Merry Christmas Eve, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sports fans. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season with your family and friends wherever you are.
Virginia Tech recently announced the receipt of the largest gift ever given to the athletic department – and the largest outright gift ever given to the university. On December 18, 2017, University President Tim Sands announced that a $15.2-million donation was given to the university to help create a state-of-the-art Student-Athlete Performance Center on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus.
The donation was made by an alumni couple who are Virginia natives. The transformational gift (which will benefit student-athletes in all 22 intercollegiate sports) will be used to create a new Student-Athlete Performance Center. After extensive renovation and expansion, the performance center will encompass the entire fourth floor of the Jamerson Athletic Center. When the facility is completed, the center will feature panoramic views of Lane Stadium and a balcony overlooking the practice field. The fourth floor of Jamerson will more than double from its current 6,000-square-foot footprint to 17,000 square feet. The new addition will include space for dining, nutrition, donor hospitality, recruiting areas, and a seamless connection to the Cassell Coliseum concourse.
The students, as you can tell, are very happy about this new facility:
“I owe a lot to our Coach (Ben) Hilgart, his staff and our nutrition team. I know firsthand the difference that embracing a smart diet and trusting our strength and conditioning staff has made for me and my game this season. It’s really exciting to learn about this new performance facility that will help all of our athletes take their games to the next level. Thanks to all the donors who are making this possible. I’m sure our coaches can’t wait to show off the Student-Athlete Performance Center to recruits when they visit.” Tim Settle – Football
“I’m really excited about this project and what it means to Virginia Tech. Nutrition is such a big part of keeping our bodies healthy and improving our performance. The Student-Athlete Performance Center will be a great addition to our already outstanding program. The location is perfect with it being connected to Cassell. It will mean so much to so many of my fellow student-athletes and for the student-athletes who will follow us. I can’t thank the donors enough for their support and caring for allowing this to happen.“ Nickeil Alexander-Walker – Men’s Basketball
Obviously, University President, Tim Sands, Head Football Coach, Justin Fuente, and Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Buzz Williams, are thrilled with the generosity of these Hokies. Overall, it’s been terrific year for Virginia Tech fundraising.
The Hokie Club, Virginia Tech’s athletic fundraising arm, has banked over $30 million. Virginia Tech has raised almost $163 million (which includes a huge scholarship gift fund of $15 million for engineering and construction students).
It is this type of generosity that will help Virginia Tech move its overall athletic programs into the upper tier of the ACC.
Merry Christmas Eve!!!
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