The home of Maroon Tiger basketball was named in honor of legendary Morehouse coach and administrator, Franklin Lafayette Forbes '28 in 1999. Forbes served the college for 43 years, including service as the chairman of the Health and Physical Education Department for 39 years, baseball coach for four years, football coach for 15 seasons, basketball coach for 31 seasons, and tennis and track coach for five seasons each. October 9th was proclaimed Franklin Lafayette Forbes Day by then Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, who later became U.S. President, who shared, "The former students, faculty, alumni selected Franklin as the embodiment of the pursuit to build the mind, body, and spirit of Georgians and Americans that Franklin Forbes has touched...It is fitting and proper that recognition should be given to this outstanding citizen and to the contributions he has given our State...The issuance of the proclamation signaled the first time that a Black man was honored in a South state.

Forbes Arena, an $8 million, 6,000-seat facility part of the $51 million-plus investment in the Atlanta University Center by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) was dedicated on April 3, 1996. The facility is, without question, one of the finest places to watch basketball in Atlanta, Georgia. Highly accessible, it has excellent sightlines and lighting, and the fans are right in the mix of all the action. Morehouse Madness is an interesting experience. With the famed Morehouse student body out in force and venting in full voice, Forbes Arena is an extension of old Archer Hall longtime home of Maroon Tiger basketball teams, and becomes the setting for a truly incredible adventure. It can also be an intimidating place for visiting teams.

The state-of-the-art arena designed by Moody Noland, Ltd., Inc., a minority-owned architectural firm, houses offices of the athletics and physical education departments. The three-level Forbes Arena has four locker rooms, a first-aid station, a training room, a weight room, four concessions stands, and is elevator serviced.

The Maroon Tigers played their first contest in Forbes Arena on November 16, 1996 against Savannah State University. The arena served as the home court for the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League for two years, the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. It has also hosted the 1997 Black College All-Star Basketball Game as well as the fiercely contested Atlanta Public League basketball game between arch-rivals Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Mays high schools during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The 1996 and 1997 Peach State Holiday Basketball Classics, and the SIAC Basketball Tournaments in 1998 and 1999 have been played at Forbes Arena.

On January 29, 1998, a crowd of 7,127 found its way into Forbes Arena to witness cross-campus Atlanta University Center rivals Morehouse and Clark Atlanta do battle; Morehouse emerged victorious by an 88-77 score before the record throng. During the 2000-2001 season, 48,445 fans attended 11 games at Forbes Arena. That number enabled Morehouse to lead all NCAA Division II institutions in attendance with an average of 4,404 fans per basketball game. This figure outpaced many recognized Division I programs.



The 2017-18 season for the Maroon Tigers was one for the history books. The Maroon Tigers began their season with an undefeated record of 20-0 led by the dynamic duo of senior guards Tyrius Walker and Martravious Little. The Maroon Tigers held the longest undefeated record among men's basketball in the NCAA across all three divisions that year. The Maroon Tigers would go on to finish the season as SIAC East Division and regular-season conference champions, #1 in the South Region and #10 nationally with a 25-3 record. The success of the Maroon Tigers led to another milestone in Morehouse sports history. The top-seeded Maroon Tigers for the first time in program history hosted the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament's South Region Championship and the 2018 McDonald's All American Dunk Contest. Head Coach Grady Brewer received numerous awards which include SIAC Coach of the Year, 2018 Clarence Gaines Award, and Georgia Men's College Coach of the Year. Tyrius Walker would go on to win SIAC Player of the Year and debut in the 2018 NBA Summer League for the New York Knicks. The Men of Morehouse would go on to continue their success the following season, repeating as east division conference champions and earning a national ranking of third in Division II men's basketball. 

During the 2017-18 season, a new court was installed in Forbes Arena and dedicated to Morehouse coaching great, Arthur J. McAfee Jr. A member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame, McAfee's teams won a total of 464 games, four 20-win seasons, three SIAC titles, made three NCAA Tournaments and one Final Four appearance; making McAfee the winningest coach in Morehouse history. And, more impressively, 95 percent of his players graduated from Morehouse.