With an eye towards both the future and the present, the University at Buffalo Athletic Department announced plans earlier this summer for a new training center adjacent to UB Stadium.
The Robert G. and Carol L. Morris Sports Performance Center will double the current training space from 6,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet and will impact the training of more than 500 student-athletes.
The doubling of the current training space available for student-athletes will be made possible by a $500,000 donation from Buffalo Alumnus Robert G. and Carol L. Morris.
New head coach of the Buffalo Bulls football team, Turner Gill, is excited about the message this new project sends.
"I think it shows that (University) President John Simpson and (Athletic Director) Warde Manuel are making a commitment to the whole athletic department to have more student-athletes have the opportunity to get stronger and to feel more confident," Gill said. "I think that it says that we have a strong backing from our administration. It's not just a football thing; it's for our whole athletic department."
The improvements that will be made on the facilities will allow larger athletic teams to be able to train together. In previous years, due to the confines of the current facilities, larger squads such as football, rowing, and track and field teams were forced to split their training into various meeting times and places. These problems made it difficult to emphasize teamwork and team unity.
"The way it is now we have to divide it up between the day to get everyone into lifting, you have to be more creative," Gill said. "You can only get so many people in for lifting. Now you can block out 30 or 45 minutes to lift, and they can all get it done in that time versus taking a half a day to try to get 80 or 90 guys to come in and lift."
The center will also allow for Gill and other coaches to showcase that commitment to incoming recruits.
"I think the facility can help. I don't think it will be the one reason why someone will attend this institution, but it does help that they (recruits) know that we're making a commitment," Gill said. "I think that's what this signifies, that the administration and the athletic director are making a commitment to athletics, and to be competitive in every aspect."
However, once the recruits arrive on campus as incoming freshman and continue through their undergraduate experience, their development and progression is an important aspect to both the program and the student-athletes.
"While we want to continue to recruit higher echelon student-athletes, the growth that occurs within them once they are here is tremendously important," Manuel stated in a press release. "There is no single greater area of importance for the growth and improvement of a student-athlete in college than strength and conditioning."
Robert G. Morris concurred with Manuel.
"As our student-athletes grow in the outstanding classroom setting that UB offers, it is also critically important that their athletic 'lab space' - that is, the time they spend conditioning and strengthening themselves - offers the same opportunity for excellence," Morris stated in a press release.
This donation marks the second time Morris, who received a bachelor's degree in Economics from UB in 1967, and his wife have made a large contribution to the university. The two provided the University at Buffalo with a gift to help establish the Signature Center of Excellence in 21st Century Music.
The facility was originally slated to begin construction in July and be finished by October 1. However, due to complications the construction has been delayed and the new opening date for the facility is between the dates of October 15 and November 1 of this year.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
