Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC)

The home to the Valparaiso University men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs, the Athletics-Recreation Center opened in the fall of 1984.

The ARC Arena has a capacity of 5,000. Most recently, the arena underwent an upgrade in the summer of 2023, as a new Daktronics high-definition video board was installed above center court and new LED lighting was installed to enhance the fan experience. New side scoreboards were also installed.

The ARC has hosted several postseason sporting events, highlighted by Valpo hosting home games in both the men’s and the women’s Postseason NIT. The Valpo women’s basketball team welcomed Houston to the ARC for the quarterfinals of the 2002 WNIT, while the men’s basketball team hosted three rounds of the 2016 NIT — culminating in a quarterfinal win over Saint Mary’s which set a building record with an attendance of 5,444.

The ARC has also hosted a pair of first-round games in the CollegeInsider.com men’s basketball tournament (2011, 2014). Valpo hosted the final three rounds of the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship three times (2012, 2013, 2015), the Mid-Continent Conference Volleyball Tournament three times (1996, 2003, 2005) and the 1995 Mid-Con men’s basketball title game.

The arena court bears the name Homer Drew Court, in honor of Dr. Homer Drew, Valpo’s all-time winningest men's basketball coach. Dedicated in October of 2010, Homer Drew Court honors a coach who led Valpo to 371 wins in his time at the helm, as well as seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 1998.

On Sunday afternoon, December 9, 1984, Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish visited Valparaiso and provided the opposition for the ARC’s dedication game in men’s basketball. The 1984-1985 season also marked the first season of play for the Valpo women’s basketball team in the ARC. The volleyball team began playing its home matches at the ARC in 1985 as well.

The ARC also contains Hilltop Gym, which serves as the practice facility for the Valpo basketball and volleyball programs. The home court for Valpo basketball until the completion of the ARC in 1984, Hilltop Gym underwent a two-year renovation, including the installation of air conditioning and new lighting, which was completed in 2018. The Hilltop Gym playing surface has been named Kempf Court at Hilltop Gym, in honor of Dale F. Kempf ’62, a longtime faculty member in engineering and physics, whose estate provided the lead gift for the renovation project.

Since the original completion of the ARC, renovation of the existing facility has provided upgraded facilities for all Valpo students and faculty, including new locker rooms, staff offices and classrooms. The facility also features a nine-lap per mile running track which sits between levels of the arena, the Mosak Performance Center (a weight room facility for varsity athletes), the ticket office, numerous trophy and award display cases and the Hall of Champions, which features photos of every Valpo conference championship team.

In 1978-1979, a Valparaiso University student survey circulated which identified an overwhelming student-felt need for improved recreational facilities on campus. This was the birth of the ARC. This survey was followed in 1979 by a comprehensive University-wide study by the Council on University Priorities and Planning.

Subsequently, a program of needs was developed by a campus committee. The Valpo Board of Directors then designated the ARC as a priority capital component of Valparaiso University, thus a national comprehensive effort to raise $50 million in support of the University. Ground was broken for the ARC on April 23, 1983.

The $7.25 million Athletics-Recreation Center added 84,000 square feet of new construction to the existing facility, thereby providing at one site a complex of over 142,000 square feet for physical education, athletics, and recreational activities.