Meyer GymEst. 1956Tour the gym
Inside the Meyer Gym: the court, packed stands and championship banners in purple and gold

Scottsburg, Indiana · Since 1956

The Charles E.Meyer Gym

Home of the Warriors & Warriorettes. Step inside the Pressure Cooker from anywhere.

Take the virtual tourSeventy years of history

Tuesday, November 20, 1956

3,000 came to see it open.

The people of Scott County built this gym.

In 1954 a non-profit building corporation was organized to pay for it, and about 500 people bought its shares at $5 each. Construction began in March 1955 to a design by architect W. Erb Hanson. With its equipment, the building cost $560,480.83.

On dedication night IHSAA Commissioner L. V. Phillips gave the address, and Charley Meyer's Warriors beat Paoli 57–55 in overtime.

Open the 1956 program

Scottsburg Senior High School

Dedication
of the New Gymnasium

Date
Tues., Nov. 20, 1956
Program
8:00 P.M.
Address
L. V. Phillips, IHSAA Commissioner
Final
Scottsburg 57, Paoli 55 (OT)

70 Years · Commemorative

Seventy years onFriday, Nov. 20, 2026

The virtual tour

Walk in.
Look around.

Nine stops, from the whole building seen from above down to centre court, up to the top row and out through the lobby. Drag to look around, or set off and explore on your own. It works on any phone or laptop, with no app to install.

Start the tour
  1. 01Built by the communityThe Whole Gym
  2. 02Welcome to the Pressure CookerCentre Court
  3. 03Championship bannersThe Rafters
  4. 04The north-east tunnelWarrior Alley
  5. 05Front row, north sideThe Scorer's Table
  6. 06Wooden benches on all four sidesThe Top Row
  7. 07Out to the lobbyThe West Tunnels
  8. 08Under the west end seatsThe Concession Stand
  9. 09Restored for the 50th anniversaryThe Lobby
  10. 10375 E. McClain Ave.The Front Doors
  11. 11On Third StreetThe Front Entrance
The gym in the dark, purple and gold spotlights sweeping the court

Inside the tour

Then hit Game night.

Kill the house lights and bring up the purple and gold.

From the rafters

Every banner,
as it hangs.

Warriors in purple. Warriorettes in gold. Two state titles: 1989 and 2024.

Warriors

Warriorettes

Set on this floor

Gym records

  • 69points by one playerBill James vs. West WashingtonWarriors · Nov. 30, 1968
  • 49points by one playerRenee Westmoreland vs. Columbus EastWarriorettes · Jan. 16, 1989
  • 159points by a teamvs. CharlestownWarriorettes · Dec. 6, 1976
  • 123points by a teamvs. SouthwesternWarriors · 1995–96
  • 28straight home winsunder Donna CheathamWarriorettes · 1987–89
  • 20straight home winsunder Jim BarleyWarriors · 1967–70
Charley Meyer in a white shirt and bow tie, smiling as he walks past a packed crowd
Charley Meyer

The gym is named for

Charley
Meyer

Coach, teacher and Hall of Famer.

  • Jeffersonville High School, 1945: ten letters in basketball, baseball and football, the team's top scorer and captain, and three sectional titles for the Red Devils.
  • Four years at Indiana University, and a member of the 1950 college all-star team.
  • Took over at Scottsburg in 1950: four straight sectionals (1953–56) and the school's first regional in 1956. That team lost the semistate to Crispus Attucks, the eventual state champion.
  • Three SIAC championships, and named conference coach of the year.
  • 33 years in Scott County Schools as a teacher, transportation director and coach.
  • Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, 1986. Sagamore of the Wabash.

Photo colorized.

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

Hall of Famers
on this floor.

On the bench

  • Jim Barley in later years, in glasses and a green sweater
    Warriors

    Jim Barley

    1965–1978

    Hall of Fame 2005

    193–99 at Scottsburg

    • Marion High School's first 1,000-point scorer, then three varsity years at Indiana University under Branch McCracken, on the 1954 Big Ten champions.
    • 13 seasons at Scottsburg: three Mid-Southern Conference titles, three sectionals and the 1969 and 1978 regionals.
    • 1968–69: 25–1, averaging 90 points a game. Unbeaten until a 75–71 semi-state loss to Vincennes.
    • Never had a player taller than 6′4″.
    • The Warriors' longest run on this floor: 20 straight home wins, 1967–70.
  • Donna Cheatham smiling in a red Indiana All-Stars ’86 coach's shirt
    Warriorettes

    Donna Cheatham

    1972–1994 · 2009–2020

    Hall of Fame 2003

    532–182 at Scottsburg

    • In the early 1970s she helped start girls' sports at Scottsburg, and coached the basketball team.
    • 1989 state champions: 26–1, and 74–72 in overtime over Benton Central at Market Square Arena, before a record 16,567. State finals in 1986 and 1988 too.
    • At Scottsburg: 14 sectionals, 9 regionals and 17 Mid-Southern Conference titles.
    • Retired in 2020 as Indiana girls' basketball's all-time wins leader, with 730, and the first to win state at two schools (Southwestern, 2002).
    • The Warriorettes' longest run on this floor: 28 straight home wins, 1987–89. The floor is Donna Cheatham Court, and the Cheatham Classic is named for her.

On the floor

  • Bill James in his Scottsburg No. 40 jersey, holding a basketball
    Warriors

    Bill James

    Class of 1969

    Hall of Fame 2009

    1,890 career points, the school record

    • 69 points and 25 rebounds against West Washington on Nov. 30, 1968: still the most anyone has scored for Scottsburg in this gym.
    • 36.1 points a game as a senior, second in Indiana. A high school All-American and a 1969 Indiana All-Star.
    • Tyler Junior College, then Marshall: the 1972 NCAA Tournament team, and 15.2 points a game for the 1973 NIT team.
    • In 1973 Marshall's football coach, still rebuilding after the 1970 plane crash, asked him to play receiver. He had never played organized football, and he caught nine passes. The 2006 film We Are Marshall has him as a character, played by Mark Patton.
    • One game for the ABA's Kentucky Colonels, then home to coach the Warriors (1978–82 and 1985–87). His first team won the 1979 sectional and regional.
    • Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame, 2017.
  • Renee Westmoreland in her Indiana All-Stars No. 1 jersey, sitting beside a gold basketball
    Warriorettes

    Renee Westmoreland

    Class of 1989

    Hall of Fame 2017

    1,816 career points, the school record

    • Scottsburg's first and only Miss Basketball, 1989.
    • 49 points against Columbus East on Jan. 16, 1989, the most anyone has scored for the Warriorettes in this gym.
    • 30 points in the 1989 state final, 74–72 in overtime over Benton Central. It's still the highest-scoring single-class title game.
    • Four varsity seasons under Donna Cheatham, 97–8: a state final, a Final Four, then the title. School records for career points and steals.
    • Western Kentucky: 1,258 points, and the 1992 team that played Stanford for the national championship.
Gene Rogers, in a purple cap and jacket, watches a Warriors game from the edge of the floor
A Scottsburg locker at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame: a purple S cap, gold and purple shirts and a Warriorettes team photo
Scottsburg's locker at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

Scottsburg's #1 Cheerleader

“Give me one
big fight.”

Gene Rogers, 1927–2023

It started in the 1960s. Gene Rogers felt the crowd needed rousing, so he left his seat, went out onto the floor and fired it up. The students cheered wildly, the adults stood and cheered, and Scottsburg won the game.

Soon the crowds were chanting “Rogers, Rogers” before he went out between the third and fourth quarters, in his purple and gold uniform. He'd run a circle in the middle of the gym and finish with a toe-touch.

His uniform still hangs in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

  • Scottsburg High School, class of 1945, then 13 months of active duty in the U.S. Navy.
  • Hanover College, and a master's in education from Indiana University.
  • 41 years in Scottsburg's schools, 1952–1993: junior high principal, math teacher and driver's education teacher.
  • Coached elementary basketball, Scottsburg High School golf and, as an assistant, track. Umpired baseball and softball, and refereed basketball.
  • In August 2023 his family received friends here, in the Meyer Gym.
Watch Gene lead the cheer, 2011 (YouTube) →
Walker Amick and Tommy Patton in headsets at the WMPI broadcast tableFrom the storiesThe voice of the Pressure Cooker.Walker Amick played on Gene's 1945 team, then called the games from this gym on WMPI for years, with Tommy Patton beside him.Stories from the Pressure Cooker →

1956–2026

Seventy
years.

  1. 1954

    The community pays for it

    April 2: a non-profit building corporation is organized to build a new school and gym. About 500 people buy shares in it at $5 each.

  2. 1955

    Ground broken

    $585,000 in bonds sold in February, and construction begins in March to a design by architect W. Erb Hanson. The building costs $560,480.83, equipment included.

  3. 1956

    Dedication night

    Tuesday, Nov. 20: 3,000 people fill the new gym. IHSAA Commissioner L. V. Phillips gives the address, and Scottsburg beats Paoli 57–55 in overtime.

  4. 1968

    “The Pressure Cooker”

    Denny Dressman of the Louisville Courier-Journal gives the gym the name it still carries. That season the Warriors go 25–1.

  5. 1986

    Meyer to the Hall of Fame

    Charley Meyer, the coach the gym is named for, enters the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

  6. 1989

    Warriorettes win state

    26–1, and a 74–72 overtime win over Benton Central for the state title under coach Donna Cheatham.

  7. 2006

    Fifty years

    For the gym's 50th anniversary the lobby is restored with engraved granite, pieces of the original floor, a history mural and the original centre-court “S”.

  8. 2021

    A Hoops Haven

    Named one of 68 Indiana “Hoops Havens” by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and Visit Indiana.

  9. 2024

    Warriors win state

    The school's first boys' title: Class 3A, 67–57 over South Bend St. Joseph.

  10. 2026

    Seventy years

    Nov. 20, 2026: seventy years since the doors first opened.

Visit

375 E. McClain Ave.

Scottsburg, Indiana 47170

Get directionsSee the front doors