The Stokley Center replaced Alumni Gymnasium, a 3,200-seat arena-auditorium built in 1931 which had hosted the SEC basketball tournament four times (1936, '37, '39, and '40).

On March 5, 1966, a standing room only crowd of over 7500 in the old UT Armory Fieldhouse (later that year expanded to over 12,000 and renamed Stokely Athletic Center, noted below) witnessed the upset of college basketball's regular season.

By the mid-1960s the fieldhouse was becoming obsolete for its size, in no small part due to the Vols' rise to prominence under coach Ray Mears.

The NCAA Mideast Regional Final (AKA "The Dream Game") was played there on March 26, 1983, with Louisville beating Kentucky 80-68 in overtime.

Portions of the 1972 shows, and other scenes around Knoxville and at McGhee Tyson Airport, were filmed and brief moments were included in the 1972 MGM documentary Elvis on Tour.

Other famous artists to appear at Stokely include Chicago, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Buffett, Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston.

On March 31, 1980, one of the greatest upsets in boxing history took place at Stokely when WBA Heavyweight champion John Tate was knocked out in the 15th round by underdog challenger Mike Weaver.

[2] Demolition of Stokley Athletic Center and the adjacent Gibbs Hall began in January 2014 and was complete by mid-summer of the same year.