Jan. 12, 2007

With the renovation taking only a couple of months, Dayton's sparkling indoor, multipurpose practice facility -- complete with a new, state-of-the art track surface, tennis courts and bright lights -- is here to stay.

And that put a smile on the face of Dayton women's track and field head coach Kandice Erwin as the Flyers held their first full team practice at the newly renovated Physical Activities Center. Other coaches and teams like football, softball, baseball and tennis share her enthusiasm for the new facility.

"Anytime there was inclement weather, our field student-athletes suffered more than anybody," Erwin said. "We had access to the UD Arena concourse for our runners and hurdlers, but our field event people didn't have a place to train when the weather was bad."

Heavy rain or snow used to shorten or cancel practices for the Flyers outdoor sports. Not any more thanks to the phase one renovation of Collins Gym in the Physical Activities Center.

The renovated Collins Gym began operations as a new indoor multipurpose facility earlier this month.

UD track and field uses the new track, pole vault, triple, long and high jump stations to prepare for upcoming meets this spring. The tennis programs have conducted individual workouts without traveling across town for indoor courts and sports like football and soccer can conduct more thorough off-season conditioning workouts. Baseball and softball are also using Collins Gym to prepare for their upcoming seasons.

The improved facilities not only give practice time flexibility for coaches, but should help decrease injuries, lessen travel time for the student-athletes, and serve as a great recruiting tool for the Flyers.

"We need the space," Flyer Football Head Coach Mike Kelly said. "What we've done at this point is a priority. It's going to be a nice thing to show our recruits starting tomorrow. We'll be able to walk those families through and say here's where we are today, here's where we are going to be with our indoor facilities."

But that's not the only renovation for the 60,000-square-foot PAC, which served as a recreation facility for all students before the RecPlex opened in January 2006.

The next phase of the PAC includes the transformation of the swimming area into a practice basketball gym for the men's and women's teams. The court from UD Arena will be moved to campus after the 2006-07 season, and a new court is on order for the 2007-08 season.

"We went from 18,000 square feet of practice space to 42,000 feet of practice space," said Joe Owens, UD Associate Director of Athletics/Director of Performance Enhancement. "It's not only adding space, it's improving the quality of space. It's a kind of space that we haven't had before. Before they had their conditioning time in the gym and that was all of the time they could get, much less a great big space with solid flooring. Now they can do it."

The recently installed track surface provides exceptional cushioning and energy return at the same time for UD student-athletes. With a new long jump, high jump pit and throwing area, the UD track team has a unique advantage of practicing year-round.

"The new indoor training facility will definitely contribute to the success of our programs," said Erwin. "Having a place to train year-round gives us an edge on some of our competitors who do not have the luxury of being able to get out of the inclement, winter weather. Not only will the runners benefit from the track, but so will our field event athletes."

Other sports like football believe the Collins Gym allows players to keep their legs fresh during the season and work on various aspects of the game they couldn't before in harsh weather.

"It gives us so much more space which we've never had in the past," Kelly said. "The availability of it will be fantastic. The wall-to-wall surface will be safe for the players. All of that is the upside in the fact it's strictly for our student-athletes and designed for our student-athletes to run, throw and kick."

In today's highly competitive environment of NCAA athletics, the renovated PAC is critical for continuing to recruit quality student-athletes and improving Dayton's athletic programs.

Since UD joined the Atlantic 10 in 1995, the Flyers have won 27 conference championships and appeared in the post-season on 17 occasions.

Prior to that, UD competed in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for five years and the Great Midwest Conference for two. During those seven years, the Flyers won two conference championships and appeared in post-season on only one occasion.

And competitive success has not come at the expense of academic performance: Flyer student-athletes carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.142 through the 2006 Fall Semester.

"Our players are excited about it," Kelly said. "We've been on it twice and it's a great surface. Once we get the building completed, it'll be a great shot in the arm for the department."