Kresge Gymnasium

Note: Unless noted, photos are from the Albion College Archives.

It has played host to American vice presidents, national champions, rock musicians and wrestlers. Captains of industry and "dot.coms" have received diplomas before its front doors. Football players dressed, then "walked the tracks" to Alumni Field for contests against league and Midwest grid powers. A future Michigan state school superintendent "cleaned up," literally and figuratively, inside the structure, with the current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a teammate.

"It" is Kresge Gymnasium, the home of Albion College men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball programs. One of the first on-campus facilities for indoor sports among Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association members, Kresge is Michigan's oldest active intercollegiate athletic facility.

Albion's Athletic Showplace -- Kresge Gymnasium has been a focal point of Albion College's athletic operations since its construction in 1925. The photo at right, courtesy of the Albion College Archives, was taken shortly after its opening. The first athletic event in the facility was a basketball game in January of 1926. The building (below, as it looks today) remains the home for Albion men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball.

Built in 1925 as a replacement for the College gymnasium destroyed in a January 1922 fire, Kresge saw its first event on Jan. 8, 1926, when Albion defeated Olivet in an MIAA men's basketball contest, 30-21. Albion went 13-7 that season, winning six of eight home contests. The next season, Albion stepped up its game, finishing with a 15-4 mark, including a 7-1 home record and the league championship.

First Champions -- The first Albion College championship team using Kresge Gym as its home is the 1926-27 men's basketball team. Pictured is the team's starting unit, standing between manager Paul Risley (left), and head coach R.W. Bechtel (right). Team captain was Russell Babcock (second from right), who supplied this photo. Other starters were, left to right, Harry Goldberg, John Bromley, Ernie Gray, and Eddie Carlson.

Over the years, Kresge has developed into quite a multi-purpose facility. Until the opening of the Dow Recreation and Wellness Center in the fall of 1988, Kresge would be in use virtually around the clock. Basketball teams would share practice times in January and February with track, baseball and softball. Midnight intramural games mingled with lacrosse and men's volleyball club practices. Varsity and junior varsity volleyball and basketball players would practice by day, play by night, and clean the building in the morning. 

Hard Hitter -- Christine Dykgraaf (17) skies for a spike in a 1989 volleyball contest with Kalamazoo College. Watching the play is teammate Leslie Madill (15), an all-MIAA performer who, as a student-athlete, had to juggle time between studies, athletics, and working as a member of Kresge's student janitorial staff. (Photo by John Daniels)

As the College's sports offerings would expand, so would the unique ways members of the athletic and physical education staffs would find to allocate office, work and classroom space. And, for 40 years, Kresge wasn't just home to basketball, volleyball and winter sports practices, but a full competition, six-lane pool in the basement served as the home for Albion College swimming and diving.

Kresge Gymnasium has undergone two major changes since its inception. The building of the Dean Aquatic Center in 1979 literally opened new avenues for the Briton swimming and diving program, adding badly-needed classroom and teaching areas, as well as allowing for diving competition on both the one- and three-meter boards for the first time. 

First Dip -- Stanley S. Kresge, for whom the gym is named, takes the first dive into the Kresge pool in September, 1938. The caption in the Albion College Bulletin said Kresge "made a good plunge and swam the 75 foot six lane pool and back again ..."

In the spring of 1988, the interior of Kresge was opened up, almost from outer wall to outer wall. Gone were the elevated seats and makeshift offices and storage areas. The main playing surface was expanded to offer two full volleyball courts for practices and expanded tournaments, retractable seating for nearly 1,400 persons, and a regulation-length basketball court with expanded practice areas.

In The Spotlight -- In the 1950's, Kresge was the center of athletic, social and physical education activities on the Albion campus. At the time this photo was taken, Kresge was also used for concerts and plays, with a stage (at the left side of the photo) running nearly the length of the west side of the building. That area was later turned into a weight room and now holds a video classroom, storage room and offices.

In place of the basement pool, one-half of the area was turned over to new locker rooms for varsity and visiting teams, and the other half was transformed into a dance studio and classroom. The former upstairs classroom overlooking the court was remodeled and now serves as offices for men's and women's basketball, as well as the Prentiss M. Brown Lounge for teams and guests. Additional floor offices and storage areas, as well as a video classroom, are located on the west side of the building.

Among the notable performers who spent time on the Kresge floor in an Albion uniform are two graduates with close connections to the City of Albion. Top left, Michael Williams (right) finished his basketball career as the College's number three scorer, tallying 1,323 points from 1974-78. He later served parts of two terms as mayor of the City of Albion and currently works with Starr Commonwealth in Detroit. Milton Barnes (34) scored 1,137 points in four seasons. He later took Albion High School to the Michigan Class B boys' basketball championship game in 1991 and served as head men's basketball coach at Eastern Michigan University. He is currently an assistant coach with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Not only does 2001 mark the 75th anniversary for men's basketball at Kresge, but the 2000-2001 season is the 30th for women's basketball as a varsity sport at the College. Volleyball as a varsity sport for women at Albion completed its 27th season this fall. Intercollegiate wrestling also had a home at Kresge until the sport was disbanded in 1981.

Albion's 1980-81 women's basketball team set a single season mark for wins (18), and has the distinction of having the College's top two women scorers as teammates. Melissa Washburn (25) is first with 1,229 career points. Cathy Bachinski (23) is next with 1,214.

 Kresge has hosted ...

 -- World Leaders: Former President George Bush made the front steps of Kresge his platform as commencement speaker while serving as vice president in 1986.

 -- National Champions: Albion's "Welcome Home" ceremonies for the NCAA Division III Football Champion Britons in 1994 brought campus and community together at Kresge Gymnasium.

 -- Concerts: Among the notables playing to audiences at Kresge were contemperary pop artists Neil Diamond, John Denver, and the rock group Chicago.

 -- Distinguished Alumni: Kresge's front steps usually serve as the gathering place for students receiving diplomas for graduation. Among Albion's notable grads are:

• Carolyn E. Aishton, '64, Vice President, Corporate Programs, Avon Products, Inc., New York, New York.

• David L. Camp, '75, U.S. House of Representatives (Michigan 4th District), Washington, D.C.

• Kevin Chan, '83, Co-Director, Lung Transplant Program, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit

• Cedric Dempsey, '54, and Daniel Boggan, '67, President and Senior Vice President, respectively, of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana.

• Sally Pettengill Ginter, '67, Global Project Director, Dow Chemical Company, Midland.

• Edmund L. Jenkins, '57, Chairman, Financial Accounting Standards Board, Norwalk, Connecticut.

• Gary R. Noble, '57, Executive Director of Clinical Research, Direct Access Diagnostics, Bridgewater, New Jersey; Rhodes Scholar; Former Assistant Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service.

• John W. Porter, '53, CEO, Urban Education Alliance, Inc., Ann Arbor; President Emeritus, Eastern Michigan University; Former Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction.

• Richard M. Smith, '68, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Newsweek, New York, New York.

 -- Eyewitness to History: No one has the claim to having seen more events at Kresge than another, but current Albion men's basketball coach Mike Turner would be one person in the running for such an honor. In his 27th season of directing the men's program, Turner also played basketball for four years at Albion before graduating in 1969. Heading into the new year, Turner has coached longer (27 seasons), coached (650) and won (393) more games, and has more consecutive 10-win seasons (26, including the 2000-2001 campaign) than any Briton basketball coach. Turner's 1977-78 team was the first Albion team to win 20 games and the first MIAA squad to reach the Division III Final Four, finishing third.

The next 75 years of athletics at Kresge began as the first 75 years did -- with an Albion men's basketball victory. On Jan. 10, 2001, Albion had its highest point total of the 2000-2001 season in a 111-74 MIAA victory over Adrian College.

Updated January 05, 2004 by Albion College Sports Information