Bonner Arnold Coliseum is the long-time home of the Northeast Mississippi Community College men’s and women’s basketball programs. It also became the home of Lady Tiger volleyball as of the fall of 2023.
Northeast’s home for hoops has developed a reputation as one of the toughest places for visiting teams to play in inside the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Tigers have an 86.5% winning percentage inside Bonner Arnold Coliseum since the arrival of head coach Cord Wright.
The Tigers broke the modern-day program record with their 30th consecutive win inside the hallowed halls of Bonner Arnold Coliseum on January 24, 2022 with a 72-67 decision over 7th-ranked East Mississippi Community College.
The facility has received several renovations totaling multiple millions of dollars since 2008. The most recent change was a new playing surface and subsequently a court redesign in the summer of 2024.
The original maple wood floor, which was sent to Booneville by the J.W. Wells Lumber Company in Menominee, Mich., in the early 1950s, almost survived to its anticipated life expectancy of 75 years.
The details to the center court are similar to its predecessor. Both had three tones of gray, but the revision features a slightly darker shade inside the college three-point arc and the lane.
Northeast's tiger head logo is highlighted in the middle of the floor. It was also part of the previous design, but was faded into the background with an emboldened "NE" logo on top of it.
The sidelines continue to boast black-and-gray tiger stripes. The base lines have the text "Northeast" outlined in gold underneath the baskets, but each letter is filled with black paint unlike the most recent version.
The NJCAA logo is once again displayed twice on the newest edition. So, too, is the wording that recognizes the floor being named in honor of current Northeast president Dr. Ricky Ford.
The improvements also benefit the volleyball program as well. The in-ground standard systems for the net were installed for the first time on Bonner Arnold Coliseum's north and south courts.
This addition will allow the Lady Tigers to host future tournaments that require multiple courts. It will especially help during summer camps, including the team events for local high schools, and practice sessions.
The inaugural volleyball match ever inside Bonner Arnold Coliseum happened on August 28, 2023. The Lady Tigers claimed the first victory in school history with a straight sets sweep of Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University’s junior varsity squad.
Other upgrades to the historic gymnasium over the last 10 years include refurbished dressing rooms, three coaches offices, four state-of-the-art scoreboards and the Earline "Woodsie" Woods Hospitality Suite for members of Northeast's 6th Man and Ace clubs.
Built in part by the Northeast Mississippi Junior College trades training group, Bonner Arnold Coliseum opened its doors in 1951. During the three previous years, the Lady Tigers and Tigers played a majority of their home games at the old Booneville High School gymnasium.
In the early 1970s, Bonner Arnold Coliseum received its first major renovation. The most significant addition was twelve air conditioning units.
When set up for basketball, BAC will accommodate 1,000 spectators on each side of the floor and 600 in the pullout bleachers traditionally set up on the north end. The south end will seat 400 in folding chairs, bringing capacity to 3,000.
Although the three-court facility was designed primarily for basketball, Bonner Arnold Coliseum is used for commencement exercises, assemblies, recruiting events and science fairs.
Bonner Arnold Coliseum also houses the offices of Northeast’s men’s and women’s basketball coaching staffs led by Cord Wright and Brian Middleton.