[2] Completed in 17 months by the Southeastern Construction Company of Charlotte, North Carolina, the building cost $5.3 million but was financed by state revenue bonds.

[2] Its name was granted in 2005 as part of a publicized funding effort by then-college president Gene Nichol, initially applying only to the arena proper.

Between the 1920s and 1970s, the William & Mary Indians played basketball in Blow Gym, which now houses the registrar, bursar, and other university offices.

It hosted the last ECAC South men's basketball tournament in 1985 (the conference added more championships in the 1985–86 school year and was renamed the CAA).

[5] The first event held at the Kaplan Arena was a basketball game between the William & Mary Indians against the top 5 ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels.