Memorial Hall was open for the start of the 1954–55 school year, and was dedicated on December 11, 1954, in honor of the 1,534 Summit County residents who lost their lives in World War II.

The team had moved out of Crouse Gymnasium, which had seating for only a few hundred fans, in the 1920s to the larger off-campus Akron Armory.

[2] The arena itself, like many built at the time, featured sideline chair seating above lower retractable bleachers.

The hall was also the school's major gathering place prior to the opening of Rhodes Arena, hosting, among others, President Lyndon B. Johnson and candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964, then-candidate Richard M. Nixon in 1968, Ralph Nader, Dick Gregory and Pat Paulsen, as well as musical acts including Chicago, Ray Charles, The Fifth Dimension and Stevie Wonder.

It was originally demolished to make way for a new College of Education, but that school eventually stayed in a renovated Zook Hall.