Last Thursday, the lobby of the Martinez Athletics Center was packed during its re-dedication ceremony to former University of Tampa student and Florida governor Bob Martinez.
The enhanced structure remains the home of the athletic facilities and also the new Health Sciences and Human Performance building. The building was originally named after Martinez in 1987 when he was the sitting governor of Florida, but there was no formal dedication. This time, the event was well attended with such notable people as Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn and UT President Ronald Vaughn.
“This dedication today is a reflection of this governor’s commitment to this community,” Buckhorn said. “His quiet, unassuming, humble way that he has changed this city in ways that we can’t even imagine.”
Aside from being an active UT supporter, Martinez was also previously inducted into the UT Athletic Hall of Fame and was honored as a UT Alumnus of the Year.
The athletic building now has a weight room and conditioning area double the size of the original. It triples the size of the improved sports medicine and rehabilitation area and has two new locker rooms with 425 lockers, a two-story study lounge, offices for every coach and five new meeting rooms.
“I think you will find that this rivals the best of any academic institution, particularly in the South,” Don DeFosset, chairman of the UT Board of Trustees said, “It will be a real magnet and drawing card for us to help in our recruiting efforts, as well as retention of students and really generating a lot of enthusiasm in the area.”
The University has nearly 7,000 students this year–A new record. So it was crucial to expand the space provided for majors such as allied health, nursing and athletic training.
Senior Grace Jungclas, president of the Athletic Training Student Organization, is excited for what the new facilities have to offer. “I’m really excited about it, I feel like the quality of our education has increased just by the new equipment,” she said. “That’s really expanded our opportunities.”
Another thing that has expanded are the sports teams on campus. They will be using the new space and equipment.
“The athletic facilities have really expanded; there’s a lot less confusion,” Jungclas said. “We have more space for all our incoming athletes, such as the lacrosse team. We’re expecting women’s lacrosse next fall too. The athletic training room can actually hold a lot more athletes. We can do a lot more treatments and it’s just much more efficient.”
Provost Janet McNew talked about the Health Sciences and Human Performance building, and how much it has expanded. It now has five additional classrooms, a new marine science and vertebrae paleontology laboratory, two renovated human anatomy/ physiology labs, two individual skill assessment rooms for athletic training and physical education students, an administrative office, 18 faculty offices, an academic study lounge and a conference room.
It also now houses a 1,700 square foot human performance laboratory. “In a way this is kind of the crown jewel of that area over there,” McNew said. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility where students are already studying the effects of exercise and nutrition on human performance.”
Local professional teams and equipment manufacturers have already started expressing interest in the use of these new facilities for research and evaluation.
Bob Martinez was very thankful for the rededication. But he also reminded everyone why this building was renovated.
“I want to thank everyone for being here today, I really appreciate it,” he said. “But most important is the students and athletes that will appreciate this building, much more than I will. It’s for them it was done. They’re the ones that are going to use it and we’re going to watch them win more titles,” he said.
The ceremony ended with the presentation of a plaque for Martinez and his wife, Mary Jane, to show the university’s appreciation for everything they have done for UT. A ribbon-cutting followed and the building was officially open.
Larry Marfise, director of athletics, thinks the complex will build a sense of pride for students and athletes. “The minute you walk through the doors of this facility, you get the impression that the University of Tampa cares about its students, and how hard they work on and off the field, and that’s what we want out of the students,” he said. “We want them to come here and feel a sense of pride as soon as they hit the front doors of this facility.”
“It allows us to highlight our past and our present, but also allows us to host our future, and that’s what higher education is,” Marfise added.
Caroline Metell can be reached at cmetell@spartans.ut.edu