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The home of the Orange is officially the John A. Lally Athletics Complex. Named after alumnus and three-time football letterwinner John Lally '82, the state-of-the-art academic and athletics village is home to 20 Syracuse University athletics teams. The hub of activity and the center of student-athlete life for Syracuse University athletics, the Lally Athletics Complex supports the academic and athletic experience of the Orange 600 student-athletes.
The Lally Athletics Complex is currently undergoing a multi-million, multi-year transformation that has one singular goal—elevating the student-athlete experience. Lally, a graduate of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and an offensive guard for the Orange from 1977-82, and his wife, Laura, made a $25 million gift commitment in 2019 to jumpstart work on the project.
Completed portions of the transformation include a new front entrance that includes spaces for offices and student-athlete support, as well as the Football Performance Center that opened in Spring 2025.
The former Manley Fieldhouse was built to replace the old Archbold Gymnasium, which was constructed in 1908 for a mere $400,000. The field house is named for Dr. George L. Manley, a University trustee and graduate of the College of Medicine, who was the benefactor of the building.
When construction for the $2 million state-of-the-art facility began in the early 1960's it was intended to be used primarily as an indoor practice facility for the football program. Upon completion, Manley was used as an indoor practice facility for many of the Orange's intercollegiate athletic teams, as a competition site for some of those teams and for multi-purpose scheduling of non-athletics events and student activities.
Manley Field House also included two single-story wings that housed offices for the athletics department, the ticket office, and a lounge in one wing and locker rooms and medical facilities in the other. Through the years, several renovations and additions have been made to accommodate the growing needs of the coaches, student-athletes and athletics staff.
1962-63
The inaugural season in Manley was the first of many successful ones for Syracuse basketball. The Orange enjoyed tremendous success throughout the 1960's and 70's, recording an overall record of 339-146 through 18 seasons. The passionate Orange student section, often referred to as the "Manley Zoo", gave SU an incredible home court advantage.
The first basketball floor installed in Manley was made of maple and rested 18 inches above the permanent dirt floor of the field house. The floor was supported by 320 adjustable steel jacks distributed evenly under the 60 by 112-foot floor. It could be put up or taken down in one day to enable the area to be used for other activities. Other similar courts had been installed around the country at the time, but it was the first in Central New York. A running track, identical to that of Madison Square Garden's at the time, and only the second of its kind in New York state, was also put in place around the outside of the field house.
1966-67
The Orange wrestling team began competing in Manley Field House.
1967
The first indoor track & field meet was held in Manley Field House on February 10, featuring the Orange, Colgate and Alfred in a tri-meet.
1974
Three Tartan synthetic basketball courts and a six-lane 220-yard indoor track were installed in the field house to replace the elevated court and dirt floor.
1974-75
The Orange women's basketball team moves into Manley Field House.
1977
Additional seating was installed to accommodate the growing number of Syracuse basketball fans. The court and scoreboard were moved to house the 1,300 additional seats, bringing the total capacity to 9,546.
1979
Syracuse hosted the IC4A Track & Field Championship during the first weekend in March.
1980
The basketball Orange men moved into their new home in the Carrier Dome. SU's women's program becomes the primary tenant of Manley Field House and is one of few programs in the nation to be the exclusive occupant of a 9,500 seat arena.
1985
The sixth annual BIG EAST Track & Field Championship was held in Syracuse with student-athletes competing at the Carrier Dome and at Manley Field House. The University hosted the conference championship in the same format in 1989.
1989
Manley Field House is the site for the Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (EIGL) Championship, hosted by Syracuse University.
1990
The Orange women volleyball team shifted half of its home matches to Manley Field House, while still calling the Women’s Building home.
1992
Syracuse hosted the ECAC Indoor Track & Field Championship during the first weekend in March. The championship meet was also held in Manley Field House in 1995.
2005-06
The Orange women’s basketball team moves across campus to play its home games in the Carrier Dome, with an occasional game in Manley Field House.
2010
Manley features an indoor FieldTurf practice area, complete with three-lane running track. The facility will benefit many athletics teams, including football, lacrosse, softball, soccer, field hockey, cross country and track & field. The complex at Manley currently houses athletics and administrative offices, as well as academic support offices, study facilities, lockerrooms, the sports medicine complex and an extensively equipped weight room. During the summer of 1995 the Roy Simmons Sr. Coaches Wing was added onto the front of the building, while the former coaches’ office space was converted into the Stevenson Educational Center, an expansive student-athlete support services area. This area also accommodates student-athletes’ needs for computer clusters and individual study rooms.
