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G. Rollie White Coliseum
The City of College Station is located in the Prairies and Lakes region of Brazos county Texas, four miles outside the city of Bryan. It began with the founding of Texas A&M College, the state's first institution of higher education inaugurated in 1876. The campus became the focal point of community development providing facilities for those associated with the college because of its isolation. The area was designated "College Station, Texas" by the Postal Service in 1877, derived from the train station located to the west of the campus. Growth of both the community and college influenced residents' desire to create a municipal government and the City of College Station was incorporated in 1938.1
When it opened in 1954, the G. Rollie White Coliseum at the corner of Houston Street and Joe Routt Blvd was the largest building on campus. It cost more than $1 million and sat 13,400.2 It was the home to A&M men's and women's basketball and sat about 7,800 when used for that.
Along with a dormitory, it was named for the then president of the board of directors. G. R. White, a civic leader, horse breeder and philanthropist, had graduated Texas A&M in 1895 and was first appointed to the board of directors of the school in 1926. He became president of the board in 1944 and served until January 1955.2
Elvis, Scotty and Bill had performed in the area once before, on August 23, 1955 while on a tour with members of the Louisiana Hayride. The show was held at the Rodeo Arena in Bryan, TX, which was owned by the Bryan Saddle Club, a horseback riding and often called that. Billboard magazine reported that A.J. Winn, a performer and deejay from radio WTAW in College Station, guested.
On October 3, 1955, Elvis, Scotty and Bill started a four day tour of Texas that would hit five cities with a show at the G. Rollie White Coliseum. The tour consisted of Jimmy and Johnny, Johnny Horton, Betty Amos, David Houston, comedian Willie Birdbrain, and Dalton and Lulu along with Tillman Franks, who booked the tour, and Horace Logan, who acted as emcee.3
As advertised, the 7:30 show at the G. Rollie White Coliseum was sponsored by the Office of Student Activities with advance tickets costing .35 cents for children and .75 cents for adults and .50 cents and $1.00 at the door. From there they played shows in Paris, Greenville and then San Marcos and Austin on the sixth.
Often referred to as "Jollie Rollie" or the "Holler House on the Brazos," G. Rollie White Coliseum was also home to Aggie (Texas A&M) volleyball since the 1975 season. The 7,800-seat coliseum underwent a $600,000 renovation prior to the 1992 season. The playing surface was replaced with a new wooden floor, and the lower level bleachers were replaced with arena-style seating that encircles the court. Other improvements included enhanced lighting and a facelift to the building's exterior.4
When the basketball teams moved to the newly constructed Reed Arena in 1998 the Coliseum floor was repainted and transformed into a volleyball-only court. A large and extensive volleyball scoreboard, which displays scores by game and statistics of active players in addition to other enhancements, replaced the outdated basketball scoreboard prior to the 2001 season. In addition, the locker rooms formerly used by the men's and women's basketball teams were renovated and converted into a spacious volleyball locker room with an adjoining film room, computer and study area, and relaxing lounge.4
The Coliseum was also the main building for the Texas A&M's Department of Health and Kinesiology and the Physical Education Activity Program's main office. It also houses several classrooms and the bulk of the PEAP faculty offices. In addition there are several activity rooms where classes such as self defense, dance, yoga, Pilates, and badminton are held.5
Beginning in the summer of 2009 the Coliseum became home to the University bookstore for the next several years while the Memorial Student Center across the street is renovated.5 During this time the Aggies volleyball team moved to the Reed Arena and school officials will decide whether or not to return to G. Rollie White in 2012.4
Sorry to say that we are told that the building is scheduled for demolition, commencing on August 19, 2013 and expected to take 20 days to complete. page added August 29, 2011demolition notice added August 19, 2013 Special thanks to The BeatGear Cavern's lklel for his assistance with this page. 1 according to or City of College
Station History *According to Lisa Kalmus, curator for the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center at Texas A&M University, the photo of the cadets with Elvis' Cadillac is most likely from the October appearance since the school would not have been in session for the August show. Months before publishing this page on the Coliseum in College Station I was contacted by Hugh Brown who helped clear up a myth about a reputed show here. The story, like many, had propagated over time and appeared in several "authoritative" publications, the tour dates section here included, all because of a forged poster. Hugh's original email was as follows:
section added July 24, 2012
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All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
