NDSU announced the naming of the Nodak Mutual Insurance Co. Basketball Training Facility in recognition of a $2 million gift made in the early stages of NDSU's "Building the Competitive Edge" campaign. Construction will be in the first phase of the $41 million Sanford Health Athletic Complex project set to begin in spring 2014.
"As a North Dakota company, we are honored to be part of building one of the premier athletic facilities in the upper Midwest," said Jim Alexander, the company’s CEO. "Nodak Mutual Insurance Co. was founded almost 70 years ago to help farmers and ranchers across North Dakota, so our partnership with NDSU – whose roots are also deep in agriculture – is a natural fit."
The expansion and renovation of the existing Bison Sports Arena will transform the facility and the surrounding area, known as the Sanford Health Athletic Complex, into a true Division I athletic complex reflecting the new NDSU. Additionally, it will serve as the "front door" venue welcoming student-athletes and campus guests with the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame, Hall of Champions and fan services and facilities.
"We are extremely grateful for the very generous gift to our project from Nodak Mutual," said NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor. "Our great relationship has spanned several years and we are very excited to have them so prominent in this critical project."
"Nodak Mutual's gift to this exciting facility is a contribution not just to NDSU but also the local and statewide communities who will benefit from it," said NDSU president Dean L. Bresciani. "Nodak Mutual has joined a growing number of firms who understand that our success at NDSU is a catalyst for the success of our entire state."
Scheels Center will seat more than 5,700 fans for basketball and the Nodak Mutual Insurance Co. Basketball Training Facility will feature two courts on the southwest corner of the existing structure. The west-side addition and renovations will house human performance facilities, including strength and conditioning, sports medicine and rehabilitation areas, and an academic center for student-athletes.
The newly built Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility opened for training and competition in December 2012.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.