Illinois State University President Dr. Al Bowman, donors Richard and Fran Owen, strength and conditioning head coach Rohrk Cutchlow, assistant athletics director Todd Reeser and junior basketball student-athlete Neil Plank cut the ribbon dedicating the Richard and Fran Owen Strength and Conditioning Center Saturday at Redbird Arena.
The 9,200-square-foot facility will serve all of the more than 350 Illinois State student-athletes in all 19 sports. It includes 7,000 square feet of strength and conditioning space, an 1,800-square-foot cardio center and 400 square feet of office and storage space.
Part of the recently-completed $96 million Campaign for Redefining "normal", the $1.5 million facility is also a step in the Redbird Arena Completion Project. Illinois State interim athletics director Dr. Linda Herman believes the facility will help Redbird student-athletes win championships.
Todays student-athletes love to train almost as much as they love to compete, said Herman. Now, our student-athletes have a facility with the size, the space, the technology, the equipment and the coaching they need to be the champions they want to be.
Addressing a crowd of more than 150 invited donors, fans, administrators, coaches and student-athletes, Plank thanked the Owen Family for its generous gift and point out the value of the facility to student-athletes.
"When you become a college student-athlete, you realize that being a student-athlete is not so much about 'playing time' as it is about 'planning your time,'" said Plank, the 2004 Illinois State Scholar-Athlete of the Year and an academic all-American. "Having a larger, more accessible, state-of-the-art strength and conditioning center helps every athlete make the most of their time.
Reeser, a Redbird baseball alum who also worked on the campaign to build Redbird Arena in the 1980s, compared opening the Owen Center to building Redbird Arena.
At that time, said Reeser, people said Redbird Arena would change the face of Redbird athletics and that has certainly proven true. But todays grand opening reaches into the heart and soul and the entire body of our athletics program. For the Owen Strength and Conditioning Center, the potential is unlimited, and the value is priceless.
With state-of-the-art equipment and technology initiated to support athletes at U.S. Olympic Training Centers, Cutchlow sees the Owen Center as a dream come true.
Ive had a vision of this facility since I arrived at Illinois State about a year and a half ago, said Cutchlow. The reality is the vision and more. We not only have more space, but the equipment and technology are first-rate, and the student-athletes are excited and motivated.
Bowman said the challenge to carve the future of Illinois State University continues.
"Redefining normal has concluded, but the culture of philanthropy that this campaign ignited on our campus is just beginning," said Bowman. "We must follow the leadership of Richard and Fran Owen, and work even harder to secure the support necessary to elevate all facilities for student-athletes to this high standard. Our coaches deserve it. Our alumni deserve it. Our fans deserve it and, most of all, our students deserve it."
