In 1925 the legislature granted the university $250,000 to build a combined lecture hall, concert stage, and basketball court for "Dr. Naismith's game." Collegiate Gothic in style, the building was patterned after one at the University of Michigan and had a seating capacity over 3,500. Hundreds of cement pilings were sunk to support over 300 tons of structural steel used in the hall's frame. In 1929 the building was named to honor former Governor E.W. Hoch.

After other sport and concert facilities were built, Hoch continued to be the site for enrollment, classes, lectures, large concerts, convocations, vespers, and the Rock Chalk Revue.

A lightning bolt struck the tiled roof on June 15, 1991, setting the building on fire. Onlookers will never forget the sights and sounds of the clay tile sliding and the steel twisting as the roof caved in within a half hour of the strike. Fortunately most of the walls remained structurally sound.

Under the leadership of Chancellor Gene Budig (and with the support of HMOF), the façade facing Jayhawk Boulevard was preserved and restored. Behind it a new multipurpose structure, with Collegiate Gothic exterior motifs and a modernistic interior, was built and dedicated as Budig Hall in 1997.

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