DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – Exciting times on one local campus.
St. Norbert College has completed expansion and renovation work at its athletic complex.
A Friday afternoon dedication ceremoney begins at 3 pm for the Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center, which is on the corner of Third Street and Marsh Street.
The $26,000,000 facility has been largely funded by donations.
Outgoing President Tom Kunkel says the 130,000 square foot center is an upgrade for the school.
“We finally were in position to take the old Schuldes Center (which was dedicated in 1979) and expand it dramatically, double it in size, or more, and really create a world-class opportunity.”
Kunkel notes Mulva contains a competition-grade swimming pool and diving area, the first in the college’s history.
He says this will allow St. Norbert to resurrect its NCAA Division III swimming program, which last competed in 2009.
The building also features an upgraded gymnasium to house the college’s basketball and volleyball teams.
“It’s been a wild year (since construction began April 1, 2016). Our basketball and volleyball teams had to play an entire year basically on the road, but everybody has been fantastic about it. Now that they’ve been in there, I think they feel like it was worth the dislocation.”
Kunkel says Mulva also has an expansive fitness center that overlooks the pool and, on the second floor, expanded offices for athletic staff.
“We are here to try and educate them in mind, body, and spirit. In the past, we could be fairly accused that maybe we weren’t as serious as we should have been about the body part.”
In addition to answering calls from current students for a new complex, which Kunkel says started when he first arrived at the school, he also feels Mulva will help with attracting new students.
“I’m looking at this other college, and they have a serious fitness center. Well, that’s not an impediment to us anymore.”
