The opening of the Chaifetz Arena will ring in a new era for the Athletic Department at Saint Louis Uni-versity. Not only will the arena serve as tangible evidence of SLU’s commitment to maintaining a quality athletic program, but it will also provide an ideal gathering place for SLU students.
The impact on our athletic teams should be incredible. Many of our teams have been enjoying success, both in the Atlantic 10 Conference and on the national stage, with the current facilities. If these coaches were able to successfully recruit the talent which we currently have on our athletic teams, imagine what the same coaches can do with one of the nation’s premier college sports facilities.
Women’s basketball coach Shimmy Gray-Miller has been able to rebuild a program from nothing, and her players came to SLU knowing that their locker room wouldn’t even have its own restroom.
Anne Kordes has taken a volleyball program that used to be a Conference USA doormat and turned them into a perennial power in the underrated Atlantic 10 Conference.
Track-and-field star Laura Coyer continues to shatter school records on her way to becoming arguably one of the best runners this school has ever seen.
And Brad Byars was just named the Atlantic 10 swimmer of the year.
These are only a few of the accomplishments that SLU coaches and student athletes have accomplished in the past year while training in the outdated Bauman-Eberhardt Center.
Just imagine what these coaches and student athletes will be able to accomplish with state-of-the-art weight-training equipment and the confidence that their institution is dedicated to helping them succeed on the field of play.
Not only will this facility benefit our current student athletes, but it will also aid in making SLU a contender on the national recruiting scene. Who says a blue-chip prospect from Arizona can’t skip out on playing for Lute Olson and instead play for Rick Majerus in one of the premier facilities in all of college athletics?
The bottom line is that recruits can now have confidence that the University is committed to making its athletic programs contenders on the national stage. The arena has the ability to take SLU athletics to the next level. The big question remains, however: Will an on-campus arena aid in slashing student apathy?
Many of our student athletes still remain unsupported in their athletic endeavors. Aside from a couple of basketball games and the homecoming soccer game, student attendance at athletic events is below par. The Billiken Blue Out week was a great move by the administration. It gave students a reason to take pride in their school.
President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., and his administration have proved they are committed to improving school spirit and camaraderie. The combined efforts of Biondi and his administration in raising funds for the arena and hiring Majerus, as well as new Athletic Director Chris May have justified their committment.
Now, it’s time for the students to heed the call. Great things can lie ahead for our athletic teams.
Unfortunately, the arena and the coaches will only be able to do so much. Students must embrace the arena as a focal point of the campus and support the school’s student athletes.
It’s a two-way street: The athletes have the ability to perform at a higher level with ample student support.
In turn, students will be able to enjoy successful teams that know they have the support of both the administration and the student body.
Andrew Pollock is a senior in the John Cook School of Business.
