Photo gallery of White Auditorium

Throughout NCAA Division II programs, William L. White Auditorium is regarded as one of the premier basketball arenas in the nation.

The facility has played host to NCAA, MIAA and NAIA Championship Tournament games during it's 79 year history as well as numerous KSHSAA State Championship Tournaments.

Built in 1940 as a product of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Public Works Administration (PWA), William Lindsay White Auditorium serves the needs of the Emporia community and Emporia State University. Not only does the structure house the city’s municipal offices, but it has served as the home of Hornet basketball since 1940.

During the 1994-95 men’s and women’s basketball season, the Auditorium was renovated and bleacher seating was added to the south end of the court, expanding the seating capacity from 3,700 to 5,000.

In the summer of 1999, the auditorium floor was replaced for the first time since 1940, using a Grade 1, one-inch thick, northern hardwood maple. At the time the manufacturers called the White Auditorium playing surface “the best in the state of Kansas.”The court at White Auditorium was formally named Ron Slaymaker Court at half-time of the Hornets win over Washburn on Feb. 28, 2014 after the City of Emporia approved a proclamation at their Feb. 20, 2014  city commission meeting.

The Auditorium was upgraded during the fall of 2008 with a new scoreboard and video board as well as a new color scheme on the arena floor and the throughout the entire building. The approximately $270,000 improvement project was funded with City of Emporia general fund and Convention and Visitors Bureau money, along with contributions from ESU, the Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Trust, Emporia Sports Promotions, Inc., and Sunflower Gymnastics. John Decker, ESU’s graphic artist, created the color scheme, decorative striping and lettering design which gives the arena its bright new look. The auditorium’s inch-thick maple floor was sanded and refinished as well. Mounted on the south wall of the arena, the video board displays everything from player photos and statistics to game action from the floor.

White Auditorium is the site of the Kansas State High School Activities Association State basketball championship and the Lyon County League basketball tournament which is the longest continuous running high school tournament west of the Mississippi. White Auditorium has hosted a state basketball championship in all but three years since 1955.

White Auditorium also has served as the performing arts center for many of the top performers in the entertainment business.

The University also uses the facility for winter commencement exercises, concerts, and various clinics.