Illinois Wesleyan

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. Dennie Bridges Court received an upgrade with the installation of two state-of-the-art NEVCO video boards in the fall of 2022.

The first game at the Shirk Center was a 99-96 win over Aurora on November 30, 1994, (7:05 p.m. game). IWU 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 (.795 winning percentage) 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).

MEN’S SHIRK CENTER "FIRSTS"
GAME - November 30, 1994, 7:05 p.m. vs. Aurora
FIELD GOAL - Mark Aubry, IWU, 19:02
3-POINT FIELD GOAL - Mark Aubry, IWU, 19:02
FREE THROW - Jon Litwiller, IWU, 14:20
IWU PERSONAL FOUL - Chris Simich, 14:34
OPPONENT FIELD GOAL - Jason Buckley, Aurora, 18:50
OPPONENT FREE THROW - Jason Buckley, Aurora, 14:34
 

In 29 seasons at the Shirk Center, IWU is 312-67 (.823).

During the same span, Titan men’s teams are 204-141 (.591) on the road and 62-26 (.705) on neutral floors.
Go here for list of Shirk Center losses.
 

* - game vs. Canadian college (U. of Alberta) did not count in final record

Top Scoring Performances at the Shirk Center
BY ILLINOIS WESLEYAN PLAYERS

BY OPPONENTS VS. ILLINOIS WESLEYAN