The Miami (Ohio) University board of trustees is scheduled to vote Friday on a proposed $281 million sports arena. Coincidentally, the vote will happen as the 28-0 men’s basketball team pursues a historic, undefeated regular season.
The proposal being considered outlines a demolition of Millett Hall, where the men’s and women’s basketball teams and women’s volleyball team play their home games, and the construction of a new facility located at the recreational area of Cook Field near the Eastern entrance to the school’s main Oxford, Ohio, campus. The board will vote on whether to approve the project and issue tax-exempt revenue bonds to fund it.
The resolution states that Millett Hall, which opened in 1968, “lacks modern accessibility features, has substantial accumulated deferred maintenance … and [is] not fan friendly by today’s standards,” adding that a new arena will “avoid the very difficult and expensive task of finding a temporary home for games and practices of Miami’s basketball and volleyball teams during the renovation of Millett Hall.”
Miami’s athletic department had a $40.9 million budget for the 2024-25 school year, a total that would have ranked 87th out of 106 FBS public schools the previous season, according to Sportico’s College Finances Database. The men’s basketball team’s $2.9 million budget trailed that of the men’s hockey team. The program was also not a money-maker, bringing in just $226,000 in ticket sales—less than men’s hockey ($448,000) and not enough to offset game-day expenses ($280,000).
Millett Hall, however, has seen a surge in basketball attendance as the team has yet to lose this year. The RedHawks averaged 1,860 fans in their first 10 home games this season, but attendance has eclipsed 10,000 in each of the past three games as they get closer to history. (The official capacity of the arena is listed at 9,200.)
Only five times since 1976-77 has a school entered March Madness without a loss. Four of those five teams advanced to the Final Four, but Miami is unlikely to have that level of success. The RedHawks, ranked No. 82 in Ken Pomeroy’s national rankings, have played three Division III schools and no power conference opponents.
Miami plays a road game at the 10-18 Western Michigan Broncos Friday night, with their last home game of the regular season next Tuesday against Toledo. The RedHawks close the regular season at Ohio on March 6, then head to the Mid-American Conference tournament from March 11-14. The NCAA’s Selection Sunday is on March 15, and the men’s tournament starts two days later.