MBU names new gymnasium after University President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bryce Chapman
Director of University Communications
(314) 744-7631
chapmanb@mobap.edu
MBU names new gymnasium after University President
In front of a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters, Missouri Baptist University celebrated a dream fulfilled Nov. 3 with the formal dedication of the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex (SRC).
Amid the pomp and circumstance associated with such a celebration, MBU trustees announced that the SRC's gymnasium will be named after the University's President, Dr. R. Alton Lacey. Lacey has been president of MBU since 1995. The then-Missouri Baptist College had a total enrollment of just over 1,000. Today, more than 5,000 MBU students study at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels.
The new complex is named after the late Carl Petty and his wife, Deloris. The couple, longtime members at Parkway Baptist Church, provided a $1 million gift toward the new facility.
The 47,000 square foot SRC houses the University's Health and Sports Sciences division, includes a 1,000 seat gymnasium, a suspended indoor track, locker rooms, a concession area in Spartan Hall, state-of-the-art training and fitness centers, new classrooms and offices for faculty and coaching staff.
Each piece of cardio equipment in the facility features a 15-inch touch screen display, full iPod compatibility and a personal fan. Perhaps most notable, the equipment features Virtual Active technology, “transporting” users to various locations throughout the world. Users will see their destination on the screen display, feel the gradual terrain changes under their feet and hear the ambient sounds through their headphones—providing near total immersion.
The new facility replaces the University's Muncy Gymnasium, which served the University for more than four decades, as the University's primary athletic complex. MBU is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). More than 500 athletes from across the world compete in MBU's 23 varsity sports.
Missouri Baptist University is a Christ-centered university located in Saint Louis. MBU offers more than 40 undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees in education, business and religion and its new terminal degree, the Doctor of Education. In addition to its 66-acre West St. Louis County campus, MBU offers degree programs at nine regional learning centers throughout St. Louis and in Southern Illinois and online. For more information, go to http://www.mobap.edu or call 1- 877-434-1115.
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