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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSeveral alumni of Purdue's football program have pledged a total of $12.1 million to support construction of an expansion of the university's Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
The Journal & Courier reports the new 110,000-square-foot football performance complex will feature a locker room, meeting rooms, training areas, player development room, coaches' offices, a fueling station and a sports medicine facility.
"Intercollegiate athletics, and football specifically, are a vital part of the fabric of our university, and this new facility will enable our current and future student-athletes to train more effectively and more efficiently," Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a statement.
The school recently announced that alums Drew and Brittany Brees, Sandy Dauch, on behalf of her late husband, Dick, along with Doug and Maria DeVos, Bob and Amy Martin, and Tom and Joy Spurgeon have taken lead roles in financial support of the expansion.
The Brees were the first to show their support, pledging $1 million following a Football Summit last June in San Diego.
"Not only did we get a tremendous commitment to our football program by President Daniels and the Board of Trustees, but we have had five of our own step up with extremely generous gifts," athletic director Morgan Burke said in a statement. "Building a new facility like this one, which we have identified as critical to the growth of our football program, calls for the support of donors like these."
Along with private donations, revenue generated through the Big Ten television contracts will fund the project.
Construction on the estimated $65 million project is scheduled to begin in May with a completion date in August 2017.
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