Elon, North Carolina
🏀 Elon Phoenix

Tucked into the Piedmont region of North Carolina, the quaint town of Elon is home to the university of the same name and their athletic teams, christened the Phoenix. The men’s basketball program at this mid-major Coastal Athletic school, located about a half-hour east of Greensboro, often finds itself overshadowed by the state’s more prominent blueblood institutions. However, the Phoenix are determined to carve out their own identity, especially with the opening of their new home, the Schar Center, in the fall of 2018.

The impressive 160,000-square-foot Schar Center replaced an aging Alumni Gym, a far smaller venue in the heart of campus that hosted the team for 68 years. The new arena symbolized a fresh start, allowing the Phoenix the opportunity to rise from the ashes of mediocrity and strive to reach new heights.

Still, Schar Center needs time to develop character, boasting an often sterile atmosphere throughout the season. The arena does feature a thoughtful layout though, including a 360-degree concourse that offers fans clear views of the action from just about everywhere. Tucked away beyond one of the end zones is a neat hangout area equipped with a cluster of televisions, some of which broadcast live games and some that are hooked up to video game consoles. There are also some arcade-style games, a basketball hoop and some plush couches to finish off the man-cave-type space. Behind the other end zone, large bay windows look down onto the team’s practice courts, where you’ll often see some club or youth players shooting hoops.

Schar Center seats over 5,000 people, but it’s rare to see a crowd of that size at Phoenix games. This is evidenced by the upper tier of seats being roped off for most games, certainly dampening the overall experience. The long-term success of the program on the court may lead to a fuller arena in the future, though the men have been historically outplayed by the far more accomplished women’s team. Fan turnout is definitely a bit better for the lady Phoenix, who claimed CAA Tournament titles in 2017 and 2018 to earn themselves back-to-back bids in the Big Dance.

The men, meanwhile, have been stuck in the land of perpetual suffering. The Phoenix have only made one NCAA Tournament appearance – a loss in the first round of the 1997 DII Tournament, fresh off their one and only conference tourney win – and have never captured any title or won a single postseason tournament game since joining the Division I ranks in 2001.

Still on the hunt for their first-ever DI conference championship to send them dancing for the first time, the Phoenix and their fans have high hopes that their dreams will be realized soon. The team has plenty of room to grow inside the sleek confines of the Schar Center, a venue that promises to host many memorable moments for Elon basketball in the years to come.

Portions of this post were adapted from my 2020 article for Stadium Journey.