Year Opened: 2015
Facility Name: Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena
Pronunciation: shole-my-er
Capacity: 6,800
Court Name: Walsh Family Court
Address
Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena
2900 Stadium Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76109
Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena
Previously known as the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, the facility underwent a $72 million renovation that was completed prior to the 2015-16 season. The Schollmaiers provided the lead gift of $10 million. The Daniel-Meyer name is still prominent as the entire area is known as the Daniel-Meyer Athletic Complex.
The TCU men's and women's basketball programs received new locker rooms and team meeting rooms as well as an expanded sports medicine center. There is also locker rooms for visiting teams and a new video board.
The new building facade for the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena architecturally complements Amon G. Carter Stadium and the TCU campus. The interior has a lower playing surface to increase courtside seating and provide a more intimate atmosphere. Wider concourses and multiple public entries have helped ease congestion. The fan experience is further enhanced by new concession stands, a food court and restrooms as well as increased points of sale. A new courtside club lounge is also located on floor level. The facility also includes offices for the athletics administrative staff as well as coaches in various sports, allowing the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena to be the hub of TCU Athletics.
Additional features of the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena are the Jane & John Justin Hall of Fame on the concourse level, offices for Olympic sports and administration and a larger main ticket office to support both the arena and Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Ed and Rae Schollmaier History
Ed Schollmaier is the retired CEO of Alcon Laboratories, Inc., while Rae Schollmaier is a dedicated civic volunteer. Through the Schollmaier Foundation, they are both longtime philanthropic leaders in Fort Worth.
A TCU Trustee since 1996, Ed Schollmaier chaired the Building and Grounds Committee and served on the Executive, Fiscal Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics committees, as well as the Committee on Trusteeship.
Ed Schollmaier was a member of the Neeley School International Board of Visitors and the recipient of Neeley's Ike Harrison Award. He has been recognized as an Honorary Alumnus and an Honorary TCU Letterman. Rae Schollmaier served on the College of Fine Arts International Board of Visitors, the Fine Arts Task Force of The Commission on the Future of TCU and the KinderFrogs School Advisory Board. For their service and generous support, the Schollmaiers were honored with TCU's Horizon Award and the Royal Purple Award.
The Schollmaiers have also supported TCU Athletics through the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Basketball Complex, which opened in 2004.
Arena History
Buster Brannon began his coaching career with the Frogs in 1938, but it was not until two decades later that the former TCU head men's basketball coach was able to call an arena on campus "home."
For years, a new gymnasium for the basketball program had been in the talks, but it was only in March 1961 that the long awaited construction finally was underway. Daniel-Meyer Coliseum was completed and doors opened on December 14, 1961. The first game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum came four days later when the Frogs posted a 63-61 victory over Centenary on December 18, 1961. The total cost of the Frogs' home court was $1.45-million.
Designed by Architect Joe Pelich and constructed by the Cadenheard Company - both of Fort Worth - Daniel-Meyer Coliseum was designed after both the Wichita State University and University of Maryland. A completely circular facility, Daniel-Meyer Coliseum provided 27 rows for the passionate fans of the Frogs. The construction of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum provided a complete new vision for athletics facilities on the TCU campus as a new track and field complex, baseball stadium and tennis courts were moved and constructed to make room for the basketball arena.
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum was named after the late Milton Daniel, who was the former Chairman of the TCU Board of Trustees, and L.R. (Dutch) Meyer, former TCU head men's basketball and football coach along with the Athletics Director at the time of construction.
Over the decades, Daniel-Meyer Coliseum was home to some of the greatest basketball games in the Southwest, including an epic four overtime victory over the University of Houston in 1982, which was the longest basketball game in the former Southwest Conference history.
Over the past decade, the "DMC" has undergone a number of renovations and expansions, beginning in the Fall 2002 when a new men's locker room and player's lounge area was completed. In 2003, a new women's locker room and player's lounge area was completed along with a new sports medicine facility. That same year, a new state-of-the-art playing surface replaced the original floor.
A new lighting system arrived in 2004, followed by a $1.5-million four-panel LED scoreboard and LED baseline boards (2007) and new sound system (2010). The floor received a refreshed look in Summer 2012 with the additions of TCU's redesigned branding, new color scheme and Big 12 Conference logo.
