President John Munson placed a gymnasium on his list of priority buildings for construction in the early 1930s. Munson found little support from the Michigan Legislature to fund such a project during the Depression. Munson turned to his personal friend and Ypsilanti native, Walter O. Briggs, Sr. for funding. Briggs, then owner of the Detroit Tigers, was deeply interested in physical education and willing to financially support the construction of the facility. The new field house, which opened in 1937, faced the back of McKenny Union at the heart of the social center of campus. Inside it contained lockers, showers, training rooms, and offices of officials. A large practice room with a dirt floor provided space for vaulting and other winter activities. It also acted as a gateway to Briggs Field which housed a 300 seat stand for football and another for baseball.
Today, Mark Jefferson Hall, Strong Hall, and the parking lot cover the athletic park. With the need for additional classroom space on campus in the early to mid 1960s, Briggs Hall was repurposed, initially for the Mathematics Department and then for the Art Department. Athletics were moved out of the center of campus with the construction of Rynearson Stadium in 1969 and the baseball Stadium in 1971.
