Gallery: (3-25-2024) Weight Room Renderings
Pocatello, Idaho – Idaho State University athletics has announced plans to complete a half-million dollar renovation of the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center this May. Following the opening of the Bengal Nutrition Fueling Station and the Student-Athlete Academic Success Center at the beginning of the spring semester, this project is the latest in a series of critical investments to elevate the overall well-being of the student-athlete body and provide the coaching staff with an unparalleled recruiting advantage.
Director of Athletics Pauline Thiros points to the strength center as an important tool, "The strength center is a place where student-athletes commit themselves to doing the work no one sees. They spend countless hours in training sessions and on their own time developing themselves. Having the best equipment, being in a place designed just for them, and being surrounded by the Bengal brand . . . it inspires them. This improvement is a message to our student-athletes that we care about them, and we support them. It is an important recruiting tool, and a place the students love to spend time. We are infinitely grateful for the gift that made this happen."
Thanks to the generous support of an anonymous donor, the weight room will now feature PLAE Achieve flooring — the toughest floor in the world — and comprised of innovative underlayment delivering optimal shock absorption and explosive energy return, providing a unique balance designed to optimize both safety and performance. In addition to the flooring, PLAE will also be the equipment provider building sixteen custom ICONx racks which are engineered for performance. Upon completion, Idaho State University will boast the only weight room in the Big Sky Conference fully furnished with PLAE flooring and gear placing ISU amongst the likes of top FBS institutions and professional organizations.
The anonymous donor shares, "My wife and I could not be more thrilled to make this contribution and are proud that it will be a difference-maker for all Bengal student-athletes! We were fortunate to have our lives so positively impacted by our experiences at ISU as students and now as community members for so many years that we felt called to pay it forward." They continued to say, "It is our hope that others will see the significant progress that the entire department is making and also choose to do what they can to help take the Bengals to the top of the Big Sky Conference once again. It will take all of us to help make that happen!".
"What started out as an idea, a dream, a vision, when I arrived at ISU and now witnessing it come to fruition, is surreal," shares Brandon Stephens, Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Performance. "This gift is huge and it shows that ISU is committed not only to our student-athletes' training and performance, but their safety and wellbeing as well. By equipping the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center with elite equipment, it will allow our training to be safer, while giving the facility the D1 vibes it's desperately needed. Our sports performance team will now be able to implement innovative training methods and modalities that we weren't able to use with our current equipment. I'm extremely grateful for our anonymous donor's generosity and for providing this monumental gift."
This project comes at a significant time as the existing Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center equipment has surpassed many years of use and will provide all student-athletes with the means to train more efficiently and safely. Furthermore, the more open concept with more functional space allows the sports performance staff to service more student-athletes at one time.
For those interested in touring the renovated space, an open house event will be held upon the project's completion. A formal announcement with the date and time will be forthcoming.
Interested in making your mark on Bengal Athletics and naming one of the new racks in the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center? Please contact Crew Keller, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development and External Relations via email crewkeller@isu.edu for details.
