Located on Northern Colorado's west campus, Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion serves as "The Home of the Bears." Named for longtime Northern Colorado coaches Pete Butler and John Hancock, Butler-Hancock Hall opened its doors Feb. 4, 1975, with a basketball doubleheader; the Northern Colorado women played Wyoming, while the men played host to Air Force. The building was renamed the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion during the 2004-05 school year.

As Northern Colorado begins its Big Sky Conference Era in 2006, the building is entering its 31st year and saw its biggest changes occur in summer 2006. As part of a $16 million dollar student fee referendum, the building received a much needed makeover. New chairback seats were installed along with a new sound system and a message and scoreboard center to go along with renovated restrooms, ticket center and entrance. After the installation of chairback seats, the building's seating capacity went from 4,500 to 2,734, creating a much more intimate feeling for spectators.

Butler-Hancock has been the site of numerous memorable events. Northern Colorado has played host to regional volleyball tournaments in 1981, 1989, 1990 and 2002, a regional men's basketball tournament in 1989 and a regional women's basketball game in 1995. Butler-Hancock was also the site of the 1992, 1996 and 2001 NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships. In summer 2002, Butler-Hancock hosted a men's Olympic volleyball exhibition match between the United States and Korean national teams and in November 2005, the volleyball team hosted the Division I Independent Championships.

The Bears have recorded an impressive 265-50 (.841) record at Butler-Hancock since 1976. In 2004, the team celebrated the 300th match inside the venue with a 3-0 victory over regional rival Wyoming (Sept. 7). Since the 1999 season (the Bears played the 2000 season at the Student Recreation Center due to renovations) the team has been almost perfect at home, compiling a 54-5 (.915) in the building (suffering losses only to Augustana, Metro State, North Dakota State and IPFW - twice).

Between Oct. 1, 1993, and Oct. 28, 1994, UNC won 11 straight matches and a school-record 34 consecutive sets. During the 2002 season, the Bears posted a perfect 12-0 record at home, including winning the NCAA North Central Regional on their home court with a 3-1 victory over South Dakota State (Nov. 23). Northern Colorado was also undefeated at home in 2003 (when the team won 24 of the 26 total sets they played) and 2004 (8-0).

In a 3-1 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 10, 2005, the Bears extended their home court winning streak to 34 matches, setting a new school record, tipping the mark of 34 straight wins between Sept. 28, 1985 and Nov. 8, 1987. The streak reached 35 matches before it ended (in a 3-1 loss to IPFW on Nov. 11), which was the second longest streak in the country (behind Ohio University), and was the first time the Bears had lost at home since Nov. 2, 2001. At one point of the 2005 season, the streak was the longest in Division I, before Ohio (which played more home matches than the Bears did) overtook the Bears mark.

The Bears enjoy playing in front of some of the best fans in the nation. In the mid-1990s, UNC ranked among the nation's leaders in average attendance and on Oct. 11, 1994, the Bears drew 1,368 fans for a match against intrastate rival Metro State. In 2002, Northern Colorado set a single-season attendance average record of 773 fans in 12 matches, a figure that ranked second nationally. The Bears also smashed its single-match attendance record when 1,425 fans attended their North Central Regional semifinal victory over Minnesota State, Mankato (Nov. 22). Since 2002, the Bears have drawn seven of the top 10 and 12 of the top 20 crowds in school history.

Top 20 Volleyball Crowds at Butler-Hancock
1. 1,425 vs. Minnesota State - Nov. 22, 2002 #
2. 1,376 vs. South Dakota State - Nov. 23, 2002 #
3. 1,368 vs. Metro State - Oct. 11, 1994
4. 1,169 vs. Augustana - Nov. 2, 2002
5. 1,065 vs. Utah Valley State - Nov. 6, 2004
6. 960 vs. North Dakota - Nov. 9, 2002
7. 947 vs. South Dakota State - Oct. 13, 2004
8. 914 vs. Wyoming - Sept. 7, 2004
9. 855 vs. St. Cloud State - Sept. 28, 1996
10. 842 vs. St. Cloud State - Oct. 27, 1995
11. 802 vs. North Dakota State - Oct. 1, 1993
12. 797 vs. CU-Colorado Springs - Sept. 6, 1994
13. 758 vs. South Dakota State - Nov. 1, 2002
14. 755 vs. Texas-Pan American/Robert Morris - Sept. 25, 2004
15. 728 vs. South Dakota - Sept. 28, 2002
16. 725 vs. Regis - Nov. 11, 1990 #
17. 705 vs. Colorado Christian - Sept. 13, 1993
18. 699 vs. North Dakota State - Oct. 13, 1995
19. 682 vs. Nebraska-Omaha - Sept. 27, 2002
20. 682 vs. Metro State - Sept. 21, 2004

# - NCAA Tournament matchup

UNC's All-Time Record at Butler-Hancock

Year	Record	Pct.
1976	0-3	.000
1977	5-2	.714
1978	5-2	.714
1979	7-1	.875
1980	13-0	1.000
1981	15-0	1.000
1982	9-2 *	.818
1983	9-7	.563
1984	9-0	1.000
1985	10-2	.833
1986	16-0	1.000
1987	12-1	.923
1988	7-2	.778
1989	9-2	.818
1990	8-1	.889
1991	9-3	.750
1992	14-0	1.000
1993	11-1	.917
1994	11-1	.917
1995	12-0	1.000
1996	3-8	.273
1997	8-4	.667
1998	9-3	.750
1999      13-0      1.000
2000      11-1 #    .917
2001      7-3       .700
2002      12-0      1.000
2003      8-0       1.000
2004      8-0       1.000
2005      6-2  %    .750
Total	265-50	.841

* Does not include a 7-5 record at Gunter Hall
# Played 2000 season at Student Recreation Center
(not counted in all-time record)
% Does not include a game played in the Student Recreation Center