BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College has announced plans to dramatically upgrade the Wheeler Athletic Center’s Sports Performance facility. The new design includes customized weight lifting equipment, new flooring, and a 1,350-square-foot artificial turf functional training area that will serve 31 varsity and eight developmental men’s and women’s athletic programs and more than 800 students.
The project is scheduled to be completed by the start of the spring semester in January. There will be 12 new weightlifting stations with customized racks, benches, bars and plates, branded dumbbells, a new 30-yard turf sprinting and plyometric area, and many more features to enhance the performance and experience of students.
“Aristotle wrote, ‘Excellence is an art won by training and habituation...Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit’,” said Dr. Bill Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College. “Humpy and Pat Wheeler live Aristotle’s ideal every day of their lives. Their munificence is one more sign of their excellence and ensures that our students and coaches will have the opportunity to continue the pursuit and attainment of excellence and virtue on and off the fields of play. I am forever grateful for their great generosity and kindness.”
“This project was made possible by the generous donation from the Wheelers,” added Stephen Miss, athletics director. “A major upgrade, renovating our Sports Performance facility better positions us to deliver upon our promise to our students: to form and develop the whole person – body, mind and soul.”
— Rolando Rivas