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Cousens Gymnasium & Tye CourtCousens Gymnasium & Tye Court

At the height of the Great Depression, Cousens Gymnasium opened to great fanfare on February 9, 1932, when the men's basketball team gritted out a 28–24 overtime victory against Brown University in front of 1,600 spectators. "Certainly this plant is second to none in New England," the Tufts Weekly crowed about the new physical education building.

With its high, vaulted roof and bench seating, the gymnasium, named for Tufts' sixth president, John Albert Cousens, was indeed New England's premier physical education and athletics facility until Harvard built a new fieldhouse in the 1960s. Then, 77 years later, during the throes of a Great Recession in 2009, the venerable gymnasium underwent a major renovation, work that gave the Jumbo men's and women's basketball teams true home court advantage during NCAA tournament play. In 1995, two years after the New England Small College Athletic Conference lifted a ban on NCAA tournament play by its teams, the Tufts men's basketball team earned its first-ever NCAA berth. The celebration was short-lived, however, because an NCAA mandate issued that same year required tournament games to be played on courts that were 94 feet long. Built to high school specifications in the 1930s, Cousens fell short. The Jumbos had to play their big game at a neutral site, in this case Bentley College, and lost to Salem State.

To get back in the game, the basketball court was rotated 90 degrees to lengthen it to NCAA standards. Handicap accessibility both into and inside the gym were significantly improved. Repairs to the roof and lobby, renovations to the bathrooms and a new sound system were among several other enhancements that brought the arena up to modern standards.

The work was completed in time for the Tufts volleyball team's home opener against Wesleyan University on September 18, 2009. The Jumbos won the match 3-1, and would go on to host the NESCAC and NCAA Regional tournaments at Cousens in November.

"Cousens first opened in the depths of the Great Depression," former Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow said at the time. "Its construction then reflected Tufts' commitment to its students and to sports and fitness. Our decision to go ahead with its renovation now, in difficult economic times, reflects the same commitment."

The gymnasium has since been the site of many NCAA basketball and volleyball tournaments. Tufts University's men's and women's teams have hosted at least one NCAA round every year since 2012. The new Cousens has been the site for the NCAA Volleyball Regional four times, including 2016, 2019 and 2022. 

In 2022-23, the gymnasium floor was named Tye Court to recognize one of the biggest supporters of Tufts’ athletic program, Ted Tye, A79, A06P, A13P. The chair of the Athletics Board of Advisors and a trustee who heads the Trustee Buildings and Grounds Committee, Tye is deeply committed to bolstering sports on the Hill. Under his leadership and with strong support of other donors, the university has made several improvements to sports facilities. Ted graduated magna cum laude from Tufts with a B.A. in political science and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He was elected to the Tufts University Board of Trustees on November 2, 2019.

Cousens Gymnasium has a storied history. When it first opened, it was the most expensive building ($500,000) on the Medford/Somerville campus, funded with proceeds from the Austin B. Fletcher estate as well as by alumni who wanted to honor President Cousens' tenacity in advocating for top-flight physical education facilities for Tufts students. The volleyball team gave the old gym an appropriate send-off in the fall 2008 by hosting its conference and NCAA Regional tournaments there.

The charming old gym also has had its moments in the national spotlight. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts such as The Band and Simon and Garfunkel played concerts in the gym. Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was a no-show for a March 1964 concert at Cousens, sending 2,000 mightily unhappy fans home. Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird filmed a commercial for a Massachusetts company there in the late 1980s. And when Hollywood needed an old-school gym for a high school prom scene in the 1994 movie The Next Karate Kid, starring Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank, Cousens fit the bill.

In 2005, the NCAA called the gym a "one-of-a-kind" facility. The renovations retained the unique character of the building surrounding the basketball court. The rafters, which are often rattled by Jumbo fans during home events, stayed, as did the long stairways at the front of the arena that tower up to the locker rooms.

"Cousens Gym is one of the truly distinctive basketball and volleyball facilities in the nation," former Director of Athletics Bill Gehling said.

General Travel Info:

Transportation:  

  • Logan Airport is the closest major airport  
  • Tufts is accessible by train using the Green Line Medford/Tufts stop and the Red Line Davis Square stop 

Hotels:

Event Registration Details
* Directions To Cousens Gym:
From the southwest, west, or northwest via Routes 2, 3, 9 Interstate 95, or the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), the easiest approach to the campus is to turn from any of these routes onto the circumferential Route 128 (Interstate 95) and proceed to its intersection with Route 2 (exit 29A). Proceed east on Route 2 to the junction of Routes 2 and 16 and turn onto Route 16 east (Alewife Brook Parkway). Follow Route 16 through two full traffic lights. Take the next right, a sharp turn, onto Powderhouse Boulevard. Proceed to Curtis Street, your second left, which is your second set of lights. Follow Curtis Street up and over the hill, through a set of lights on the other side, and take a right at the variety store, onto George Street. Follow George Street to the first stop sign and take a right onto College Avenue. Cousens Gym will be 100 yards on your right. The Athletic Offices are located on the second floor of the EECS building (Halligan Hall) attached on the left of Cousens Gym. The Gantcher Center and Hamilton Pool are attached to Cousens Gym on the right. Bello, Huskins and Spicer Fields are across the street from Cousens Gym, beyond the parking lot.
 
From Boston, the south, & the South Shore, follow the Southeast Expressway (Route 3 North) to Interstate 93 north to exit 32, Medford Square. Follow the exit ramp to Medford Square. At the blinker at the end of the ramp, turn left onto Main Street. *Follow Main Street for approximately 3/10 of a mile, keeping to the right of the Mobil gas station. Turn right onto George Street, then left onto College Avenue. Cousens Gym will be 100 yards on your right. The Athletic Offices are located on the second floor of the EECS building (Halligan Hall attached on the left of Cousens Gym. The Gantcher Center and Hamilton Pool are attached to Cousens Gym on the right. Bello, Huskins and Spicer Fields are across the street from Cousens Gym, beyond the parking lot.
 
From the north via Routes 1, 3, 128, Interstates 95 or 93, the recommended approach is via the circumferential Route 128 (Interstate 95) to its intersection with Interstate 93. Go south on Interstate 93 to exit 32, Medford Square. Proceed to the center of the square, turn left onto Main Street, and refer to the directions in the preceding paragraph*.