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Friday, March 29, 2024
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	(from left to right) Walker, lacrosse senior Emily Maher, field hockey senior Stephanie Burry, cross country senior Thomas Woermer and President Neil Kerwin cut the ribbon.

AU debuts new Bender Arena locker rooms

The AU athletic department debuted their summer locker room renovations on Sept. 20 at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Bender Arena.

The ceremony marked the conclusion of a $2.7 million summer project headlined by new locker rooms for each team. Previously, several teams shared a common locker space.

“We are really, really excited,” AU Director of Athletics and Recreation Billy Walker said. “It was a long project this summer getting it done; we had a lot of work but a lot of help from everyone.”

While the square footage and number of lockers varies for each team, every locker room is equipped with a stall for each player, including a combination locker and space for footwear. Every room has a television or projector for teams to watch film on. The locker room for the wrestling team has a wrestling mat in place of carpeting.

“It is unbelievable to have our own space,” lacrosse head coach Emma Wallace said. “We can accomplish a lot of things in here from teaching and also from a camaraderie standpoint it’s nice to have out place where the girls can get together.”

With the new locker room comes new tradition. Athletes cannot walk over the AU logo printed on the middle of the floor of each locker room, according to Walker. Those who do will face some kind of reprimand such as pushups for the team, he said.

Construction on the locker rooms began immediately following commencement last spring and were ready for use in late August once fall teams began their seasons.

Walker and President Neil Kerwin each gave short speeches thanking key members of the AU community and construction team for completing the renovations so quickly and so well.

Following the speeches, Walker, Kerwin and the AU Student-Athlete Advisory committee, which consists of field hockey senior Stephanie Burry, lacrosse senior Emily Maher and cross country junior Tom Woermer participated in cutting the ribbon.

“Having the new facilities is a little thing, but it really changes the way we carry ourselves and how we have a greater sense of pride in our sports, in our jobs, in what we come to school for to do every day,” Burry said.

Those in attendance were then allowed to walk through the basement of Bender and examine the new rooms.

The new rooms will also help AU recruit athletes, according to wrestling head coach Teague Moore.

“We already had a close team and a team that carried a lot of pride, but this has really put it over the top,” Moore said about the morale of this team after seeing the new locker rooms.

With the renovation completed, Walker did not comment on the athletic department’s next big project, but said AU Athletics “would continue to do big things.”

esaltzman@theeagleonline.com


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