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Wrestling

Nebraska Unveils Hendricks Training Complex

After 17 months of construction, the Hendricks Training Complex was officially dedicated Thursday night with more 200 invited guests and dignitaries attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The 84,000-square foot facility adjacent to the Bob Devaney Sports Center is the new home for the men's and women's basketball programs, as well as the wrestling program. The two-level facility includes separate practice courts for the men's and women's basketball programs, as well as expanded locker rooms, player lounges, team rooms and offices.

"The completion of the Hendricks Training Complex is a compliment to those donors, season-ticket holders and fans who have supported our basketball programs for many years," NU Executive Associate Athletic Director Marc Boehm said. "The facility will help us attract top-tier talent and at the same time provide our student-athletes an experience that will help them reach their full potential.

"The Hendricks Training Complex, along with the new Haymarket Arena (scheduled to open in the fall of 2013), will give us one of the best combinations of facilities in the country and show our commitment to our basketball programs."

While the $18.7 million facility will house the basketball and wrestling programs, many of Nebraska's sports will benefit from the new facility, which includes a 5,000-square foot weight room, a completely renovated athletic training area that tripled the size of the previous area at the Devaney Center and a nutrition station, similar to the one in the Osborne Athletic Complex.

The building is named for Tom and Mary Hendricks of Pipe Creek, Texas, and their children, Jennifer and Brandon, as they provided the lead gift in this project to benefit Husker student-athletes for years to come.

Throughout the facility, efforts have been made to give student-athletes the best training environment to succeed. Both the men's and women's basketball practice gyms are a court-and-half with six baskets, allowing additional work while the main floor is being used. The courts themselves are made with premium maple flooring with sleeper cushions that absorb shock to minimize injury. Both gyms have advanced acoustics as well as 103-inch plasma screens for breaking down film during practices.

The men's practice court has been named in honor of Bus Whitehead, who led the Huskers to a pair of conference titles in 1949 and 1950 and passed away in June of 2010.  A two-time all-conference performer, he was named captain of Nebraska's All-Century Team for his efforts on the court. Following his distinguished playing career, he started Whitehead Oil and was a strong supporter of the basketball programs. A member of the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame, the organization named its distinguished alumni award after Whitehead for his many accomplishments in the community.

The Husker wrestling team gained a 7,500-square foot wrestling room that doubled the size of the previous area in the  Devaney Center. It features four mats, a cardio/viewing room as well as a satellite athletic medicine office right off the room.

The amenities inside the facility are top-of-the-line, as the main entrance features a two-story abstract net sculpture, as well as a granite fountain imported from China. The facility also features two video walls and 63 televisions throughout the building.

The men's players lounge, named in honor of Neal and Jamie Hawks, features a 5x8-foot video wall, 400 inches of televisions, custom seating, a pool table and a kitchenette, while the women's lounge features three 65-inch televisions and a unique LED bubble wall. Both the men's and women's basketball programs have custom locker rooms with iPads built into the lockers, as well as custom back-lit displays. The wrestling locker room features 40 custom-built wooden lockers with back-lit displays and a lounge with a pair of 65-inch TVs and a kitchen.

The Hendricks Training Complex is the first project completed in the Expand Their Experience Campaign. For more information on the other facility projects, visit www.ExpandTheirExperience.com.