Since the 2008-2009 basketball season ended, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team has held only a single practice in Humphrey Coliseum – not because of neglect on head coach Rick Stansbury’s part, but instead a lack of practice facilities. All that is about to change.
“This is an exciting day for Mississippi State University, and our Mississippi State basketball program,” MSU athletic director Greg Byrne said, who announced the construction of a new practice facility at the Humphrey Coliseum on Monday.
Only days after announcing a $2 million commitment from MSU graduate and supporter Richard C. Adkerson, Byrne said the university has received another gift of $4 million, from the Henry Mize Foundation, named in honor of the 1938 MSU grad and lifelong supporter of the Bulldogs. Paul “Buzzy” Mize and family were in attendance to announce the donation.
With the total cost estimated at $11.2 million and half the funds already available, construction on the state-of-the-art facility is already underway. Byrne said the remaining funds are secured, and the facility will take 15 months to construct.
The 57,000 square foot facility will have 23,500 square feet of court space – larger than the practice facilities of Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia. The facility will have two college regulation-size courts that can also be configured into four high school size cross courts. A 5,000 square foot reception area will be available for pre- and post-game functions, and hosting recruits. It will also have an underground parking garage.
JESCO of Tupelo is the general contractor of the facility which was designed by Foil Wyatt Architects of Jackson.
The Mize Foundation will have naming rights, pending IHL approval.
The new facility will serve not only as the permanent practice courts for the teams, but also the entrance that fans will use to enter The Hump on game day.
Several key figures at MSU weighed in on the importance of the new building.
“This facility is going to help strengthen our program and help us recruit student-athletes to come be a part of the tradition and heritage of our basketball programs here at Mississippi State,” MSU President Mark Keenum said.
Byrne said the new facility will raise MSU to another level in notoriety and exposure.
“[This facility] says something to a recruit. It makes a tremendous statement relative to the commitment we’ve made to our basketball programs,” women’s basketball coach Sharon Fanning said.
Senior shooting guard Barry Stewart said the new gym would be good for the school and players.
“It’s great that the guys will have somewhere they can go to practice and work out when they need to,” Stewart said. “It won’t be finished before my tenure is up, but I’ll come back and see how it turned out.”
But perhaps the most passionate endorsement of the new practice gym came from coach Stansbury.
“A lot of schools want this. Our school needs this,” Stansbury said.
He also said that since the season ended in the spring, the men’s and women’s teams “have had zero opportunities to play in [the Hump]” because of scheduling, basketball camp and a new floor being installed last month.
Stansbury said both teams have had to practice in the Sanderson, not knowing until they got there if a badminton or volleyball net was set up.
However, Stansbury said the lack of practice opportunities is no excuse for any less-than-stellar season.
“It’s our job to compete for championships,” he said.
Stansbury said having a gym where the players can practice anytime they want is tremendous, and that both he and Fanning would have new offices overlooking the gym, and can watch the players work out.
With a modest budget and the success of MSU basketball in recent years, the Bulldogs already hang with the premier SEC programs.
“This facility is a key component to allow us to continue to have the kind of success we have had in both men’s and women’s basketball,” Bryne said. [The practice facility] will allow us to grow and take it to another level.”