William D. Mullins Memorial Center

The William D. Mullins Memorial Center, also known as the Mullins Center, is a 9,493-seat multi-purpose arena, located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Mullins Center is the home of UMass Minutemen men's basketball, women's basketball, and men's ice hockey. In addition, the venue hosts numerous concerts, family shows, theater shows, and commencements annually. Located adjacent to the Mullins Center is the Mullins Community Ice Rink, which is open for public skating and racquetball. In 1985, William D. Mullins, a state representative from Ludlow, suggested that the university needed a multipurpose arena and convocation center to help expand the athletic program and assist in the university's growth. He died in 1986, but the state went ahead with the building of the complex, naming it for him. It replaced the Curry Hicks Cage, the 1930s-era basketball gymnasium, as home of the Minutemen basketball teams. In addition, it allowed the hockey team, which had been downgraded to club status since the late 1970s, to be elevated to Division I status. The Mullins Center is managed by Global Spectrum, which manages over 70 different event arenas throughout the United States.