The first NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament was played in Patten Gymnasium, which was located at 2145 North Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois in 1939, but which is no longer located here today. Funding for the construction of the Gymnasium was secured largely through the generosity of former Evanston mayor James Patten, who wrote a check for $150,000 to get the ball rolling.
The 1,000-seat arena was designed by George Washington Maher, constructed in 1909, and opened in 1910.
On March 27, 1939, at this site, the Oregon Ducks defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 46-33, to claim the first-ever NCAA basketball championship title. The bracketology was not nearly as rugged as it is today. In fact, teams made the “Elite 8” just by showing up. Ohio State won the “East Regional,” which was played in Philadelphia, and Oregon won the “West Regional,” which was played in San Francisco. The winners met in rustic Evanston to determine the national champion.
Only a year after playing host to March Madness, the Patten Gymnasium was razed, and the Northwestern Technological Institute was erected in its place. A “new” Patten Gymnasium was rebuilt a few blocks north. The Northwestern Wildcats played in the “new” Patten Gymnasium until 1952, at which time they moved to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The “new” Patten Gymnasium, which largely serves intramural athletics today, contains the doors and statues from the original Patten Gymnasium.
