War Memorial Gymnasium

War Memorial Gym is a great venue to watch a college basketball game. There are no bad seats in the house. Every seat has a great view of the court. Whether you are watching the Dons take on Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, or another WCC opponent, you will have a great time.
I have really enjoyed attending games in the past and am looking forward to attending games this up coming season. The students are getting into basketball again and the energy in the building is amazing!
Concessions are getting better however the only negative is parking which can be difficult at times so I would recommend taking MUNI (31, 5, or 43) or getting there early.

I am an alum of the University of San Francisco. My path to this school is filled with twists and turns and more twists. Looking back I was destined to go there. My earliest memory of thinking of USF as a destination was sitting in the library in high school and reading about the then number one ranked Dons basketball team. Yes, believe it or not there was a time the Dons were on top. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
I digress…
So yes, the Dons were on top and I had thoughts of attending USF, but they were quickly squashed when I learned of the tuition costs.
More twists and turns and I end up at Santa Rosa Junior College. At that time the California JC system charged NOTHING. ZIP. NADA! I think I remember paying 5 bucks a semester to join the ASB, but even that was optional. I also worked two jobs (RA in my dorm and in the library) during my days, so I banked cash!
My two years were up and my parents basically told me, that since I went the JC route (and saved them $$$$) that I should not rule out transferring to a private institution. But I had my heart set on a new dream school. The University of California at Berkeley. Oh Sather Tower, the Bears and my oldest sister who also went to Santa Rosa JC and later on to Cal. it was destiny! But when the Cal business school told me no I quickly had to think of a plan B and C.
Plan B was Arizona State, which by some miracle or divine intervention I got in. But once again that got derailed. It’s long story and mostly boring, so I will save you from that.
Plan C. USF!
War Memorial Gymnasium. It’s not much to look at from the outside, and the interior is pretty much the same story. My first time in the gym I remember telling one of my friends, «man, so cool standing on the same floor where Bill Russell and KC Jones once played their games». «No» my friend said, «they actually built this place after they left». Ok, so no tradition either. So basically it’s a bland 60’s style gym with no history.
I love USF and our ugly gym, but I feel the need to be honest. It’s not some awesome storied venue, but more of just a nice little building that can get noisy depending on the opponent. My school is merely a «safety school» for many (Joanna should still consider it though), but if your life is filled with «twists and turns» you too might end up rooting on the Dons someday soon.

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a massive fan of USF basketball. A hidden gem in the City as far as I’m concerned.
This place has a lot of history; the house that Bill Russell built. The interior was just recently upgraded and games are surprisingly affordable (around $ 10 for most games). If you choose your games right you can catch the cream of the crop in college basketball (Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Texas Tech) all in your own back yard. This is a program on the rise.
So fill up that flask, buy yourself a Dons Dog on the way in, and join me in the bleachers for some NCAA action!
Go Dons!

How come no one has reviewed War Memorial yet? It’s a San Francisco Institution!
OK, so this review is long overdue. I attended my one and only game at War Memorial Gymnasium on February 16, 2008 when Gonzaga came to town. We all know that Gonzaga is America’s team (I hate the moniker, by the way), and the game was sold out.
My friend I showed up early and parked a couple of blocks away for FREE. We walked to the main entrance, only to realize that the line was already forming outside. We were fully prepared to scalp some tickets outside, but the unlicensed freelance ticket brokers, aka scalpers, were nowhere to be found.
We noticed a «ticket sales» sign to the right of the entrance and walked up to the window. This is how the conversation went between my friend (F) and the girl selling tickets (G):
F: Hi, do you have any tickets available for today’s game?
G: Yes, sure. Where would you like to sit?
F: We want the best seats you have.
G: The best seats?
F: The best seats.
G: I have seats in row A [points to the seating chart; seats are in first row, mid court]. They’re $ 20 each.
F: Great, we’ll take them.
G. [With reverence, fear and disbelief] You want $ 20 seats? There’s also a $ 3 fee.
F: That’s fine. We’ll take them.
G: We have $ 6 seats as well.
F: That’s fine, we’ll take the $ 20 seats.
G: Actually, I can’t sell them to you just yet. We can only sell them an hour before the game.
F: OK. Then we’ll stand right here and wait.
G: OK, I’ll sell them to you now. $ 40, please. [No fee, I guess].
The seats were absolutely awesome. We were right behind the scorers’ table at mid-​court. I’d never seen a basketball game from up close — it’s a whole different experience, believe me.
Soda, pizza, nachos and popcorn prices were quite high, although cheaper than at many professional arenas. We got a lot of food for $ 16 and tipped the girls at the concession stand $ 4. As my friend said, «just remember when you were a college student.. .» I guess so. They needed the $ 4 more than we did.
The Gym is old, and the Dons are not exactly the Blue Devils or the Tar Heels, but. .. best seat in the house for $ 20? Bring your kids or bring a date and enjoy a good old-​fashioned college basketball game. Great value right in your backyard!