curry_hicks_cage
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Curry Hicks Cage
The Curry Hicks Cage was a home arena for the UMass Minutemen and Minutewomen basketball teams. The building still stands but is no longer in use by the teams.
It is located in the center core of campus at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. After a renovation that was completed in 1985, the arena had a seating capacity of 4,058.
The Cage was preceded by Drill Hall, and succeeded by the Mullins Center for primary use in 1993.
Fast Facts
- Status: Former home arena
- Opened: 1931
- First game: January 9, 1932
- Closed: 2025, for transformation into track practice facility
- Capacity: 4,058 (1985 renovation)
History
The Physical Education Building was designed by alumnus Clinton Goodwin,1) who graduated from the school in 1916. Goodwin accepted no fees for his designs as an expression of gratitude to the school.2) The building was completed at a cost of $300,000, and opened on June 13, 1931.3)
In 1941, the facility was named for Curry Starr Hicks4), a longtime Director of Athletics and Student Health at the school. Beginning his tenure in 1911, he retired in 1949.5) (Tangent: Photo of Hicks in a car, from 1915.)
The first game in the building was on January 9, 1932, against cross-town rival Amherst, with a win for the home team, 17-12.6)
The NBA played at least one official game in The Cage. On January 4, 1954, the Boston Celtics played the Baltimore Bullets, with Boston prevailing 77-73.7)8)9)
The Cage went through renovations during the 1984-85 season, and the Minutemen played all their home games at the Springfield Civic Center.10)
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The Final Rage
With the Mullins Center ready for use in early 1993, the last game in The Cage was scheduled for January 29, 1993. In a creative marketing move, UMass scheduled the game against Southwest Louisiana, nicknamed The Rajun Cajuns. The game was dubbed The Final Rage.
The Minutemen went on to close the building in style, with a 84-74 win over the Rajun Cajuns.
Overall, UMass went 359-212 (.629) at The Cage from 1932-1993.
Memorable men's basketball games
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1/9/1932 | The first game in the new building. Mass. State College “trounces” cross-town rival Amherst College, 17-12. |
| 2/23/1934 | MSC beats Pratt Institute, 40-35, to improve to 9-0 on the season. They would go on to win their final three games, all on the road, to finish the season a perfect 12-0, the nation's only undefeated team. |
| 2/24/1943 | MSC plays their last game before pausing the program for the next two seasons due to WW2. The Statesmen fall at home to Coast Guard, 60-47. |
| 1/14/1956 | UNH's Bill McLaughlin sets an opponent single-game scoring record, with 44 points, in the visitors' 98-90 win.11) |
| 2/18/1961 | UMass hits triple-digits for the first time at home, in the 101-66 beat-down of Vermont. |
| 3/3/1962 | Milestone night for the program, all in front of the home Cage crowd. UMass defeats UNH, 109-62, to set a new high in points in a game. The win also secures their first-ever conference title, and first bid to the NCAA Tournament. |
| 2/15/1964 | UM lights the lamp with a program record12) 120 points in the win over Vermont. |
| 12/6/1966 | Jack Leaman gets his first head coaching win, as UMass beats Rhode Island in the Cage, 79-71. Leaman would go on to 217 career wins as head of the UMass men's program, and get his name onto the home court floor in a 2006 dedication. |
| 2/10/1968 | UM's Billy Tindall sets a new program record with 41 points in the blowout win over Vermont, 96-58. Tindall's mark would stand for nearly 50 years.13) |
| 12/4/1968 | The UMass freshman team blows out AIC for a 106-49 win. Julius Erving gets a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds despite playing with a broken thumb. |
| 12/2/1969 | Julius Erving plays his first varsity game with a ho-hum 27 point, 28 rebound (new UMass record) performance in the season-opening win over Providence, 90-85. |
| 2/9/1971 | UM gets a big win over Boston College, 85-77. Erving 24 & 16. |
| 2/22/1971 | Julius Erving sets a new UM record with 32 rebounds, and scores 36 points, as UM defeats Syracuse, 86-71. |
| 2/5/1975 | UM sends Boston College back home defeated, 80-71. |
| 2/19/1976 | UM plays their last Yankee Conference home game, beating Rhode Island 84-76. |
| 12/1/1976 | UM plays their first conference game within the ECBL (which would later rename to the Eastern 8 and then the Atlantic 10), but falls to Penn State, 72-70. |
| 2/21/1979 | UMass falls to Penn State, 54-42, and Coach Jack Leaman announces he will resign after the season concludes. |
| 12/5/1981 | UMass wins their first conference game since 1978, as the Minutemen get by Duquesne, 60-59. |
| 11/26/1988 | John Calipari gets his first career head coaching win, as UM beats Southern CT, 84-61. The game is delayed in the second half as the Cage scoreboard catches fire. Jim McCoy scores the first 13 of his eventual program-best 2374 points. |
| 2/11/1990 | Calipari and Temple coach John Chaney get into a scrap on the sideline, during the 83-82 triple overtime war (Temple prevailing). |
| 3/15/1991 | UM hosts their first post-season NIT game, the 93-90 win over La Salle. |
| 11/22/1991 | UM kicks off the season with a midnight start against Siena, with ESPN in the house, and a big 94-59 win. Freshmen Lou Roe, Derek Kellogg, and Mike Williams get their first collegiate action. |
| 2/16/1992 | UMass finally beats Temple, snapping an 0-21 series deficit. The crowd gets so loud at one point that chips of paint from the ceiling fell onto the court, briefly interrupting play. |
| 3/4/1992 | Having already clinched the regular season title, UMass hoists their first A-10 Championship banner, prior to the game against Rhode Island. |
| 3/12/1992 | UMass beats West Virginia, 97-91, at the Cage and wins their first A10 Tournament title. |
| 1/29/1993 | The Final Rage |
Subsequent basketball uses
For several years after the Mullins Center opened, sellout crowds (of 9,493) were the norm. In the first decade of the 2000s, as wins became harder to come by, crowds at Mullins started to shrink. Some fans began to suggest having a “retro” game back at The Cage.
UMass officials first obliged the requests in 2007, as one of the two exhibition games in the 2007-08 season was held at The Cage. The Minutemen beat Concordia (NY), 107-80. Since then, two official men's games were played at The Cage.
| Date | Opponent | Game Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3/2007 | Concordia (NY) | W 107-80 | Exhibition. Gary Forbes 23, Ricky Harris 19, Max Groebe 17. |
| 11/27/2010 | Holy Cross | W 83-76 | UM hits nine 3s. Gurley 24 points. Riley 17 points in 17 minutes. |
| 11/11/2011 | Elon | W 85-67 | Chaz Williams goes for 18 points and 8 assists in UMass debut. Vinson & Sampson Carter 17 each. |
The Minutemen also regularly used The Cage as a practice facility, prior to the opening of the John Francis Kennedy Champions Center in 2015.
Transformation to track facility
As the Mullins Center was gradually improved in the 2010s and early 2020s with new video displays, tech to support streaming broadcasts, more fan amenities, it became unfeasible to host further basketball games in The Cage.
In 2023, it was announced that The Cage would be renovated and converted to a permanent practice facility for the UM track teams.14)15) This would end any possibility of future basketball games in the building.
Summer 2025: Construction began.16)17)
September 1, 2026: Targeted opening date for the track facility.18)
Preserving the hardwood floor
In 2025, The Massachusetts Collective spearheaded a project to save the hardwood court. All floor panels were removed and stored offsite. The Mass Co is offering 12“x12” pieces, and even full 4'x8' panels, for sale, with proceeds benefiting the NIL programs for the men's and women's hoop teams.
External Links
12)
still stands as of 2025
19)
That piece mentions “paint chips rattling down from the ceiling” in the 3/12/92 game versus West Virginia. That definitely happened in the 2/16/92 game against Temple. Unsure if that also happened in that WV game. Perhaps the two games were mixed up in their piece.
curry_hicks_cage.txt · Last modified: by mikeuma