BATON ROUGE, La. – To commemorate the progression and investment into the programs, LSU Athletics officially cut the ribbon on the LSU Tennis Complex Friday as part of the grand opening of the state-of-the-art facility.
All funding for the facility was provided through private sources including donations and the proceeds of bonds issued by Tiger Athletic Foundation
LSU President Dr. F. King Alexander, Vice Chancellor and Athletics Director Joe Alleva, TAF President and CEO Rick Perry, men’s tennis coach Jeff Brown, men’s assistant coach Danny Bryan, and women’s co-head coaches Julia Sell and Michael Sell took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“I wanted to make sure I could say that thanks to TAF, the (W.T. “Dub”) Robinson family and our great donors for making this happen,” President Alexander said. “Not one penny of state money went into this facility. We need your help to realize the significance of what a student-athlete has to do. A student-athlete will compete in the best facility and learn in the best university across the street. With your help, we will convey that message each and every day. Thank you for supporting us and our student-athletes. They deserve your support and they deserve it because they will build our economy in the future.”
The family of legendary LSU men’s tennis coach W.T. ‘Dub’ Robinson was also in attendance. Robinson single-handedly orchestrated the LSU tennis program’s rise to prominence. During his nearly three decade tenure as head coach, Robinson catapulted the Tigers onto the national scene and guided them to a status among the nation’s elite.
“I want to thank TAF, our great donors and the Robinson family for their support,” Alleva said. “We now have a facility where we can compete with anyone in the country. There’s not a better tennis facility anywhere. That will help us in recruiting and training athletes at the highest level. Our goal is excellence and competing at the highest level.”
With more than 160,000 square feet of space, the facility features championship-caliber courts with 12 outdoors and six indoors. Housed inside the indoor facility are players’ lounges, locker rooms, cardio room, athletics training room and coaches’ offices for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Fans may enjoy all the action with excellent sight lines from a total of 1,400 seats facing the outdoor courts. The six indoor courts allow the Tigers to host different tournaments in front of more than 300 fans above the playing surface. The new facility also guarantees that both teams will never miss a practice or match due to unfavorable weather conditions.
“As I stand up here, I think about the first time I saw plans for this facility,” Julia Sell said. “It was four years ago and I remember thinking how beautiful, how stunning and what impact the facility would have on the programs. We’ve been living in it and it has been an unbelievable asset to our student-athletes. We have seen an absolute immediate impact. In the past seven months, we’ve reached new heights. It wouldn’t be possible without this facility.”
Both coaches referenced to the success their teams have achieved in the classroom since the move to the new facility. It houses everything that a student-athlete needs and allows them to be more efficient and more productive outside the courts. They are now able to focus on their schoolwork once done with practice and matches.
“A lot goes into a project like this,” Brown said. “It has been talked about for years. The ‘thank yous’ are numerous and we have to start at the top with Joe Alleva. All of our former players and coaches are what made us worthy of a facility like this. We are very proud of it.”
Among the VIP guests in attendance Friday were alumni from both teams.
For more information on how fans can support LSU philanthropic programs, please visit www.lsutaf.org.
For more information on LSU tennis, fans can visit www.LSUsports.net/menstennis and www.LSUsports.net/womenstennis.