The Rhodes-Reaves Fieldhouse will not be expanding in size alone next year, but in name as well.
The name “Reaves” was added to the former Rhodes Fieldhouse at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year due to the generous donation from Chairman of the Board Roy Reaves which funded the new practice facility. The name change was so widely accepted that the Harding Athletic Department decided if two names were good, three or more would be even better.
“It’s really just common sense,” an anonymous source said. “Rhodes-Reaves rolls off of the tongue. Why not add onto that? It will make Logan Light’s job as PA announcer a lot more difficult, but other than that, there’s really no downside.”
While many have speculated about what names will be added to the official title, our source said that just about any “R” name will fit the bill.
“Ryan, Ruth, Rico, Ronald — you get the idea,” the source said. “Ruth is especially good because of the biblical connection. We also really like Rocky, even though that’s a first name. What was that guy’s last name from ‘Rudy’? Rutabaga? Yeah, I think we are looking into that, too.”
The addition of new names to the fieldhouse, although widely praised as a brilliant marketing strategy, is not without its naysayers. Junior basketball player Will Francis said the idea did not make sense to him.
“I just don’t see why they can’t put Francis on there somewhere,” he said. “I mean, the second letter is ‘R.’Saying it can only be names that begin with one letter seems very close-minded to me.”
Although Francis may not be on board with the name expansion plan, administrators from the Ganus Athletic Center were thrilled with the idea.
“This is great,” they said. “There will be a hundred letters on that building by the time this thing is done. Maybe now people will stop stealing ours.”
When asked about the possibility of his name being added to the fieldhouse, senior baseball player Davis Richardson said he will leave that decision up to the people in charge.
“It isn’t my call,” Richardson said. “But do I think it should be up there? Probably so, yeah.”
The name expansion is set to take place this summer, beginning with an “R” name raffle on May 7, after graduation. Harding plans to have visiting families with letter “R” names bid to have their name entered into the drawing for the new building.
“Those first few new names will be totally up to chance,” our source said. “We’re pulling the first five out of a hat, and after that we will all get together and discuss what other names we would like to add. It raises money for the school, gets alumni involved and also gives the whole thing an element of randomness — and that’s really what this is about.”
Early rumors of names to be added include, but are not limited to: Roark, the last name of Harding sophomore basketball player Jacob Roark; Ranchito, the second word in the name of the popular Searcy eatery Mi Ranchito — which sources say has been campaigning hard for a spot on the building; and Roscoe, after Roscoe Dash — a very popular rapper amongst millennials.
The Rhodes-Reaves-Ryan-Ruth-Rico-Ronald-Rutabaga-Rocky-Richardson-Roark-Ranchito-Roscoe Fieldhouse is set to be unveiled on April Fool’s Day.
