TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- In the first of many projects and initiatives that will be completed soon as part of the recently announced athletics capital campaign --
Elevate -- The Campaign For Sycamore Athletics, Director of Athletics Sherard Clinckscales is proud to announce the completion of the John McNichols Training Track inside the ISU Athletics Annex.
Elevate is the first-of-its-kind athletics only fundraising campaign in the history of the department. Indiana State Athletics has identified key fundraising projects that will address immediate needs and create lasting hallmarks for the program. Donor support of
Elevate is critical to the development of all Sycamore student-athletes and will have a direct impact beginning with the 2017-18 academic year. The four projects that gifts to
Elevate will directly support include the brand new Sports Performance Center and Nutrition Station; the Sycamore Fuel Initiative -- which will provide extra healthy meals to our student-athletes; Sycamore Football Coaches Office and Player Lounge Renovation and the installation of a Sycamore Track and Field Interactive Display which will celebrate the rich history of that program.
Additionally, through the generous support of Indiana State University President Dr. Daniel J. Bradley, the university is providing additional funds for the first two completed projects that are also part of
Elevate. The first is the John McNichols Training Track and the second is upgrades to Memorial Stadium. New state-of-the-art lights have been installed at Memorial Stadium and we will take a look at those later in the week. The final phase of the upgrades to Memorial Stadium comes next summer with a complete replacement of the field turf used by football and women's soccer.
"Seeing the first projects already completed and seeing the work that is going on in the Sports Performance Center is exciting," Sycamore Track and Field head coach Angie Martin said. "This university is growing in all sports and Sherard has a good vision. He wants everyone to have the tools to be successful. The
Elevate campaign is a big deal for the entire university. We've done well in the past with what we have had and our department is proud of that, but to have these nice things being added makes our student-athletes want to work a little harder. Seeing the projects completed and the donations coming in makes you feel good knowing that so many people want to see Sycamore Athletics be successful."
The most important aspect of
Elevate is that these different projects will benefit every student-athlete on every team through the funds that are being raised.
Today's focus is on the John McNichols Training Track, located at the ISU Athletics Annex. The indoor track provides 14 lanes (which are the widest allowable of 42 inches) of indoor running room, including enough room to properly train indoors for hurdles races as the legacy of Coach McNichols and #HurdleU continues into the future. There is also a full pole vault runway and room for other events such as the high jump to train during the winter months. The legendary Sycamore throws program will also use the indoor facility to throw into nets in the corner of the building which will safely allow the student-athletes to train for competition.
The ISU Athletics Annex also serves as the indoor training home of several Sycamore sports and is the location of the Sycamore Track and Field coaches office suite. The facility is near the intersection of 1st and Eagle Street in Terre Haute directly next door to the brand new Gibson Track and Field Complex.
"The best thing about this facility is that it is literally right next to our offices so if our student-athletes need to train in between classes, our coaches can just step out of our offices and run them through a session," Martin said. "We will also be able to share this space with other sports which I think is great because it is important for all our student-athletes to interact with each other."
During the spring, the John McNichols Training Track will be used as a state-of-the-art indoor warm up area for student-athletes who are preparing to compete at the Gibson Track Complex. Many other Sycamore sports whose student-athletes currently use the outdoor track for training exercises will also be able to use the area as part of their strength and conditioning work.
The need for the John McNichols Training Track became even more elevated with the closing of the Sycamores' current indoor facility due to on-going renovations of that building as part of the multi-million dollar construction project for the College of Health and Human Services.
"With the renovation of the Health and Human Services Building, the area that we have used for many years to train during the winter months (ISU North Gym) is going to be unavailable," Martin said. "Prior to his passing, Coach McNichols had the great idea to put down a running surface in the ISU Annex so we would have an area where our sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers could train at a fast pace when the weather turns cold. With the help of the university and great people who support of our program we are able to debut this awesome surface which will greatly benefit our program in the future."
Finally, its fitting that this facility is named after John McNichols because its another way that the track program has been able to build something spectacular that other programs can only dream of having because of his great gift of envisioning ways to use otherwise unused spaces. The most notable, of course, was Coach McNichols vision of a championship cross country course on wasteland in Eastern Vigo County. Through his vision and the support of the community, the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course has hosted a majority of the NCAA Division I Championships since its first one in 2002. Now, his vision for 14 lanes for indoor workouts on a space that was simply concrete floor and storage space has come to reality and will benefit the program for many years to come.
"Coach McNichols is a legend here and around the world," Martin said. "He started the true success of this program with not much. He fought hard to build a proper staff. He fought hard to obtain first class facilities. I think that Coach McNichols legacy will keep growing because of all things he accomplished during his career at Indiana State. I'm thankful to everyone who made the John McNichols Training Track a reality and it will be a huge part of our program moving forward."
