$300,000 Goal Hit to Build New Bonnies Women's Locker Room

Fundraising has been completed to build a new women’s basketball locker room at St. Bonaventure University.

Spurred by a $75,000 gift from John H. Meisch, class of 1958, and his wife, Kay, donors contributed a total of $300,000 for the project.

Work will begin shortly after Commencement in May and is expected to be completed before the end of summer, in time for the 2013-14 season. The locker room will be located across the hall from the men’s basketball locker room, inside the tunnel that faces the team benches.

The facility includes a 15-stall locker room; smart board and large-screen TV for film study and game planning; team meeting room, including computer stations; and a modern shower and bathroom facility. In total, it will encompass 1,740 square feet.

The gifts were a tribute to head coach Jim Crowley and last season’s nationally ranked Bonnies (31-4), who went unbeaten in the Atlantic 10 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

“I can’t say thank you enough to all those who contributed to this project,” Crowley said. “The new facility is a critical piece to the puzzle in trying to recruit the best student-athletes possible to our program and to St. Bonaventure.”

Crowley, a two-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, was named ESPN’s National Coach of the Year for 2011-2012. The Bonnies also won 20 or more games each of the preceding three seasons, earning bids to the WNIT each year.

The improvements will advance the student-athletes’ academic, competitive and social development, and will meet or exceed Atlantic 10 Conference standards.

A volunteer committee led by Crowley; former coaches Mary Jane Telford, ’75, and Marti Whitmore ’85; Denise Dee ’89, Bob Crowley ’71, Marv Stocker ’65, and Shannon O’Connell Dan ’01, provided leadership for the fundraising effort.

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