Ferrell Center

The Bears celebrated the start of conference play with their Go Gold! match giving out "Beat TCU" buttons and rally towels.

The Bears clear the bench to celebrate the 3-1 victory over TCU.

Alexis Dacosta celebrates a point over TCU.

Volleyball vs. Texas - Ferrell Center White Out - 11/20/2019

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

Acrobatics & Tumbling

Volleyball

The Ferrell Center, previously home to basketball and volleyball for more than 25 years, is now the sole home of the Volleyball and Acrobatics & Tumbling teams as of the 2024 fall semester.

Capacity for Acrobatics & Tumbling meets and Volleyball matches is 7,500, while conventions, concerts, graduation exercises and convocations can seat 12,000. Capacity for basketball games was 10,284; the basketball programs moved to the Foster Pavilion in the 2023-24 season.

The Ferrell continues to undergo upgrades to maintain its standard as one of the region's finest facilities. The improvements have given the Bears the type of arena necessary to compete in the Big 12 Conference. Announced in May 2025, the newest project is expected to focus on strategic deferred maintenance, including new building systems such as chillers, A/C units, retractable bleachers and LED fixtures in the main arena. In addition, renovations will provide updates to better accommodate the 10-time national champion Acrobatics and Tumbling program and Baylor Athletics Medicine. A&T renovations include existing locker rooms, film room and restroom and shower facilities — necessary enhancements given the larger number of student-athletes using the spaces when compared to the Baylor basketball teams that previously occupied the Ferrell Center. The Athletics Medicine Suite will be relocated and updated to include new hydrotherapy pools and coach and staff facilities. Renovations are expected to be completed by April 2026, beginning in August 2025.

The most recent completed upgrade to the Ferrell Center was the addition of Taraflex for volleyball matches on the main floor, beginning in the 2024 season. Boasting space for three side-by-side courts, it is the largest continuous Taraflex surface in the country when in that configuration.

The volleyball locker room was completed in late 2020 on the lower level of the facility, hosting a kitchenette and lounge area, full bathroom and showers, and 22 lockers. The locker room is named for the late Molly Martinsen, daughter of former volleyball letterwinner Jennifer Putty Martinsen who played from 1985-87. Former Baylor volleyball coach Mitch Casteel and his wife, Beth (Fountain) Casteel, gave the lead gift to name the locker room in Molly's memory. Beth was a teammate of Molly's mom on the 1985 Baylor volleyball team. Full details on Molly and the Molly Martinsen Challenge to name all 22 lockers can be found here.

A new hardwood floor was installed prior to the 2014-15 season, also adding a state-of-the-art, center-hung video board built by Mitsubishi in October 2010. The video board includes four LED screens, each measuring 8.53 feet by 16.01 feet. The lower LED ring is 2.93 feet by 15.96 feet and the upper LED ring is 2.13 feet by 25.82 feet. Weighing in at nearly 22,000 pounds, the total project cost $3.2 million. In addition to the center-hung video board, Baylor also installed four upper corner boards that have video capability; those boards display in-game individual and team statistics. Four floor-level boards were installed as well as 12 upper-arena ribbon boards located at each of the arena entrances.

Another major upgrade was the construction of the Lt. Jack Whetsel Jr. Practice Facility prior to the fall of 2006. The 42,990 square-foot addition includes the Hawkins practice courts, the Getterman Office Suites for the coaching staffs, and Gray's Gym, named by R.T. Gray in memory of his son, R.B. Gray. Other improvements include the Hall of Honor entry, the Stone Reception Room VIP area, as well as upgrades to the training room, media room and visiting locker room. The $8 million Whetsel Practice Facility was dedicated on September 8, 2006. The then-state-of-the-art basketball locker rooms with custom wooden lockers were installed in 2004.

Built in 1988 at a cost of $12.5 million, the gold-domed Ferrell Center is located on a 14-acre tract on the corner of University Parks Drive and Texas Highway 6 (LaSalle Avenue).

The Ferrell Center is named in memory of Charles Robert Ferrell, who died in 1967 during his sophomore year at Baylor. The arena is named in honor of Paul J. Meyer Sr., of Waco.

A major portion of the construction cost was provided by the estate of the late Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Ferrell of Houston, in memory of their son. Monroe Ferrell, a 1938 graduate of Baylor, operated a concrete pipe business in Houston until his death in December 1981, seven years after the death of his wife.

Other significant contributions came from Paul J. Meyer Sr., Emil H. Meyerhoff and the late J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla. Meyer was founder and chairman of the board of Success Motivation International, Inc., and of the Eureka Corporation. The Meyerhoff estate, through the auspices of executor Bill Patterson of McAllen, provided the University with a large gift.

Groundbreaking for the Ferrell Center was held July 1, 1987, and a women's basketball game between Baylor and Texas State on Nov. 25, 1988, was the first sporting event held. The first men's basketball game was Nov. 29, 1988, a loss to San Diego State.

The height of the facility is 111 feet, and the dome covers three acres and weighs 175 tons. Lighting capacity on the floor is 150-foot candles. The arena is designed with 42-tiered levels of seats, including nine rows of retractable seats at courtside. Banquet accommodations can be arranged for 1,000 people on the main floor.

The building's lower level houses not only Gray's Gym and the home locker rooms, but visiting team locker rooms, coaches' and officials dressing rooms, media room, athletic training room and general storage.

The Ferrell Center has been the site of Dallas Mavericks exhibition games, and the facility has also hosted the Mavericks' and Phoenix Suns' training camps. Former President Ronald Reagan spoke to a Republican political rally in the first event held under the golden dome on September 22, 1988. It has hosted other world leaders such as Colin Powell, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former president George W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, all as part of the President's Forum Lecture Series. The Harlem Globe Trotters have also played a game at the Ferrell. It has hosted concerts for George Strait, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Hootie & the Blowfish, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant.

The final basketball game held in the Ferrell Center was a blowout of Mississippi Valley State by the men's basketball team on December 22, 2023, winning 107-48. The final Ferrell Center record for the Men was 378-166 while the Women had a record of 432-99.

In conjunction with the Big 12 Conference & for the safety of our guests & employees, the following are prohibited:
Animals*
Artificial Noisemakers
Backpacks
Bags & Purses Larger than 12" x 6" x 12"
Banners & Poles
Camera Lenses Larger than 4", Tripods & Monopods
Chairbacks & Cushions
Outside Food & Beverage*
Scooters, Strollers, Bicycles, Roller skates & Skateboards
Tobacco
Umbrellas
Video Cameras
Weapons, Firearms & Fireworks
Abusive, Foul or Disruptive Behavior
Actions Deemed Dangerous or Inappropriate
Smoking - Traditional & Non-Traditional
Throwing Objects
Trespassing, Soliciting, Peddling & Loitering
*Exceptions will be made for those with medical requirements and/or special needs

1998 WNIT First Round, Second Round, Semifinal and Final
1999 WNIT First and Second Round
2002 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2003 WNIT First Round, Second Round, Semifinal and Final
2006 Women's Preseason NIT
2009 NIT First Round
2011 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2013 NIT First, Second, and Third Rounds
2013 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2014 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2015 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2016 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2016 NCATA National Championships
2017 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2017 NCAA Volleyball First and Second Rounds
2018 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2018 NIT First and Second Rounds
2019 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2019 NCATA National Championships
2019 NCAA Volleyball First and Second Rounds
2019 NCAA Volleyball Regional
2021 NCAA Volleyball First and Second Rounds
2022 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds
2022 NCAA Volleyball First and Second Rounds
2024 NCAA Volleyball First and Second Rounds

The Ferrell Center is located at the intersection of University Parks Drive and LaSalle Ave.

From the north, drive south on I-35, take University Parks Drive exit and turn east (left) to intersection of University Parks and LaSalle.

From the south, drive north on I-35, take University Parks Drive exit and turn east (right) to intersection of University Parks and LaSalle.

From the west, drive east on Hwy. 84 to Hwy. 6/Loop 340. Turn east (right) and take Hwy. 6/Loop 340 to I-35. Turn north (left) on I-35, take the University Parks Drive exit and turn east (right) to intersection of University Parks and LaSalle.

From the east, drive west on Hwy. 84 to I-35. Turn south on I-35 (left), take the University Parks Drive exit and turn east (left) to intersection of University Parks and LaSalle.

From the northwest, take Hwy. 6 to I-35. Turn north (left), take the University Parks Drive exit and turn east (right) to intersection of University Parks and LaSalle.

From the southwest, take Hwy. 6 to Bus. 77 exit. Bus 77 become LaSalle and leads directly to the Ferrell Center.