Named for former TTU coach and professor Hooper Eblen,[1] the arena is home to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball and Golden Eagles women's basketball teams.

[2] Before the construction of the arena, the on-campus home to the Tennessee Tech men's and women's basketball teams was the Memorial Gym, a post-War gymnasium located on the quadrangle.

The Hooper Eblen Center opened on October 2, 1977, with a Phoebe Snow concert as its inaugural event.

[3] Elvis Presley had originally been scheduled to give the arena's first performance on September 27.

[4] Alabama performed the first sell-out concert at the Hooper Eblen Center on August 1, 1982, with 11,210 people in attendance.