Winthrop Coliseum Review
ROCK HILL, SC--The Winthrop Coliseum, home to the Eagle men's and women's basketball teams since 1982, is ranked the 30th best arena out of 351 NCAA Division I home court facilities for the best overall arena experience in college basketball by Stadium Journey Magazine.

Winthrop's home court ranked ahead of Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium by one spot and also ranked ahead of other arenas of note including Indiana's Assembly Hall (34), South Carolina's Colonial Life Arena (38), Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum (47), and Wichita State's Charles Koch Arena (150).  The top-rated home court was Kentucky's Rupp Arena while the Carrier Dome at Syracuse was listed second.

"For a facility that is now 32 years old, we are proud of what we have been able to do here at Winthrop to keep our coliseum venue comfortable, pleasant and fun for our fans," said Winthrop Athletic Director Tom Hickman.  "Our arena is easily accessible and the seating arrangement keeps our fans close to the action.  There is not a bad seat in the house.  We certainly appreciate this most positive and public recognition of our quality coliseum venue which is indicative of all our facilities here at Winthrop."

It took the staff and editors of Stadium Magazine, an online publication, four years to visit each of the Division I home arenas and compile the ranking.  "Our reviews are based on several categories including: food and beverage in the arena, the overall atmosphere, the neighborhood in which the arena resides, the fans, the access (including traffic, parking, restrooms, and ability to move around in the arena), overall return on investment, and a catchall category for any extras," said Paul Swaney. "We use the rating of our correspondent as our primary ranking, with the crowd reviews of our members as the secondary factor. In cases where there is still a tie, we have an internal discussion to determine which arena experience might be slightly better."

Brian Wilmer, regional correspondent for Stadium Journey, said every great program has a great home, and Winthrop is no exception.  "The facility seats over 6,000 people, making it the second-largest regularly-used facility in the Big South Conference. Winthrop has an arena and game-day experience that are a good fit with the program's stature and previous success," said Wilmer.

To read the full review of the Winthrop Coliseum, click the link at the top of the story.To view the complete ranking of 351 venues, visit ,http://www.stadiumjourney.com/news/03-28-2014/599/college-basketball-arena-rankings-2014  and click on the name or picture for each arena.