ANDERSON, S.C. – As part of Anderson University's Homecoming Weekend festivities on Saturday, the AU Athletic Department will rename its expanded weight room the Susie and Bobby Beville Strength and Conditioning Center.
The center, which is adjacent to the University's Print Shop, will be open for tours beginning at noon, with the dedication set for 12:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the ceremony at the Athletic Campus.
The weight room renovation was completed in early August – in time to greet the returning student-athletes.
"This will be a huge advantage [for our student-athletes]," said Associate Director of Athletics for Development Mark Vaughan at the time. "People have told me this weight room is probably in the top 10 percent of all non-football NCAA Division-II schools. This is a great investment. I'm excited, thrilled and very proud that we are able to add this piece of the puzzle."
The enhanced weight room features equipment from Sorinex, which works with hundreds of colleges and high schools and more than 90 percent of NFL teams and is in use at Kentucky, Clemson, LSU, Duke and South Carolina. It includes eight versatile power racks and additional free weights that will enable Trojan student-athletes to increase their strength and endurance. An assault air bike was added alongside already existing treadmills, enabling student-athletes to improve aerobic capacity and rehabilitate injuries, as it provides safe movement with no impact.
"Each power rack has enough apparatus so that as many as five athletes are able to work out on each rack," added Vaughan. "As many as 40 student-athletes will be able to use the racks. One of the great advantages is that team members won't have to rotate stations when they are working out. Here, you can simply pull a few pegs and reset the apparatus. There are probably 20 different workouts that you can do at each station."
There are also four glute machines, which target hamstring muscle areas and are especially useful in helping female athletes avoid potentially career-ending ACL injuries. AstroTurf donated turf that enables the addition of sleds, which will help athletes train for explosive power in addition to strength, stabilization and balance.
"The ability to have a new weight room is certainly a significant step in moving our entire athletic department forward," said Director of Athletics Bill D'Andrea. "I know our coaches are excited about the new addition and I am sure our student-athletes will be excited when they return. Strength and conditioning are critical to athletic success. Not only will weight lifting prevent injuries, increase stamina and strength for our athletes, but it will also provide an opportunity for our athletes to develop to their full potential. We will certainly utilize it as a recruiting tool to recruit top quality athletes that fit our mission."
Vaughan noted that the department anticipates adding a full-time Strength and Conditioning Coach at the start of the next fiscal year, with interviews for that position early in the spring semester.
Beville, a native of Gate City, Va., played baseball both at AU and Erskine and went on to serve as head baseball coach at Anderson before becoming the Director of Athletics for 10 years. He served AU for 24 years as head baseball coach and Director of Athletics. His wife, Susie, was a graduate of Anderson College and Erskine College, where she played softball. Susie Beville passed away in the summer of 2004.
Beville compiled a record of 402-213 in 13 seasons as Anderson's head baseball coach, while leading the Trojans to the 1994 National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship and was named National Coach of the Year in 1994. He was named District Coach of the Year four times. After stepping down from the baseball program and moving in the athletic director's office in 1996, Beville led the AU athletic program from the NCCAA, to the NAIA and to NCAA Division II. Anderson was named a full member of NCAA Division II in September, 1999.
Beville left AU in 2007 to work for the Anderson City Parks and Recreation Department.
