Opened in 1968 as Memorial Coliseum as a replacement for Foster Auditorium (the current name was adopted in 1988), the coliseum is located at the center of the University of Alabama's athletic complex, which also includes Sewell-Thomas Stadium, Sam Bailey Track & Field Stadium, the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility, the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility and the football building and practice fields.

In addition to its primary duties as an athletic facility, the coliseum has on numerous occasions served as a venue for artistic performances, musical concerts, and presidential appearances.

Jefferson went on to serve The university in many capacities, from Business Manager of the football team to Director of Alumni Affairs, for almost 50 years.

[7] The coliseum opened its doors for the first time on January 30, 1968, for the traveling Broadway show The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd.

Led Zeppelin performed a sold-out show at Memorial Coliseum on May 10, 1973, the fourth stop on their 1973 North American tour.

[11] Since the City of Tuscaloosa does not have a municipal civic center, the demand for events grew rapidly and the Coliseum doubled its capacity in the 1970s due to this.

In the hope that the university could pull more excitement for events at the facility, the Coliseum underwent a significant renovation in 2005, which cost over $24 million.

In addition to sports, Coleman Coliseum has been used for other events including concerts (seating capacity 16,000), commencement ceremonies, alumni gatherings, student convocations, operas, ballets and political rallies.

It is recognizable on television for its "striped" ceiling (a result of bands of acoustical tiles) and the two scoreboards behind each end line, both of which intersperse ads, video boards and scoring information with the familiar "R-O-L-L T-I-D-E" in large illuminated letters.