In its 33 years of life, Stopher Gym has evolved to become an excellent home court advantage for the Colonels and Lady Colonels basketball teams.
Throughout the years, Stopher Gym has developed its share of enemies from opposing teams.
During the Lady Colonels basketball game against McNeese last Thursday, three members of the McNeese men’s basketball team were walking by the press table when one of them said, “I hate this place. It is a dump. I can’t believe (the Colonels) play in this place.”
At first, the players seemed like they were joking, but the looks on their faces showed that they really meant what they had said.
After a few minutes of looking around at the features of Stopher Gym and watching the Nicholls band idiotically chastise the referees for making the right calls, it seemed that Stopher Gym in an eerie way is a perfect home court advantage for the basketball teams.
With pullout wooden bleachers, Stopher Gym looks like a high school gymnasium with a collegiate feel.
In an issue of Inside Sports Magazine, Stopher Gym was called “The Bates Motel of College Hoops.”
Every time a Colonels basketball player scored a basket, it sounded like the roar of the crowd was bouncing in the rafters like a tennis ball on a tennis court.
The acoustics in Stopher Gym are incredible. It is kind of like standing on top of a canyon and yelling out a word only to hear it repeat itself again and again. The only difference is that there are more than 500 voices shouting instead of one.
With the music of the band and the sound of feet shuffling and stomping on the wooden bleachers, the acoustics of Stopher Gym is definitely a thorn in opposing coaches’ sides.
The scene of McNeese coach Tic Price constantly yelling basketball plays to his team is proof that Stopher Gym is definitely a sixth man for the Colonels’ basketball teams.
Another feature that aggravates opponents and adds to Stopher Gym’s awesome home court is its size.
With a seating capacity of 3,800, Stopher Gym is the smallest facility in the Southland Conference. This is sometimes aggravating for opposing teams. It makes them feel like they are playing in a matchbox.
For example, McNeese plays in 8,000-seat Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles. They are used to lots of spacious room to play basketball along with huge locker rooms.
Even the New Orleans Saints have complained about Stopher Gym. When they were forced inside due to rain during training camp, the Saints often complained about the size of Stopher Gym.
But Stopher Gym is different because it makes opposing teams worry more about space to play on rather than the team they are supposed to play. This is probably true because the Colonels basketball team all-time record against Southland Conference opponents in Stopher Gym is 73-29.
As Stopher Gym continues to age, it becomes more of an integral part of the athletics program here at Nicholls.
Maybe in the future, a brand-new sparkling gymnasium with brand new seats and more room will replace Stopher Gym. But for now, the wooden seats of Stopher Gym are the Colonels’ home.
The senseless remarks made by the McNeese basketball players or the complaints from overpaid millionaires should not discourage Colonels basketball fans.
If they hate it, maybe they should build Nicholls a brand new gym.
Maybe Stopher Gym is a small dump, but it is our dump. The entire student body should be proud of the home court advantage Stopher Gym gives to Nicholls athletic teams.