[4] The Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team won the Horizon League conference title at Hinkle in 2010.

[citation needed] Designed by Indianapolis architect Fermor Spencer Cannon, construction began on the basketball arena at 49th Street and Boulevard Place on the northeast edge of Butler's campus in fall of 1927.

[11][12] The arena's design included a steel truss system that provides spectators with unobstructed views of the basketball court, an initial seating capacity of more than 15,000, and a fireproof brick and stone exterior.

[8] Although Hinkle Fieldhouse has hosted other events, it is best known as a basketball venue in a state that is well known for its enthusiasm for the game (often referred to as "Hoosier Hysteria").

In addition to serving as the home court for the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team, Butler hosted the Indiana high school tournament's championship games from 1928 to 1971 (except for 1943 to 1945, when the arena was converted to a military barracks to house U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Navy recruits during World War II.

"[9] In 2006, to celebrate Butler University's 150th anniversary, a documentary about Hinkle Fieldhouse entitled Indiana's Basketball Cathedral aired on ESPN.

[13] The exterior of the historic arena has the appearance of "a red-brick airplane hangar"[9] and has been called "Indiana's Basketball Cathedral.

The expansive, cathedral-like facilities were the result of an arched-steel truss system that supported the roof and provided unobstructed views of the basketball court.

Its steel truss system supports a three-stage monitor roof and red-brick walls resting on a poured concrete foundation.

The arena's exterior still retain its original features, but the steel-framed windows and metal doors have been either repaired or replaced in subsequent renovations.

[8][20] The fieldhouse's two-story brick wing has a flat roof and is attached to the arena's west wall at the lower levels.

The wing's main floor originally contained a swimming pool and a small gymnasium; lockers and mechanical rooms were in the area below ground.

[citation needed] Butler University began planning in 2009 for another major renovation to the exterior and interior of the facility.

RATIO Architects worked with university officials to maintain appearance of the historic exterior, improve the interior's accessibility, and renovate the building's wing.

[13][17] Interior renovations made in 2014 included removal of offices and storage space under the bleachers to open up the main concourses, adding decorative murals and new scoreboards, upgrading seating to improve accessibility and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and additional mechanical upgrades such as air conditioning.

"The scoreboards on the side are new, but it still has a historic feel," remarked Butler senior guard Alex Barlow in an interview in 2014.

"[20] New spaces were created during the renovation to the attached wing at the west end of Hinkle Fieldhouse by adding two floors to a former swimming pool area closed in 2002 due to the high maintenance costs.

The men's and women's basketball offices are adjacent to their respective locker rooms on the lower level near the court have been upgraded.

[citation needed] Butler's men's basketball team won the Horizon League conference title at Hinkle in 2010.

[9] Butler's men's and women's basketball teams continue to play their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of the Big East Conference.

)[6][23] In Butler Fieldhouse's first sellout crowd for the state tournament's championship game In March 1930, the Washington Hatchets defeated Muncie Central.

The arena also hosted the first, second, and regional semifinal (Sweet 16) round games of the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

The 1940 NCAA basketball tournament East Regionals were held there, and won by the eventual national men's champion, the Indiana Hoosiers.

[27] In September 2019, the WNBA's Indiana Fever announced that they would use Hinkle Fieldhouse for all home games in 2020 and 2021, as well as part of the 2022 season.

The vast majority of work is scheduled to take place during the NBA offseason, which includes the entire WNBA season,[28] though the COVID-19 pandemic moved the Fever to a league-wide bubble environment at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

[29] Hinkle Fieldhouse hosted the Men's and women's volleyball tournament during the 1987 Pan American Games,[30] attracting 15,000 spectators.

[citation needed] In addition, Hinkle Fieldhouse has served as an "unofficial convention center" for politicians and religious leaders such as Wendell Willkie, Thomas E. Dewey, and Jesse Jackson; Evangelist Billy Graham; and host to U.S. presidents[13][17] (Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton).