Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gallagher-Iba Arena hosted its 85th season in 2023-24, and is still considered one of the finest collegiate basketball arenas in the country. Known as the Madison Square Garden of the Plains, the venue can be described with just a single word — historic.
Despite doubling the size of the facility prior to the 2000-01 season, the arena still provides an up-close view from any seat in the house, helping to give the Cowboys a tremendous home-court advantage.
Originally named Gallagher Hall after OSU’s fabled wrestling coach Ed Gallagher, the Board of Regents honored legendary Cowboy Basketball coach Henry Iba when the arena was remodeled in 1987, and his name was added to the arena’s title.
Gallagher served as OSU’s wrestling coach from 1916-40. In his 23 years, OSU won 11 national championships and compiled a 138-5-4 dual record. Gallagher was also an outstanding athlete while attending then Oklahoma A&M. He was captain of the track team for three years, and his 99-yard run against Kansas State in 1908 will always stand as the longest football run in school history.
Iba, who passed away in January of 1993, was a coaching giant in the sport of basketball. He coached in 1,105 collegiate games, and his 767 career wins were the second most to Adolph Rupp when he retired in 1970. Iba served as coach and athletic director at OSU from 1935-70, and in those 36 seasons, posted a 655-316 record while guiding the Cowboys to 13 league championships, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1945 and 1946 NCAA Championships.
Along with the expansion of the historic arena, the OSU Athletics Center has many features. A total of 14 luxury suites stretch across the west side of the facility, overlooking both Eddie Sutton Court and Boone Pickens Stadium. Banners honoring Oklahoma State's 53 NCAA championships across all sports are hung from the rafters. The pride of OSU athletic triumphs are also illustrated in photographic and trophy displays in Heritage Hall, a museum dedicated to athletic and academic excellence at OSU.
Even after two major construction projects, today’s players still compete on the gym’s original white maple floor, which was the country’s most expensive when it was installed in 1938. The arena was built in 1938 at a cost of $1.5 million. National powers Oklahoma State and Kansas opened the facility on Dec. 9 in a game that matched coaching legends Henry Iba and Phog Allen. OSU won the game, 21-15.
Oklahoma State's recently announced Athletics Vision Plan includes further improvements to Gallagher-Iba Arena, highlighted by two new wings that would house expanded basketball and wrestling practice facilities.
Plans for the enhanced basketball training center propose an addition on the south side of the arena, which will feature two practice courts, and other championship-caliber training spaces. The proposed new wrestling training center would feature a dedicated space for spectators that will enhance recruiting and donor visits, as well as housing office and meeting spaces for the coaching staff. Additionally, a proposed Gallagher-Iba Welcome Plaza parking expansion will create approximately 250 new parking spaces nestled in a park-like setting.
FAST FACTS | |
| YEAR OPENED | 1938 |
| YEAR EXPANDED | 2001 |
| CAPACITY | 13,611 |
| SURFACE | White Maple |
| SUITES | 14 |
ATTENDANCE RECORDS | |
| MEN'S BASKETBALL | 13,611 (Multiple) |
| WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 13,611 (Jan. 12, 2008) |
| WRESTLING | 14,059 (Feb. 19, 2017) |
LINKS | |
| Men's Basketball Seating Map | |
| Women's Basketball Seating Map | |
| Wrestling Seating Map | |
| Parking Guides | |
| GIA Tours (Every Wednesday at 1:00 PM) | |
| Campus Maps | |
| OSU Visitors Guide | |
Gallery: Gallagher-Iba Arena Facilities
Arena History
The original structure, called the 4-H Club and Student Activity Building when it was built in 1938 at a cost of $1.5 million, and was dubbed the "Madison Square Garden of the Plains," standing as one of the premier sporting venues in the region. The arena was unveiled in grand fashion, as national basketball powers Oklahoma State and Kansas opened the facility on December 9, 1938, in a game that matched coaching legends Henry Iba and Phog Allen. Mr. Iba's Cowboys won that game, 21-15.
The facility was quickly rechristened as Gallagher Hall in honor of fabled Oklahoma A&M wrestling coach Ed Gallagher.
Gallagher is widely renowned as the father of modern amateur wrestling, and crafted much of the sport while serving as Oklahoma A&M wrestling coach from 1916-40. In his 23 years at the helm, OSU won 11 team national championships and compiled a 138-5-4 dual record. Gallagher was also an outstanding athlete while attending Oklahoma A&M. He was captain of the track team for three years, and his 99-yard run against Kansas State in 1908 still stands as the longest football run in school history.
The facility would see a second name change in 1987, when the Board of Regents amended Gallagher Hall's name to recognize legendary Cowboy basketball coach Henry Iba.
During his tenure in Stillwater, Mr. Iba served as a great influence the game of basketball. It was in Gallagher-Iba Arena where Mr. Iba shaped many of the philosophies that many basketball coaches still teach today. He coached in 1,105 collegiate games, and his 767 career wins rank eighth in NCAA Division I history. Mr. Iba served as coach and athletic director at Oklahoma State from 1935 to 70, and in those 36 seasons, posted a 655-316 record while guiding the Cowboys to 13 league championships, eight NCAA appearances and the 1945 and 1946 NCAA Championships.
Two seats are permanently reserved for Gallagher and Iba in the southeast corner of the arena on the concourse level.
Before moving into Gallagher Hall, the Oklahoma A&M Aggies played in the original Armory (where the Business Administration building now stands) from 1907 until 1919, when they moved into the new Armory (old gym) which is now the Donald W. Reynolds School of Architecture building.
The original capacity of Gallagher Hall (9,000) decreased throughout the years, due to fire codes and such. By the 1986-87 season - prior to the first major renovation - the capacity was 6,750.
Gallagher Hall | |
| Year built | 1938 (cost $389,000 |
| Official name | 4-H Club and Student Activity Building (capacity 9,000) |
| Better known as | Gallagher Hall, Gallagher Fieldhouse |
| First basketball game | Dec. 9, 1938 vs. Kansas (OSU won 21-15) |
| First wrestling dual | Feb. 3, 1939 vs. Indiana (OSU won 18-6) |
Gallagher-Iba Arena | |
| Renovations | 1987 (cost $3.8 million) |
| Renamed | Gallagher-Iba Arena (capacity 6,381) |
| First basketball game | Dec. 10, 1987 vs. Tulsa (OSU won 66-65) |
New Gallagher-Iba Arena | |
| Renovations | 2000 (cost $56 million) |
| Renamed | OSU Athletics Center - Gallagher-Iba Arena (capacity 13,611) |
| First basketball game | Dec. 19, 2000 vs. UALR (OSU won 70-60) |
| First wrestling dual | Jan. 4, 2001 vs. Oregon (OSU won 33-3) |
| Court renamed | Eddie Sutton Court on Jan. 15, 2005 |
Wrestling at Gallagher-Iba Arena
No venue in America has a richer wrestling tradition than Gallagher-Iba Arena, home of Oklahoma State wrestling since 1939. In its beginning as Gallagher Hall, the gymnasium was named for Edward Clark Gallagher, the Oklahoma A&M wrestling mentor who never wrestled competitively but became the greatest coach of his time.
The 1987-88 season brought a new look and a new name to the hallowed hall. When renovations were completed in January 1988, it was renamed Gallagher-Iba Arena to honor the late Mr. Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State's legendary basketball coach.
Gallagher-Iba Arena took on a new look once again in 2001. On Jan. 4, 2001 the OSU wrestling team hosted Oregon in the first match in the newly renovated arena. Gallagher-Iba Arena underwent a $56 million renovation that increased the seating capacity of Gallagher-Iba Arena to its current total of 13,611 seats. The Cowboys set a new wrestling attendance record in the first season, packing in 10,802 for a Bedlam Series dual against Oklahoma on Feb. 18. Previously, the largest crowd was estimated at 8,300.
The attendance record for Gallagher-Iba Arena has been crushed in more recent years, with 14,059 fans packing the arena for the Cowboys' 2017 showdown with Penn State. 23,633 fans attended the final two duals of the 2023-24 season, including a sellout against arch rival Iowa, setting a new record for the greatest attendance across two home duals in Cowboy Wrestling history.
Since wrestling began in Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Cowboys have won 25 NCAA titles and have had 40 unbeaten and untied campaigns at home. One of their longest winning streaks ran with the arena's opening in 1939 and lasted until Feb. 16, 1951. During that period, Oklahoma State won 37 straight home duals, including no ties.
From January 13, 1933, through February 16, 1951, Oklahoma State wrestled 67 home duals without a loss, before the streak was broken by Oklahoma, 19-8.
On Feb. 3, 1939, Oklahoma A&M wrestled for the first time inside the arena, defeating Indiana by an 18-6 margin. On Feb. 3, 1989, the Oklahoma State Cowboys hosted the Hoosiers in a celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the first Gallagher Hall dual. The Cowboys defeated the Hoosiers, 28-6, in the 1989 dual.
OSU's home winning streak of 56 consecutive duals from February 20th, 1959, to January 20th, 1967, is the longest streak without a loss or tie in the history of Oklahoma State wrestling at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
