Historic Cole Field House – home to Maryland basketball games from 1955 to 2002 – may in the near future undergo a transformation from sacred hoops venue to indoor football practice facility. Wallace Loh, president of the university, said that the school needs a new facility to better compete in the Big Ten and “recruit even better student-athletes.” Cole’s transformation looks to be the school’s first big expenditure in its new conference, as the move, if approved, is expected to cost approximately $160 million, according to NBC Sports.

It will take time, even with a lucrative Big Ten TV deal, for Maryland to improve its financial situation (Getty).

Perhaps the most surprising part of the renovation project is the support it’s garnered – at least $110 million of the total has already been covered by donors and boosters. This is a surprise because Cole holds a special spot in college basketball history, as the building where the Terps defeated seven No. 1 ranked teams in 47 years they called it home, notching 486 wins in the process. It was also the site of the 1966 Final Four, including the historic Brown vs. Board of Education game of all-white Kentucky versus all-black Texas Western that set into motion the desegregation of the sport. The Terrapins’ men’s and women’s basketball squads moved to the Xfinity Center in 2002, but most recently held their annual “Maryland Madness” event at Cole in 2013. Gutting the building and turning it into a football practice facility is a punch in the stomach to those who care about Maryland (and college) basketball history.

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