ISU officially opens indoor practice facility

Posted on October 2, 2023
Illinois State Interim Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs, Illinois State University Interim President Dr. Aondover Tarhule, ISU Student-Athlete Advisory Council President Kaitlyn Donovan, Illinois State head football coach Brock Spack and Chair of the Illinois State University Board of Trustees Dr. Kathy Bohn. (WJBC file photo)

By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – The top brass of Illinois State University hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday night for the athletic department’s new indoor practice facility.

At over $11 million, the facility is built in the location of the former football practice field directly north of Horton Field House. A 100-yard practice football field features a single end zone with run off areas and artificial turf to match the current surface at Hancock Stadium.

ISU interim athletic director Dr. Jerri Beggs spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller.

“It’s been a long time coming and Larry Lyons started the dream and others kept it going all these years. Now it is finally here and I’m so excited for our student-athletes and our coaches in terms of recruiting. I love that we have all these community members here to see the facility,” said Beggs.

ISU football was the first team to use the facility as they hosted a practice on Sunday.

“Our administration has done a great job, when Larry (Lyons) was here and now Dr. Beggs bringing this things home and everybody has worked really hard to get this done,” said ISU football head coach Brock Spack. “A lot of these things are raised through corporate money, but this is all from private donors and it is amazing the support we get here from private donors.”

The facility will be open to all Redbird teams and will ease congestion for teams currently using Horton Field House as an indoor practice area.

WJBC News can be reached at [email protected]

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