In 1886 Dr. William Isaac Thomas received the first PhD conferred by the university—in literature and classics. He taught at the university and served briefly as librarian. Thomas went on to obtain a second doctorate at the University of Chicago and became a well-recognized sociologist. He is especially known for the books The Unadjusted Girl, … Continued

Mims Thomason, who was associated with United Press International from 1943 to 1974, serving eventually as president and then chairman of the board, got his journalistic start at UT, which he attended from 1927 to 1931. He was editor of the Orange and White in 1930. He served as a reporter for the Knoxville News … Continued

Built as the largest on-campus, single-sport arena in the country, Thompson-Boling Assembly Center and Arena is one of the nation’s premier basketball facilities. (Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome has more seats for basketball but is also used for football.) A mammoth building of 514,130 square feet, the $36 million Thompson-Boling Assembly Center and Arena opened its … Continued

A limestone cavern 30 feet by 20 feet and 15 feet deep was discovered at the southeastern corner of the building during construction for pipeline installation. The 400-500 cubic yard hole was opened and filled with concrete by B. B. Anderson Construction Company, supervised by Law Engineering.

Paul Dalton, a 27-year-old construction worker from Caryville, Tennessee, fell 84 feet to his death from a steel truss hanging above the arena floor on May 15, 1985. The accident occurred as Dalton, who worked for ABC Contractors of Nashville, was working on the roof. In order to be able to move across the beam, … Continued

Thompson-Boling Arena was one of the first in the world to feature lights that are smaller, brighter, and up to 85 percent more efficient than conventional arena metal halide lights. The lights were installed in spring 2014. The luminaires use an ORNL-developed lightweight graphite foam that cools the LED, making the lights more efficient and … Continued

On May 20, 1985, the Daily Beacon announced a Name the Arena contest with a prize of $50 and designation as Beacon sports editor for a day for the best name. The Beacon staff chose the entry by Peg Ratliffe, a student in medical ethics from Colorado, as the winner. She suggested “Ox” and explained … Continued

The capacity of Thompson-Boling Arena was decreased to 21,678 by the renovations begun in 2007. The renovation of the facility and the building of the associated Pratt Practice Facility cost $36 million. Both projects were paid for by donors and sales of the 32 new luxury suites in the arena. Phase I of the renovation … Continued

B. Ray Thompson was born in Scott County, Tennessee, the son of a sawmill operator in Elgin. After finishing school, he worked briefly for his father before joining the Garland Coal Company as a salesman. He worked his way up to president of the firm and then left to form his own companies, which eventually … Continued

Fred Thompson was born in 1942 and grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He earned the baccalaureate degree from Memphis State University in philosophy and political science (1964). He then received the JD from Vanderbilt (1967). In 1969 he was named an assistant US attorney, and then was appointed minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, … Continued