The Retort

A: Let’s see; I have been here long enough to have an I.D. that starts with -0000! My first semester at MSUB was in the fall of 1987. At that time our office was located in SUB-222, across from Housing and Residential Life. With the renovation of the Fitness Center in 2001, we opened up an additional small office in the PE Building to help meet the demands of the new facility. It didn’t take us very long to figure out that we didn’t have enough staff to effectively run two offices so we slowly consolidated our operation into the Lower Level of the PE Building in 2004. I moved into my current location, PE-20, in 2007.

A: It’s all about the students. A few years back we had an intramural men’s basketball team called “The Sonic Death Monkeys.” Clearly, there were no fantasy draft picks on this team! In fact, I am not sure we have ever had a group of guys that were more “talent challenged” playing together on the same team…and that says a lot. But the smiles on their faces at the end of the game are something I still remember! There are many projects that clearly stand out. Obviously, the best one is the fitness center. In the late 90s we had completely outgrown the old weight room. Dr. Sexton put together a team of students, faculty, staff, architects, and other folks from HHP, Athletics, Facilities Service, Student Affairs, the Administrative Vice Chancellor’s office, and RecreationalActivities to create an affordable project that met our needs at the time.

A: One of the conditions set by the Chancellor when we started the Fitness Center project was make sure we set aside funds every year for the eventual replacement of the equipment. With this funding source, we were able to purchase 14 new cardio pieces in the Fitness Center. The new treadmills, ellipticals, AMTs, and bikes are clearly the best available. Students can now design and save their workouts on a flash drive and even pick songs from their iPods during their workouts. The two treadmills and three ellipticals that were in the Fitness Center have been fully reconditioned and moved into a mini workout room in Petro Hall. This will allow students living in the Residence Halls to have access to cardio equipment on late nights and holidays when recreational activities is closed.

A: This Fall we are bringing back co-ed dodgeball and co-ed softball to compliment our traditional co-ed volleyball, flag football, and co-ed basketball line-up. We tried to make the seasons more compact by offering league play twice a week over a three to four week season. This should let students try several different sports over the semester.

A: Leisure recreation is the future for recreational programming at the university level. Having a quality fitness facility open and available is critically important to student wellness and to the life skills that students will carry with them when they leave MSUB. The challenges that face recreational activities in providing programming for students are also shared by athletics and academics. The need for more practice space for our student athletes along with the need to offer more evening classes is starting to put a strain on our facilities. HHP, Athletics, and Recreation Activities provide unique experiences that are essential to our campus mission. A three to five year goal would be to provide a sustainable plan for facilities and funding.

A: Make the time to become involved in Recreational Activities or any of the other great programs offered at MSUB. You will be rewarded for the effort.