It was the final men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at Cheyney University’s Cope Hall, writes Mike Jensen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Over its 60 years, the former barn has seen a lot of action.

Now it’s being retired.

In a final symbolic gesture depicting its age, the scoreboard stopped working. It was time to move on.

Cheyney University, located in Delaware County and Chester County, isn’t giving up basketball, though. Just the opposite.

 “As a part of the State System’s capital project process, Cheyney received a capital appropriation of $48 million to replace its outdated gymnasium (Cope Hall),” stated a Cheyney release from a couple of years back.

The building will be razed this summer and the new sports complex completed in late 2024, early 2025.

Cheyney men’s head coach Terrell Stokes said the goal now is simple, “Cheyney is getting back on the map.”

There are some who agree a new facility should be built, but that Cope Hall should be preserved for its history. That history includes two coaches who went on to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

And when the NCAA had its first women’s championship in 1982, Cheyney was in the game.

Read more about Cope Hall at Cheyney University in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Last call at Cope Hall: Cheyney Basketball vs. Bryant and Stratton-Syracuse.