Ancient Eight Arena Tour

The Harvard men’s basketball season may have ended abruptly last year, but at Lavietes Pavilion, the team could not be beat. The squad ended the season by defeating Princeton, a win that marked the Crimson’s 17th straight win at home—a run dating back to the 2009-2010 season. The streak is good for the 10th-best in the country in Division I ball.

Although this home-court advantage is fairly new, the home court isn’t. Lavietes opened in 1926 and is the second oldest arena used in college basketball.

In 1981, the Gordon Track and Tennis Center opened, allowing Lavietes to replace the Malkin Athletic Center as the home of Crimson basketball. It hosted its first basketball game on Nov. 26, 1982, a women’s game against the University of Chicago. The men’s team defeated MIT the next day. On March 2, 1996, the court was dedicated to Ray Lavietes ’36, a two-time letter winner for the basketball team.

Here’s a rundown of the rest of the Ivy League’s home courts:

The Brown Bears play in the Pizzitola Sports Center, the lobby of which is named after legendary alum John Heisman.

Francis S. Levien Gymnasium is the home court of the Columbia Lions, having replaced the old University Gym in 1974.

Home to the Cornell Big Red is Newman Arena, which opened in 1990. The 4,473-seater has hosted the Harlem Globetrotters.

The home court of the Dartmouth Big Green is the 2,100-seat Leede Arena, named after one of Dartmouth’s all-time leading scorers, Edward Leede ’49.

The Penn Quakers play in the Palestra, which opened in 1927 and is the most famous gym in the league. Considered to be the birthplace of college basketball, the Palestra has hosted more games, teams, and NCAA Tournaments than any other arena.

The Princeton Tigers play in 42 year-old Jadwin Gymnasium, a 250,000-square-foot-surface that has enough space for eight football fields. The Princeton cheering section is dubbed the “Jadwin Jungle.”

Finally, the John J. Lee Amphitheater houses the Yale Bulldogs. This court is one part of the gothic Payne Whitney Gymnasium, the second-oldest gym in the world—constructed only six years after Lavietes.