The late-August buzz of move-in day coincides with swelling anticipation for one of Samford University’s most ambitious construction projects to date. The 165,000-square-foot Campus Recreation, Wellness & Athletic Complex—primed to become a world-class fitness facility as well as a hub for students and employees—is scheduled for unveiling during a Sept. 20 ribbon cutting.
“It’s taking shape and we’re putting on the finishing touches,” said Nick Madsen, executive director of campus recreation.
Painters and flooring installers are bustling as administrators prepare for the arrival of 15 semitrailers filled with fitness equipment. Along with tonal strength, free weights, cardio and circuit training stations, the massive three-story complex features basketball and pickleball courts, class studios, pool tables, an elevated jogging track, a coffeehouse and 24-hour market, and an esports lounge to support the university’s new video gaming team.
“This facility has a ton of space, and it’s smartly designed with multiple workout areas,” Madsen said. “We wanted to give everyone the opportunity to find that little pocket area where they feel comfortable. Sometimes facilities just have one huge workout space, which can be very intimidating.”
Madsen was part of a leadership team that included Colin Coyne, vice president for finance, business affairs and strategy, Jeff Poleshek, associate vice president for operations, planning and construction, and Lauren Taylor, assistant vice president for campus and residence life. Part of their research involved evaluating recreational facilities at major universities—more than 20 campuses in all—to inform Samford’s design.
“We were seeking to understand what those schools liked, what they didn’t like, and what they wished they had in their facilities,” Madsen said. “It was a way of picking everyone else’s minds to put our vision together.”
One takeaway was the need to build in flexibility—designing spaces to ride current fitness trends with an eye toward adapting to future ones. Another emphasis was constructing studios large enough to accommodate Step Sing groups that previously staged some of their practices off-campus. Encompassing intramural sports, weight rooms, fitness classes, lounge spaces, along with renovations to the Samford Cares counseling facilities, the complex will become a focal point for enriching campus life. Its purposeful blueprint encouraging the holistic wellness of Samford students in mind, body and spirit.
The Campus Recreation, Wellness & Athletic Complex is a cornerstone of Samford Horizons, a visionary series of campus improvements linked to sustained enrollment growth with the aim of 75% of students residing on campus. To that end, Samford Horizons includes two new residence halls for first-year students and new Greek residence halls, projects on pace to be move-in ready by the fall of 2025.
