Cregger Center provides Roanoke College with top-notch athletic digs

Wow.

That word was heard repeatedly Monday morning as area media members were invited to take their first tour of Roanoke's College's new $35 million Cregger Center.

The 155,000-square-foot athletic center includes a 2,500-seat arena that is the new home for the Maroons men's and women's basketball teams and volleyball squad, plus a field house that has a 200-meter track and event seating space for 5,000, plus a training room, enhanced locker rooms, athletic department offices and classrooms for students majoring in health and physical education, and athletic training.

The five-story building, which is named for Morris M. Cregger, chairman of the college's Board of Trustees and a member of the school's Hall of Fame, will unquestionably be one of the top facilities of its type in NCAA Division III, where the school's athletic teams compete.

Additionally, the complex includes a fitness center that can be used by Roanoke College alumni.

When asked his initial reaction on the facility as construction nears completion, longtime Maroons athletic director Scott Allison said: "Wow ... wow!"And the student-athlete walks in and they're saying, 'wow!'

"First, I'm proud. And, second, knowing what's out there, to know that we've got a facility that will rival just about anybody's in NCAA Division III. It's everything we dreamed of."

First-year men's basketball coach Clay Nunley and women's basketball coach Carla Flaherty said the facility already has increased attention for each program on the recruiting trail.

"When you talk about facilities at our level across the country, it's not an exaggeration to say it's a standard-bearer, it really is," Nunley said. "There's a lot to promote about Roanoke College and this is certainly as strong as selling point as any other."

Nunley then laughed and added: "In regards to recruiting, you talk about going into a gunfight with a gun, and we're going in with a cannon now."

Said Flaherty: "I haven't see any place like this, especially at our level.

"I had a young woman from Rhode Island, a 6-3 post player, whose parents each played D1 and played professionally overseas.

"The father walks in and he just looks at me and says: 'You've got to be kidding me ... 'cause I've been all over and I haven't seen a facility like this.'"

The gymnasium is unique in that the southwest Virginia mountains can be seen through the huge glass windows that cover the upper part of the building. The gym's floor is named after Charles Moir, the coach who led Roanoke to a Division II national title in 1972 and later coached at Virginia Tech.

Allison said the multipurpose facility will become a focal point of a tour for students, who will arrive later this week for the start of school.

"They're going to get to see it all and that's as impressive as it gets," Allison said. "We're very hopeful that this is going to help our enrollment challenges."

The building certainly figures to help draw bigger crowds for basketball. When asked if the school would eventually be charging admission for games, Allison didn't dodge the question.

"We haven't made a final decision on that," he said. "We're close to making a decision and we'll be making an announcement fairly soon. It's a business and we're trying to put our best foot forward, and I think we've done that."

The Cregger Center replaces Bast Center, which had been the school's basketball home court from 1982 to the end of last season. Bast remains open and will be the home for some of the school's intramural sports programs.

Kirk Nauman, the school's men's and women's track and field and cross country coach, said the ODAC championship will be held in late February in the new field house.

"Indoor tracks are not normal around this region," Nauman said. "I think it's really going to be a game-change, not just in the ODAC.

"Having this and the outdoor facility, plus having a number of trails in the region, I think it's really the trifecta for training and competition."

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