Round Two

A $5.5 million addition to Ohio University’s campus will serve as the new academic facility for student athletes once the university is able to secure fundraising dollars, OU announced Wednesday.

More than 450 students are estimated to be able to use the new facility annually.

The Sook Academic Center, a state-of-the-art facility, will be incorporated into the north end-zone of Peden Stadium, across from Walter Hall, and will include tutoring centers, computer labs and study spaces to be used by the student athletes. These new facilities will double the existing student athlete study space located on the fourth floor of Peden Stadium, according to the university.

“Building a new academic center supports our vision of providing a top-tier student learning experience for our student-athletes,” OU President Roderick McDavis said in a news release. “They are students first and foremost (and the) facility will only help us to achieve our goal of supporting their academic success.”

The new center will come at a cost of $5.5 million, which the university will fundraise to finance. The additional $2.75 million will be raised through a new campaign started for the facility. No timeline for the fundraising has been set, officials have said.

An initial $2.25 million was donated by Perry and Sandy Sook, the center’s namesakes. Both graduates of OU, the Sooks want the athletes to develop with the new center.

“Student athletes are ambassadors to the university, and its important that they have an opportunity to maintain the ‘student’ part of ‘student athlete,’” Perry Sook, founder, chairman and chief executive of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., said in a video statement.

The university wants to secure funding, “as quickly as possible,” said Jennifer Bowie, OU’s executive director for Advancement Communication and Marketing, in an email.

Director of Athletics Jim Schaus hopes the funds will be raised within a year.

“That’s our goal,” Schaus said. “Sometimes it takes longer than that, sometimes it’s shorter. It’ll take the amount of time it takes.”

Officials have said the building reaffirms the university’s desire to have athletes perform in the classroom as well as on the field. Some students using the existing study area say they are often cramped and inconvenienced by the limited space given to them.

“I think for every team here, it’s important to have a building specifically for athletics’ academics,” said Josiah Yazdani, an Ohio football redshirt junior kicker studying engineering. “I know a lot of times they have to close down early up there when we have games and stuff like that, so if you have a building strictly for that it’ll do a world of good for tutoring reasons and really catering to the athletes’ needs.” Yazdani said.

The Walter Fieldhouse opened to the public earlier this year. The fieldhouse is open to student athletes and the general student body on a limited schedule.

The new study space will be open exclusively to student athletes, except during athletic events, when the space will be converted into a hospitality center for donors and fans. No decision has been made on whether alcohol will be served during events in the new facility. The university will begin selling alcohol to paying members of the bobcats club starting Sept. 20.

To accommodate the large structure, Drew Park, which currently occupies the space outside the north wall, will be relocated, OU officials said. The statue of the school’s mascot, the Bobcat, is a part of Drew park and will be relocated with the park.

“This to me sends a message to our campus: what’s important to our intercollegiate athletic program,” Schaus said. “It puts it on the front step of our institution and our athletic complex.”

@sethparcher

sa587812@ohio.edu