The C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum will open its doors to spectators for the last time Sunday, Jan. 3. As the Ole Miss women’s basketball team begins its 2016 Southeastern Conferences schedule and the $95-million-dollar Pavilion at Ole Miss prepares for its grand opening, the building affectionately known as the “Tad Pad” will host its last game just a month shy of its 50-year anniversary.
In 1964, when the University broke ground on its new basketball stadium, the Ole Miss football team started the season ranked No. 1 in the country. Georgia Tech was playing its first season outside the SEC. That same year, Cleveland Donald Jr., who would become the University’s second black graduate, entered the school under a federal protection order.
Originally called the Rebel Coliseum, the venue was later renamed to honor a former Rebel and three-sport letterman who later served as athletics director from 1946-1970.
Just as Smith was credited with major expansions in Ole Miss athletics, his namesake arena has seen the Rebels celebrate their 1000th win and make their first eight NCAA Tournament appearances since its opening in 1966. The stadium’s seating capacity was increased to 9,061 in 2008. The capacity of the Pavilion will be 9,500.
The cost, adjusted for inflation, of the Tad Pad was just over $13 million. That investment bought the University a space which welcomed its student classes and brought them together over love of sport for nearly half a century.
