This offseason, Huff Hall underwent multiple renovations to update its appearance and improve the environment for players and fans alike.

The basketball court surface has been replaced with a surface more catered to volleyball. Instead of having a stiff floor necessary for bouncing a basketball, the new floor has more flex, ideal for creating a forgiving surface for knees and joints jumping and landing.

Head coach Kevin Hambly has said his players notice a difference.

“If I jump on any surface and land, my knees are going to hurt. I’m an old guy, I’ve had a lot of jumps in my day,” Hambly said. “I jump on this, and it doesn’t hurt. It’s not so much what it’s made up of on the top as it is what’s underneath that makes it a volleyball-unique floor.”

In addition to the different surface, the floor is decorated with the rebranded font along the service lines and the Illini victory shield is on the court.

“I think (the new surface) will be more noticeable in the middle or the end of the season when our bodies normally are starting to wear down,” senior Liz McMahon said. “But it looks really sharp, I really like it.”

Off the court, Huff has added nearly 500 more seats, bringing the arena’s capacity to 4,536. New bleachers have been added along the sides of the court and permanent seating has been added to the previously vacant south side of the court, which will be reserved for students and band memebers.

The current attendance record for a volleyball game at Huff Hall is 4,316, set in a match against Stanford in 1992. That record could be in jeopardy with the new seating design.

As for those in the seats, renovations have made watching the games more bearable, while enduring the heat of late summer in Central Illinois. Huff is still without air conditioning, but four new fans have been added above the seating areas — two on either side of the court — to increase air flow and beat the heat of August and early September.

The Illini used Kenney Gym on Springfield Ave. in April to host one of their spring exhibition matches against Kentucky while Huff was under construction. 

Renovations were completed during the summer and finished by the time the team reported for preseason practice on Aug. 9.

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and

@steve_bourbon.