Bob Devaney Sports Center

Nebraska football coach and athletic director Bob Devaney began campaigning for a new multi-sport arena as early as 1971, earning Board of Regents approval two years later. In 1974, construction began northeast of campus on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds, which would later be purchased by the university from the City of Lincoln. The $13.8-million project was financed using 2.5 of 13 cents allocated to a general university fund from a decades-old state cigarette tax, earning it the nickname "the house that cigarettes built." When it opened in March 1976, the NU Sports Complex replaced the NU Coliseum as the home of most of the university's indoor sports. It had an arena capacity of 15,000, a natatorium capacity of 3,500, and a track capacity of 5,000. Athletic offices and locker rooms were located beneath the southern section of the main arena's bleachers. Two years later, the complex was named for Devaney, who won two national championships as a head coach and served as athletic director until 1992. ==Basketball==

Nebraska played its first basketball game at the arena on November 27, 1976. The highest attendance recorded at the Devaney Center was 15,038, a 62–54 win over Oklahoma State on February 7, 1981. Much of the program's modest success at the arena came under head coach Danny Nee, who remembered the Devaney Center fondly: "I was so impressed with how it was designed, and the size was really cool. That building had charisma." Decades later, an historic 2009–10 season produced the first regular-season sellout in program history, a 67–51 win over Missouri. ==Volleyball==

vs. Penn State at the Devaney Center on Nov. 30, 2013 When construction began on West Haymarket Arena to host basketball, athletic director Tom Osborne led an effort to move volleyball from the NU Coliseum to the vacated Devaney Center, which had previously hosted select games, as well as the entire 1991 season while the Coliseum was being renovated. Head coach John Cook resisted the relocation proposal, relenting when the university committed to a $27-million redevelopment of the facility. The arena's listed capacity is 8,309, including standing-room-only areas, though proposed future expansions will raise capacity to nearly 10,000 by 2026. Nebraska has led the country in attendance by a wide margin each year since the move and extended its record 337-match sellout streak. According to Lincoln's daily newspaper, the Lincoln Journal Star, in the 2022 fiscal year, NU women's volleyball was the only women's sports team in basketball's generally recognized power conferences (the current Power Four football conferences, the pre-2024 Pac-12 Conference, and the Big East Conference) that turned a profit. ==Other sports==

;Gymnastics The main arena at the Devaney Center has hosted gymnastics since 1976, including several conference and national postseason events. In the 1986 NCAA men's championship, judges deliberated for nearly an hour before determining Nebraska had filed an "incorrect inquiry procedure," declaring Arizona State the national champion by less than a point. ;Swimming The Devaney Center Natatorium was built as part of the original facility in 1976. The venue hosted several Big Eight and Big 12 conference meets, but is now considered outdated. Its pool is undersized at just twenty-five yards in length, and is considered among the worst in the Big Ten. The natatorium has a listed capacity of 1,000. ;Track and field The Devaney Center has served as the home venue of Nebraska's indoor track and field program since it was constructed. A 200-meter hydraulic-banked track, the largest of its kind in the world, was the focal point of a $2.9-million renovation in 2000. The track seats up to 5,000 spectators and has hosted championship meets for each of the Big Eight, Big 12, and Big Ten. ;High school sports The Devaney Center was the primary host of the Nebraska School Activities Association Boys and Girls State Basketball tournament for nearly four decades. Omaha Benson High School's Andre Wooldridge set an arena scoring record in 1992 with fifty points in the Class A championship game. ==Concerts and other events==

The Devaney Center was the primary concert destination in Lincoln throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, and regularly hosted events until the early 2000s. Notable performers at the arena include Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elton John, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Bob Dylan, and Garth Brooks. ==Notes==