Texas Southern University celebrated a significant milestone in its commitment to athletic excellence with the grand opening of its new athletic strength and conditioning facility. The ribbon-cutting ceremony, held behind Alexander Durley Stadium on the TSU campus, marked the launch of a 6,600-square-foot facility designed to elevate the training experience for TSU’s student-athletes.

Equipped with cutting-edge weight machines and new weights, the facility is set to enhance the performance capabilities of the university’s 16 intercollegiate athletics programs. In addition to the expansive training area, the facility also includes offices for strength and conditioning staff and dedicated spaces for physical therapy and other essential services.

Attracting Future Tigers

Dr. Kevin Granger, vice president for intercollegiate athletics at TSU, emphasized the importance of modern facilities in attracting recruits. “It gives us the opportunity to compete with anybody,” he stated. “One of the things that these new student-athletes are checking out is your facilities. So, when you don’t have top notch facilities, a lot of times they’re not going to come to your school. Now when we have recruits visit our campus, we can bring them into facilities that will match up with anybody’s in the state.”

A Larger Space for Student Athletes

Prior to this opening, all student-athletes utilized a smaller strength and conditioning space in the H&PE Arena, which was approximately half the size of the new facility. The expansion promises to improve training and foster a motivating environment for athletes.

“Having this bigger space, like this bigger weight room, provides more motivation. We can definitely get stronger, bigger, faster here. I think it’s just going to be a great environment. The team’s going to love it. It’s going to be great.” said Errick Lewis, a member of the TSU baseball team. 

The construction of the facility represents a $3.5 million investment into the future success of TSU Athletics.