HOUSTON - Texas Southern broke ground on its new 6,000-square-foot strength and conditioning facility this afternoon at 2:00 PM. The marching band, cheerleaders, football, and basketball teams attended the event.
President Dr. Lesia L. Crumpton noted, "We are celebrating because it's a gift of transformation for our student-athletes. And we are happy and pleased to give you this gift today."
We felt like this was a game changer for us, "VP of Athletics Dr. Kevin Granger said to Fox reporter Nate Griffin.
"In today's society, most the student-athletes, the first thing they look at is the facilities. We upgraded our facilities to provide the student-athletes of today and tomorrow with first-class facilities when they attend Texas Southern University."
Last season, before Deion Sanders' departure, Jackson State completed an upgrade to its training complex with state-of-the-art equipment and meeting areas. Prairie View's athletic facility has been one of the best in the Southwestern Athletic Conference for several seasons.
The Texas Southern upgrade will attract modern-day recruits for the school's football, basketball, volleyball, track, and other sports programs.
Dr. Crumpton credited head football coach Clarence McKinney when the two first met as he championed the need for a need training facility. "The coaches decided to lead in tough times, did the best with what they had, and spoke up for the student-athletes' needs."
Administrators project the new building will be erected by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.
"It's a first-class strength and conditioning facility where we focused on building the student-athletes," VP of Athletics Granger cited. "We're Division I program, and we need to start a look and feel in like a Division I program."
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