The $15 million Shirk Center, opened in 1994, was funded in part by a $5 million gift from the Russell and Betty Shirk Foundation of Bloomington. The Shirk family owns Beer Nuts, Inc.®, the Bloomington-based snack food company. The two-level, 135,344-square foot complex seats 2,680 for sporting events (3,450 for commencement) in its performance arena, and contains four multi-use courts for tennis, volleyball, basketball, and other sports, as well as racquetball courts, a 200-meter track, a training room and wellness center, classrooms, and other facilities.
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s basketball team won a school-record 46 straight home games prior to losing to Benedictine, 73-70, on Dec. 9, 1998. The only prior loss was on March 11, 1995, to Manchester (89-82) in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Titans won their first 14 home games in 1994-95 at the Shirk Center, giving IWU a 23-game home court win streak, including nine at Fred Young Fieldhouse.
From 1962-94, IWU men’s basketball was 311-80 at Fred Young Fieldhouse, named for 1915 IWU alumnus Fred Young, a Titan athletic great and long-time sports editor/columnist for The Daily Pantagraph. The first game in the building was March 2, 1962, an 85-59 conference championship-clinching win over Lake Forest. The final game was Feb. 22, 1994, a 91-80 conference championship-clinching win over North Park. The longest winning streaks at Fred Young Fieldhouse were 31 games (1975 to 1978), 20 games (1986 to 1988), and 17 games (1962 to 1965).
• A Virtual Tour of Shirk Arena
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