NORMAL – The Illinois State University Board of Trustees approved on Friday morning a naming rights agreement between Illinois State Athletics and OSF HealthCare that will rebrand the current Indoor Practice Facility as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center.
"The naming of the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center is further proof of the tremendous partnership between OSF HealthCare and Illinois State Athletics," ISU Interim Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs said. "OSF HealthCare has been a great supporter of this department and our student-athletes, who use this facility for training and the pursuit of winning championships. The OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center will continue to be a huge asset to Redbird Athletics and will soon be a great resource for our community as well."
This comes on the heels of last August's announcement of a five-year agreement that made OSF HealthCare the official health care provider for Illinois State University athletics in an exclusive partnership. As part of that agreement, OSF HealthCare will provide Illinois State University student-athletes with access to athletic trainers, sports medicine providers, orthopedic surgeons, and behavioral health professionals.
"OSF HealthCare is proud to strengthen our continued relationship with Illinois State University as the official sports medicine provider for ISU Athletics," CEO for OSF HealthCare's Eastern Region Carol Friesen said. "As a not-for-profit health care organization, we see the state-of-the-art indoor practice facility to promote health and wellness in our Bloomington-Normal communities, especially with student-athletes. OSF HealthCare and Illinois State University are focused on transforming health care in the areas we serve, and this is yet another example of our joint commitment to our communities."
Redbird Athletics dedicated and officially opened the newly minted OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center on September 30, 2023. The facility is a heated, opaque dual-membrane fabric air dome with insulation pockets designed for year-round use by Redbird student-athletes. The facility sits on the location of the former football grass practice field directly north of Horton Field House and features a 100-yard practice field with a single endzone with run off areas and artificial turf to match the current surface at Hancock Stadium.
Over the past year, the facility has been a resource to over 450-plus Illinois State student-athletes and has eased congestion for teams that were previously using Horton Field House as an indoor practice area. Illinois State Athletics also has plans to open the facility for rental to community groups soon. Those interested in rental information and timelines can reach out to ISU Associate Athletic Director for Events & Facilities Marc Martindale by email at mamar22@ilstu.edu. The OSF HealthCare logo and branding is an estimate size to scale when installed on the side of the facility this fall.
OSF HealthCare and ISU both have a long history of being embedded in this area. ISU was founded in 1857, and the sisters of the Order of St. Francis opened what is now OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in 1880. Throughout the years, the two long-standing organizations have worked together for the good of the community. The two organizations in March 2023 launched a joint research partnership, the Connected Communities Initiative (CCI) to bring together clinicians, university faculty researchers and students to explore innovative ideas to improve health care with a focus on medical engineering, data science and cybersecurity.
OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system founded by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, OSF HealthCare has 16 hospitals – 10 acute care, five critical access, 1 transitional care - with 2,131 licensed beds throughout Illinois and Michigan. OSF employs nearly 24,000 Mission Partners across 150+ locations; has two colleges of nursing; operates OSF Home Care Services, an extensive network of home health and hospice services; owns Pointcore, Inc., comprised of health care-related businesses; OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization; and OSF Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health care innovation startups. In 2020, OSF OnCall was established, a digital health operating unit, including a hospital-at-home. OSF OnCall delivers care and services when, where and how patients prefer to receive them. OSF HealthCare has been recognized by Fortune as one of the most innovative companies in the country. More at osfhealthcare.org/.
Illinois State University, founded in 1857, is Illinois' first public university. A diverse community of scholars with a commitment to fostering a small-college atmosphere with large-university opportunities, Illinois State promotes the highest academic standards in teaching, scholarship, and public service. More at illinoistate.edu.
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