M Club Sponsored Events at Cole Fieldhouse

1958
Inaugural event (Dec. 16 - Harlem Globetrotter vs College All-Star team. They played each other annually for the next six years.

1958-72
During this period our paid Promotions Director, George Knepley, arranged pro-basketball games featuring these teams- Boston Celtics, Minn. Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phil. Warriors.
Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Baltimore Bullets.

1958
East-West All-Star basketball game.

1959-60's
Pro Tennis competition featuring Rod Laver, Pancho Gonzales, John Newcombe, Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad.

1961
Japanese Gymnastics exhibition.

1962
Benny Goodman concert.

1962-70
High school basketball double-headers between local and out-of-town squads.

1962-69
Our Promotions Director was responsible for arranging these events:
Eastern Regional NCAA men's semi-finals and finals (Mar.'62,63 & 65)
NCAA's Final Four landmark event for basketball integration when Texas
Western beat Kentucky for the national championship (1966)
NCAA's first and second round games (1968)
Eastern Regional finals where UNC beat Lefty's Davidson team 87-85 (1969).
Lefty then became MD's head coach.
The Final Four returned to Cole, the only on-campus arena to host two Final Four's.UCLA beat Jacksonville St. (1970).

1960-90
Sully Krouse and George Knepley promoted first of five NCAA wrestling championships before a sell-out crowd (1960). Others were held at Cole in '72,'78,'87 and '90.

1964-65
Power Memorial High, led by Lew Alcindor's 35 points, defeated DeMatha 65-62 (1964). However, in a rematch on Jan. 30, 1965 before a sell-out crowd, they beat Power 46-43 in the most publicized high school basketball game of all time. DeMatha ended Power's 71 game win streak, holding Alcindor to16 points. It was the lone loss of his high school career (116-1).

1970-83
Inaugural M Club - CYO National Invitation Indoor Track Meet (Jan.'70). This event was held annually for 13 years. It opened the national indoor track season and was featured each year in Sports Illustrated. It attracted dozens of Olympians to Cole, including Dwight Stone, Marty Liquori, Steve Prefontaine and MD's own world's best hurdler, Renaldo Nehemiah. The '73 meet included five gold medal winners from the '72 Munich Olympics.

1970
The M Club moved into its first "permanent" office in Cole. It was located in the Trophy Room with an entrance from the lobby where it was also used for pre-game gatherings. Five years later this space was taken by the Athletic Director, and we moved to Rm. 1142 on the concourse directly behind Section E. In '93, we returned to the same location where we began in '70 near the Cole Lobby.

1973
Billie Jean King and Rod Laver played exhibition tennis matches.

1974
Elvis Presley sells out both nights (Sept. 28 and 29). Other singers and entertainers appearing in the '70s included; Charlie Rich, Mac Davis, Charlie Pride, Lawrence Welk, Natalie Cole, Bob Hope, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, and Simon & Garfunkel

1970's
Other sports held during this period were: Russian and Romanian Olympic Gymnasts, USSR Volleyball, Olympic Basketball Tryouts, NY Nets - Indian Pacers pro basketball game, National Pro Karate Contest, Ali-Forman Boxing telecast and the National Gymnastics Competitions.

1978
The Athletic Department placed a moratorium on promotions at Cole after a disturbance at a high school basketball game (Not promoted by the M Club). The following events were approved on a case-by-case basis.

1982
We sponsored the Sugar Ray Leonard-Hearns boxing match on closed circuit TV.

1989-93
We added a M Club Tennis tournament, held at Cole Field House tennis courts, for a five year period.

1992
A Baseball Card Show was held in Cole.

1997
We sponsored all awards for the inaugural President's Cup Brunch honoring athletes for their academic achievements and community service.

2000
A Career Fair, sponsored by the M Club and the Academic Support Unit, was held at Cole on April 13.