Chuck Cooper III ‘pinching himself’ as Duquesne is poised to open new arena named after his father

It seems as if everyone associated with Duquesne Athletics has something they love about the reconstructed building around the bones of the 33-year-old Palumbo Center.

During a tour of the facility on Monday, athletic director Dave Harper beamed as he showed off the design of the interior and looked out through the glass windows with the Pittsburgh cityscape.

Head coach Keith Dambrot can’t stop talking about the two full-sized practice courts in the back.

Associate A.D. for sports medicine and performance John Henderson was gushing as he showed off the massive series of all-inclusive weight racks and the high-tech treadmills that can reach 32 miles per hour.

But for Chuck Cooper III, he loves the big block letters on the front of the building. The ones that spell out his family’s name on the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. After coronavirus-related construction delays and rescheduling hurdles, the sparkling new arena will finally open its doors Tuesday night as the Dukes will welcome the defending Atlantic 10 Conference champion Dayton Flyers.

“Incredibly proud. Honored,” Cooper III said regarding the building’s name. “I don’t think there is a better place to watch a basketball game in the tri-state region.”

A Westinghouse High School graduate and World War II Navy veteran, Cooper’s father — also referred to as “Chuck”— was a consensus second-team All-American in 1950 at Duquesne. He also became the first African American player to play a college game south of the Mason-Dixon Line and the first to be drafted by an NBA franchise. Cooper was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round.

“Duquesne was very progressive,” Cooper III said. “My father was able to come in and distinguish himself and play his game. That led to Duquesne bringing in guys like Dick Ricketts, Sihugo Green, Jim Tucker. That eventually led to the 1955 championship team.”

Cooper III says his father’s connection with the university was truly entrenched when the University of Tennessee refused to take the court against Duquesne in 1946 because of Cooper’s skin color. In front of a packed house of 2,600 fans at McKeesport Vocational School, Duquesne sent the Volunteers home because the team wouldn’t comply with Tennessee’s demands that Cooper remain benched.

“That bond was forged,” Cooper III said. “My dad worked hard on behalf of the university until he passed away. He had so much respect for the university for the education he got at Duquesne.”

Cooper’s father died in 1984 at the age of 57. So he wasn’t around to tell stories such as that one firsthand after the internet was born and social media came into existence. For instance, Earl Lloyd lived until 2015 before passing away at the age of 86. Like Cooper, he broke into the NBA in 1950 and became the first African American player to play in the league.

So his struggles and experiences playing through the racial climate of the 1950s and 60s were perhaps better known and appreciated. To the degree that Lloyd, with similar stats to Cooper over a slightly longer career, ended up in the Hall of Fame in 2003. Cooper wasn’t enshrined until 2019.

Now, with Cooper’s name permanently ingrained into the landscapes of Pittsburgh sports and college basketball, his son hopes that people appreciate — and learn about — his father’s story. Especially since the building is now opening in February during Black History Month.

“To have a building in his honor to stimulate the conversation … with my dad being a part of that great African American history, and American sports history, by being the first African American drafted into the NBA. His story comes up every year, at least in February.”

Cooper said the NBA and Celtics are also working with him to have some sort of event to acknowledge the timing of the building’s opening.

The only regret about the timing is the continued cloud of the pandemic. Most Dukes fans can’t be a part of festivities Tuesday. Only 50 students are allowed to sit in the stands via a lottery, as are roughly 60 friends and family of players and staff.

But Cooper III will be one of those on hand. And he’ll take some time to think about what the place will look like when fans are allowed to fill the building’s 4,200 seat capacity.

“I’m just pinching myself in anticipation,” Cooper III said. “I can’t wait to see the Dukes take it to the hoop in the Coop’.”

Click here to hear Tim Benz’s full podcast with Chuck Cooper III as Duquesne prepares to open the UPMC Chuck Cooper Fieldhouse Tuesday night against Dayton.