Sports Report

New Era for Athletics

The first phase of Rensselaer’s $114 million East Campus Athletic Village was launched on Aug. 26 during a groundbreaking ceremony behind the Houston Field House. The most extensive athletic construction project in the Institute’s history, the new athletic village will improve dramatically campus athletic facilities, expand athletic opportunities, and enhance the overall student experience at Rensselaer.

The project will involve two phases. Phase 1 will include a stadium, an arena, and enhancements to the Houston Field House, while Phase 2 will feature an indoor pool, outdoor tennis courts, and an indoor sports facility complete with a track and tennis courts. Construction for the first phase of the project began this month, and will be completed by fall 2009. The time frame for Phase 2 is still being developed.

The facilities of the new athletic village will meet the needs and expectations of current students — more than 75 percent of whom participate in intramurals, club sports, or varsity team sports — and prospective student-athletes.

“As we continue to build a fully realized university, and educate the next generation of leaders, it is our intent to develop the mind, body, and spirit—the whole person,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson at the event. “Combined with other new ‘playing fields’ at Rensselaer, such as the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, the East Campus Athletic Village will allow our students to think, to learn, and to play in innovative ways so they can succeed in a world where the pace of change is measured in nanoseconds.”

The ceremony also featured remarks from Myles Brand ’64, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and a Rensselaer trustee. Brand noted that the “playing field teaches great life lessons—chief among them, personal commitment to excellence and the discipline needed to live up to that commitment each and every day.”