FILIPPOS MOURIKIS
STAFF WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHER
1/20/2025
The Andrus Family Field House has officially opened and is being utilized by both athletic teams and the public. The 78,080-square-foot facility includes an indoor track and a turf field to be utilized by multiple teams on campus such as soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse and track and field.
There are locker rooms for these teams in the facility along with a visitors’ locker room. Additionally, there are office spaces for the athletic coaches, a conference room, a weight room and an athletic training room.
All of the services provided by the new facility will elevate the level of practice that certain teams can have as well as the access that our student-athletes will be able to work on their sports and lead to an improvement of both team and individual performances.
“First of all, it gives our student-athletes a place to train year-round, especially right now with the weather. In the past, we would have to watch the weather forecast or be mindful of the space in the [Stone Recreation Center] which led to changing or modifying some of the workouts we wanted to accomplish with our event groups,” said Matthew Chovanec, Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach.
“Now, we can get quality training sessions with everyone which should carry over [to] our performances at meets,” said Chovanec.
The benefits of the Field House are not limited to the track and field team, but all outdoor sports that could be affected by potential inclement weather such as the below-freezing temperatures Alma is experiencing now; the Field House provides a safe and more comfortable space for athletes to practice.
“Specifically for men’s soccer, I think the Field House gives us the best of both worlds when it comes to [the] game environment. Over half the teams in our conference have turf fields, and we didn’t have a practice environment on any sort of turf. With us getting the opportunity to play on the turf starting this spring, this abolishes some competitive advantages turf schools had over us in our conference,” Christian Sweis (‘26).
“We now get to play at a very high level on both turf and grass, making it tougher for other schools that may have thought they have advantages over us,” said Sweis.
The space will give athletic teams a greater opportunity to be more competitive in the MIAA Conference and overall in Division III. It will also allow the track and field team to host home indoor meets and make Alma College one of only two schools in the conference to have an indoor track and field facility.
The added bonus of having a weight room removes some of the weight that is laid upon the Sherman Strength and Conditioning Facility where all athletes currently go for both team and open lifts. The addition of an additional athletic training room also reduces this burden as the AT Room in the Hogan Center was once the only place for both Alma College and visiting athletes to seek treatment.
The addition of the Andrus Family Field House is also expected to aid in recruitment for the coming years. Alma College has already moved over the 100 deposit line for prospective students next year. This is an exciting mark, and the facility will play a key role in the enrollment of future student-athletes and provide a new recruiting point for many of Alma’s athletic teams going forward.
“It’s definitely a great time to be a Scot,” said Chovanec.
The Almanian: News 
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