McNeese Announces Plans For Brand New Athletics Weight Room

LAKE CHARLES, LOUSIANA: The Jack Doland Field House weight room will be getting a much-needed face lift this fall with a $1.5 million renovation and a renaming as the Navarre Performance Center.

Construction is set to begin at the end of the summer and prior to fall camp beginning and is scheduled to be completed the beginning of 2025.

Get our free mobile app

"This is another great day for McNeese Athletics and another huge step forward," commented Heath Schroyer, McNeese Director of Athletics. "I'm so excited to announce our new athletic facility, the Navarre Performance Center. It took a lot of work by a lot of people to get this project approved and funded and I couldn't be more excited and proud to announce it."

"We are thrilled about the new Navarre Performance Center," said football head coach Gary Goff. "Our student-athletes work extremely hard and I am proud to work for a university that wants to provide them with the best resources available."

The new weight room, which will include all brand-new equipment, will have an increase of free-weight racks from 16 to 20 to allow more usage and maximize training.

There will be a 30-yard indoor turf sprint and speed development section that will also include a plyometrics wall for core strength and rotational development as well as cardio equipment such as treadmills and exercise bikes.

The dumbbell workout station, which will be named the Iron Pokes Dumbbell Pit, will double in size and functionality. There will be an addition of eight, three-way rowing machines as well as eight glute/ham machines.

A new Poke Fuel Nutrition Area will be constructed as a grab-and-go style station providing protein shakes, pre- and post-workout snacks and pre-competition fueling.

A state-of-the-art sound system with acoustic ceiling panels will be installed as well as a 9-foot by 18-foot LED video wall for workout programming and entertainment for recruiting visits and game days.

Also included will be renovations to offices for the sports performance staff and an addition of a Sports Performance Head Coach office to maximize meeting space for athletes on performance needs while ample space to allow coaches for more programming and facilitating workouts.

"The Navarre Performance Center will be a state-of-the art training facility that the entire athletic department will be proud of. The new weight room and nutrition center will have some of the finest amenities and equipment in the nation. This facility will be a major recruiting tool for our football program and for all of our other sports who will utilize this facility.

"I learned a long time ago that expectations can't exceed commitment. This facility is another example of this department's commitment to success and winning. And make no mistake, the expectation here at McNeese is to win!"