📍 Kennesaw, Georgia
🏀 Home of Kennesaw State Owls basketball

Featuring a suburban campus on the outskirts of Atlanta, Kennesaw State University was founded during the post-World War II era at the height of the international space race. The institution, using a grant by the US government, was conceived in order to conduct scientific research that would help propel the country to the stars. Although the void of space is no longer the primary focus at Kennesaw State, taking flight still plays a critical role in the school’s culture and extracurricular activities.

Nicknamed the Owls, the athletic teams at KSU are on a never-ending quest to soar high above their competition. One of the most successful programs is men’s basketball, which plays at the cozy KSU Convocation Center and has enjoyed their fair share of time in the spotlight.

The Owls started out competing in the NAIA but quickly moved up to NCAA’s Division II, joining the ranks in 1994. During this time, student-athletes helped Kennesaw State to national championships in multiple team sports, including baseball, softball and women’s soccer. The men’s basketball team also clinched the DII National Championship in 2004, a title that served as a catalyst for the school’s transition to Division I the following year. The 2005 move also coincided with the grand opening of their new on-campus arena, the KSU Convocation Center, which replaced the Spec Landrum Center as the home of the Owls.

The Convocation Center holds a modest 3,800; between students, families and local fans, the arena usually sees decent crowds on any given day, filling up the chairbacks around the court for nearly every game. Although they’re often hidden by an electric curtain at game start, two large recessed areas of bleachers on both sides of the venue are typically uncovered for late arriving fans as the game progresses, dramatically improving the atmosphere of the otherwise sterile gym.

One of the most electric moments in the history of the KSU Convocation Center came on January 12, 2024, when the Owls defeated Florida Gulf Coast on a buzzer beating 3-point heave. Relive this incredible finish by watching the video below.

KSU students are the most boisterous bunch on gameday, with a few of them famously dressing up as bananas and leading Owls fans in chants and in song. The team mascot, Scrappy the Owl, also roams the arena and entertains fans throughout the evening. There’s not much else to the venue or to the experience, as each event relies heavily on the actual game product itself.

Although they haven’t competed as well as they did in DII, Kennesaw State remains a prosperous program nonetheless, appearing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2023. As the ever-changing squad continues to improve both on and off the court, fans will certainly keep turning out to the KSU Convocation Center to watch their beloved Owls immobilize their prey.