Barnhill Arena

History

Is it the fans? Is it the facility itself? Is it the Hog Wild Band and Razorback Cheerleaders? It’s all of the above that make Barnhill Arena, the home of the Arkansas Volleyball, one of the toughest venues in the country.

Renovated several times since its opening, Barnhill Arena officially closed its doors as one of the most feared basketball facilities in the country March 3, 1993.

It was then re-configured into the largest volleyball-only arena in time for the inaugural season in 1994. The Barn underwent a second significant face lift prior to the 2002 season to also become the home of University of Arkansas gymnastics.

As the home of Razorback volleyball, Barnhill underwent renovation of its playing surface to convert the then 19-year-old hardwood floor to a volleyball configuration. It was unveiled to the public during Arkansas’ summer camps, including the first-ever volleyball camp at the Fayetteville campus in 1994. In addition to the on-the-court renovation, the Razorback volleyball program was provided with a state-of-the-art locker room.

The Pulliza era began in 2008 with Arkansas competing under the second head coach in program history. Pulliza and his staff instituted some changes of their own updating the volleyball locker room and adorning the facility with new graphics. The southwest hallway leading to the court now features a game day mural and images of Arkansas’ seven All-Americans. The program’s story is also told in the north lobby with the addition of NCAA Tournament and All-SEC wall graphics, installed prior to the 2013 season.

Jason Watson assumed the helm of the program in 2016, and Barnhill has seen many updates since. Most notably, a Taraflex floor was installed during the 2022 season, a surface designed for longevity, injury reduction and optimum performance.

As the on-court product continues to rise, so does fan support for Arkansas volleyball. The team took down two top 10 opponents in one season for the first time in program history (No. 8 Washington and No. 7 Georgia Tech) in 2022, both matches in front of home crowds at Barnhill Arena. Four of the program’s best-attended matches came during the 2022 slate, and the team set new highs in total home attendance (19,607) and average attendance (1,225). Arkansas was ranked within the top 10% of all Division I programs in average attendance in 2022 at 37th.