DAPHNE, Ala. — U.S. Sports University has completed about $500,000 in athletic renovations at its Daphne campus, nearly doubling the size of its weight room and moving its athletic training room as the young Eagles athletic program settles into its first season as a full member of the NAIA.
The work, finished during a compressed summer construction schedule, upgraded the school’s Human Performance Lab, athletic weight room, athletic training room, hydration infrastructure and performance equipment in time for student-athletes returning for the current academic year, USSU officials said in a news release.
The university also announced this week that it has been selected for the Ethos Universitas worldwide network, a designation officials say no other university in the country holds.
From new teams to a national title
When Dr. Steve Condon accepted the position of president and chief executive officer at USSU, he strongly supported introducing intercollegiate sports at the school, which was long known as the United States Sports Academy before taking its current name.
The university now fields men’s teams in baseball, cross country, soccer and track and field, and women’s teams in cross country, soccer, softball, track and field and volleyball.
Those programs quickly found success in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). In April, the men’s track and field team captured the school’s first national championship.
On July 1, the Eagles officially became a full member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). After a one-year stay in the Continental Athletic Conference, USSU will join the University of Mobile in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC).
The NAIA governs athletics at more than 200 mostly smaller colleges and universities across the United States and Canada, and moving from the USCAA into the NAIA is a significant step up in competition and visibility. The SSAC is an established NAIA league with members across the Southeast, and joining it would give USSU a Baldwin County-to-Mobile rivalry with the University of Mobile.
A weight room nearly doubled in size
With the teams in place, the next phase of the plan was facilities. The most obvious change came in the weight room, where USSU nearly doubled the available space by removing a wall that separated existing rooms. The expansion provides much more room for strength and conditioning and improves the flow and function of the facility.
The weight room also received:
- Air conditioning
- Widened door frames
- Refreshed paint and lighting
- New sport-specific flooring
- New strength and conditioning equipment
“With USSU’s recent [enrollment] growth, the weight room renovation was a necessity,” said Cody Cleveland, USSU’s head strength and conditioning coach. “The expansion allows me to train larger groups of athletes at one time and overall makes the weight room more efficient. In addition, it allows me more time to target team programs, decipher specific athlete data and continue studying the latest trends in strength and conditioning.
“The renovation has elevated our weight room to a standard that few NAIA institutions can match. I’m grateful for the support that made this project possible, and I look forward to seeing the impact on our student-athletes.”
Officials said the larger footprint lets coaches better organize training groups, improve movement through the room and make better use of equipment and training stations.
Athletes notice the difference
Annabeth Parrish, a senior on the softball team, has trained in both the old and new spaces.
“As a student who has been here since the original weight room, I can say the new [space] really feels like a college-level athletic facility,” Parrish said. “It’s bigger, more modern and better reflects the growth of our athletic programs. The upgrades go beyond just having more space. We also have new technology that directly supports us as athletes, including Vitruve encoders that help track our workouts and performance.”
Encoders like the Vitruve system attach to a barbell or training equipment and measure how fast a weight is moving during each repetition. Coaches use that velocity data to adjust training loads day to day, track progress and help manage fatigue, an approach known as velocity-based training that has become common in college and professional strength programs.
Training room moves closer to athletes
The project also relocated the athletic training room into the primary athletic area, next to the school’s previously renovated locker rooms. That places treatment and rehabilitation services closer to the student-athletes who use them.
The new location provides more space for athlete evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation and creates a more functional connection between sports medicine and USSU’s other athletic spaces. As part of the investment, the university also bought additional therapeutic modality equipment, expanding the tools available to athletic training staff.
Therapeutic modalities are the equipment athletic trainers use to treat injuries and support recovery, which can include devices for heat, cold, electrical stimulation and ultrasound therapy.
USSU also installed new water fountains throughout the building, making it easier for student-athletes to stay hydrated during practices, workouts and training sessions.
‘An investment in student-athlete experience’
Shealynn Miller, USSU’s director of athletics, said the project was about keeping facilities in step with a growing program.
“These renovations represent an investment in student-athlete experience and the continued growth of our athletic department,” Miller said. “As our program grows and we prepare for the transition to NAIA competition, it is important that our facilities and resources grow with them.
“We want to invest in our student-athletes by providing spaces that support how they train, recover and prepare to compete. From the expanded weight room and athletic training space to hydration and new equipment, this project helps ensure we are building infrastructure needed to support our athletes.”
Miller said she was pleased with how the work turned out.
“I am extremely pleased with how this project turned out. The look and feel of these spaces are even better than I originally imagined,” she said. “Executing a project of this scale over a short summer break required careful planning, coordination and constant communication. RH Build and Tailored Living Design [of Daphne] helped us take an ambitious vision and turn it into a beautiful, functional facility in a very tight timeframe.”
USSU selected for Ethos Universitas network
University staff made a special announcement on Tuesday: USSU has been officially selected and accepted into the Ethos Universitas worldwide network.
Last year, USSU’s Center for the Study of Olympic Sport & Culture (CSOSC) received formal recognition from the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Studies Centre, becoming just the second university in the U.S. to receive that recognition at the time. Since then, two more U.S. universities have joined that network.
“While that recognition was an exciting milestone, this latest distinction is especially remarkable, as USSU is now the only university in the country to hold the Ethos Universitas designation,” said Sophie Brooks, USSU’s director of marketing and communications.
Brooks said the honor is even more significant because educational institutions cannot apply for it. They must be selected through the PCU Committee of Panathlon International, an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
USSU was selected for its commitment to the universal values promoted through the Olympic Charter, extending beyond athletics into education, leadership and the broader community. The CSOSC will help coordinate the university’s initiatives tied to the new designation.
About U.S. Sports University
U.S. Sports University, based in Daphne, is a private institution focused on sports education, offering degree programs in areas such as sports management, coaching and sports science. Its campus sits in Baldwin County on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. With intercollegiate athletics now part of its identity, the school’s facility upgrades are meant to support a program that has grown quickly from its first seasons to national contention and NAIA membership.
