January 16, 2003

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University has received a new gift of $1.55 million for an Academic Athletic Performance Center from a donor who wishes to remain confidential. The principal beneficiary of the proposed facility is the Hilltopper Football program.

According to WKU Athletics Director Wood Selig, this gift in support of a proposed center will bring total gifts from this family to $4.9 million.

"This facility is at the top of our current wish list to benefit all of our 350 student-athletes," Dr. Selig said. "It will assist all student-athletes with computer labs, study areas, will serve as our primary academic advising center, and will also house a first-class weight training facility, athletic training and rehabilitation center, and offices and locker rooms for football and baseball."

Dr. Selig said the new Academic Athletic Performance Center will be located in the heart of the athletic precinct and will accessible to all 20 intercollegiate athletic programs.

"The name of the Academic Athletic Performance Center is completely accurate as it will serve to enhance the scholarly and athletic performance of all of WKU's student athletes," he said.

Head Football Coach Jack Harbaugh is excited about the changes the new center will bring to the program. "The performance center is a tremendous boost to what we are currently doing, our plans for the future and our past successes," he said.

Dr. Selig agreed. "WKU has just captured its first National Championship and we have a finite window of time to capitalize on the national spotlight that has been directed to our campus and our athletic department," he said. "We are trying to extend the shelf life of our national championship. A facility like the Academic Athletic Performance Center will allow WKU student-athletes to benefit from this national championship for decades."

According to Dr. Selig, Western is now solidly on the radar for some of the best athletes in the country, thanks in large part to the highly visible National Championship for football.

"Prospective student-athletes "buy with their eyes," and facilities recruit athletes better than any other tangible asset," he said."In order to keep our momentum going forward, progress in the area of facilities is the best statement to prospective student-athletes as to the value, importance and success of an athletic program. The Academic Athletic Performance Center will be a significant statement to the prominence of intercollegiate athletics at WKU and the national aspirations we have for all of our academic and athletic programs."

WKU President Gary A. Ransdell expressed his appreciation to the donors.

"We are so grateful for what this family has done and continues to do for Western," Dr. Ransdell said. "This performance center is a perfect bookend for the Diddle Arena renovation. In one part of campus we are restoring one of the nation's best on-campus basketball facilities to benefit numerous athletic and academic programs. This new center, to be located between the football and baseball fields, is another step in creating the facilities necessary to enable our students to be nationally competitive – in the classroom and on the athletic field."

Tom Hiles, WKU's vice president for Institutional Advancement, says this gift brings the total for the "Investing in the Spirit" Campaign to $86.4 million.

"This new gift brings us closer to our $90 million goal," he said. "We are very grateful for this generous new leadership commitment which plays a key role in completing a major upgrade in our campus facilities."

For more information, contact Tom Hiles at (270) 745-6208 or Wood Selig at (270) 745-3542. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

-WKU-