributes to Hankins kept the mood in the arena somber if hopeful. Sophomore guard Amber Jamison – who scored a then-career-high 13 points – wore Hankins’s number five. Both teams wore jersey patches to honor Hankins, and the ‘Cats’ warmup shirts had Hankins’s name on the back.
After an emotional warm-up, Northwestern started fast with a double-digit lead in the first quarter before eventually winning decisively, 80-67. Senior Ashley Deary led the team with 18 points as well as eight assists. She said that she tried to embody Hankins’s spirit and aggressiveness throughout the game.
It definitely wasn’t a typical happy Wildcat win, but Jan. 14 definitely provided one of the more powerful moments that Welsh-Ryan has ever seen.
Jan. 14, 2012: Northwestern men upset No. 6 Michigan State – Evan Denton
In this game, the Wildcats pulled off the greatest American upset since the Revolutionary War. Against a sixth-ranked Michigan State Spartans team that featured three NBA-bound players, most notably Draymond Green, the Wildcats earned a historic upset win, 81-74.
Whether it was the new, sleek black uniforms the ‘Cats wore or a sold out Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd, NU was the talking point of the Big Ten for the day.
The dynamic scoring duo of Drew Crawford and John Shurna raced past the Spartan defense all game long, en route to 42 combined points. The Wildcats’ win over the sixth-ranked Spartans in 2012 still stands as their biggest home upset of the decade.
Feb. 17, 2008: Northwestern wrestling upsets No. 8 Illinois – Tim Hackett
It’s February 2008. It’s the heyday of Northwestern wrestling, as the Wildcats are ranked No. 12 in the country. It’s a year in which two of the best wrestlers in Northwestern history will go on to record some legendary accomplishments: Dustin Fox will win the NCAA Championship in the heavyweight division and Jake Herbert will take a one-year leave of absence to compete for a spot in the 2008 Olympics.
There are plenty of classic Welsh-Ryan wrestling moments, like a 60-0 romp over Carroll College in 1986 or a 27-12 win over No. 23 Indiana in 2014, the last time NU defeated a ranked opponent. But one that stands out the most is one of the biggest team wins in program history: a 22-11 win over in-state rival Illinois on Feb. 17, 2008.
The Illini featured seven guys in the top-20 of their weight classes on a team that was ranked No. 8 in the country overall. NU countered with six top-20 wrestlers on their own 12th-ranked squad.
It was a tight match throughout that featured exactly zero falls in ten bouts. Illinois won the first match, but Northwestern got decisions in the next three, including one from No. 1-ranked Fox in the heavyweight, to take a 9-3 lead. NU responded to a major decision from IU with three points of their own before No. 6 Ryan Lang of the Wildcats picked up a key 11-3 major decision in the 149 to give NU a 16-7 edge. The next critical major decision went in favor of the Illini, cutting the deficit to 16-11, but Northwestern got decisions in the final two rounds to seal the dual, 22-11.
Dec. 5, 1989: Northwestern scores 108 vs. Tulane – Meg Pisarczyk
On Dec. 5, 1989, the Northwestern men’s basketball team outscored Tulane 108-78, which set the record for the most points scored in a game by any single team in Welsh-Ryan Arena history. It’s not common to see high-scoring games like this in college basketball today (or back then, for that matter), so this matchup at Welsh-Ryan would have been really exciting to experience due to its quick pace and constant action.
In the first half the Wildcats led by as much as 22 points, including an 11-0 run anchored by freshman Todd Leslie off the bench. On top of Leslie’s buckets, a total of 10 NU players scored within the first 20 minutes of play during this game. Northwestern ended up with a 9-19 record during the 1989-90 season, but this game against the Green Wave was a definitely a high point of all the games Welsh-Ryan has hosted.
March 3, 2015: The game that meant nothing, but also everything – Andy Brown
In the grand scheme, this men’s basketball game meant very little. Michigan was having a down year, and Northwestern was trying to finish strong shortly after another tough stretch in Chris Collins’ second year. But for one magical night, the ‘Cats put on a crazy show, even if it was meaningless.
Michigan led for the majority of regulation, building a 12-point cushion at one point. Not to be denied on Senior Night, JerShon Cobb (who was probably playing on one leg) helped lead a comeback to cut it close in the final minutes. Michigan still looked like they’d escape until it missed a free throw that would’ve given them a four-point lead with 15 seconds left. With the clock winding down, Tre Demps fired up a prayer from NBA range … that went in, and sent the game to OT tied at 59.
In OT, Michigan held a six-point lead with 16 seconds left, and it looked like they had it in the bag again. But Demps hit a quick corner three (the best part of this in the video is watching exiting Michigan fans take a beat, and reconsider leaving), and Michigan tossed the ensuing inbound pass out of bounds with seven ticks left. On NU’s inbound, Cobb passed to Demps in the opposite corner who … well, made it again, to tie the game at 71, and send the game to double overtime.
In this moment, Welsh-Ryan was truly up for grabs. For about 15 seconds, NU men’s basketball’s unfortunate history was completely forgotten. If you weren’t there, you wouldn’t understand, and if you were there, you haven’t forgotten it.
Demps had singlehandedly popped Michigan’s balloon, and the ‘Cats won 82-78 in 2OT. But perhaps more importantly, in an otherwise mostly dismal season, Northwestern was doing incredible things on a basketball court. That’s all that really mattered on that night.
June 13, 2016: Renovations for Welsh-Ryan Arena announced – Hayden King
In a move described by the Chicago Tribune as “long overdue,” Northwestern announced its plans for renovations to Welsh-Ryan Arena AKA “The Shrine” AKA “The Litterbox” AKA “The Sea of Purple” (nicknames per Wikipedia).
Ever wondered why the bathroom lines are 20 minutes long in a half-full arena? Fret not, the number of toilets in the arena will be doubled. The renovation will also replace all bleachers with chair-back seats and expand the N-Club, a space for pre and post-game events.
“The Shrine of Litter” will surely be remembered for all of the above memories, as well as its vintage aura, and for being one of the most perennially mediocre Big Ten venues. See you all in Rosemont.