It replaced Dillon Gymnasium, the home of Princeton volleyball and wrestling, as the fifth main basketball arena on campus.

The gymnasium, designed by the architect Walker O. Cain, has 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) of floor space on five levels for multiple sports.

This creates challenges for generating noise and atmosphere even when the stands are full compared to other gyms in the Ivy League, which are mostly smaller and more traditional in their layout.

For many years Jadwin Gymnasium was the site of the New Jersey State High School wrestling tournament, with many sessions of 8,000 to 10,000 fans.

The cheering section was founded in 2003 by three Princeton undergraduates and quickly grew to be the largest student group on campus.