Bowen Field House is a 5,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Ypsilanti, Michigan on the Eastern Michigan University campus. It opened in 1955 and was home to the Eastern Michigan Eagles men's and women's basketball teams until the Convocation Center opened in 1997. It currently serves as the home of Eastern Michigan Eagles track and field, Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling, and Eastern Michigan Eagles gymnastics.

Bowen Field House
Map
LocationYpsilanti, Michigan
Coordinates42°15′00″N 83°37′33″W / 42.250020°N 83.625940°W / 42.250020; -83.625940
OwnerEastern Michigan University
OperatorEastern Michigan University
Construction
Opened1955
Expanded1982
Construction cost$1.25 million
($14.2 million in 2023 dollars[1])
Tenants
Eastern Michigan Eagles

The last regular season basketball game at the Field House was against the University of Toledo on February 25, 1998, though EMU hosted Toledo again three days later in the Field House in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference tournament that year.[2] EMU brought basketball back to the Field House in November 2013, where the men's team played local rival Concordia University as well as Robert Morris, while the women's team hosted Butler.[3]

On December 4, 1995, during halftime of a basketball game against San Francisco State, more than 50 EMU students took the court for an hour to protest the arrest a month earlier of a black student by a white police officer at a residence hall. Approximately 1,300 spectators were ushered out of the Field House, and the second half of the game was played in the empty arena.[4]

On Thursday, October 31, 1996, President Bill Clinton used a conference on women and business and a speech at the Field House to announce the expansion of a Small Business Administration program to help women.[5]

References

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  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Hackenberg, Dave (1998-02-26). "Boykins gets last word against UT". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  3. ^ Athletics, EMU (2013-08-31). "EMU Basketball Heads Back to Bowen". EMUeagles.com. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  4. ^ "Protest delays EMU game". The Bryan Times. 1995-12-05. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  5. ^ Purdum, Todd S. (1996-10-31). "Clinton Opens Hard Charge In Drive for Majority of Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
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