University of the Pacific is taking a major step forward in supporting the health, wellness and success of its nearly 400 Division I student-athletes by breaking ground on the Student-Athlete and Sports Medicine Center on the Stockton Campus.

The 15,682-square-foot facility will include a treatment room, advanced rehabilitation areas, therapy pool, hot and cold tubs, a sports therapist’s office focused on physical and mental health and a dedicated functional training area.

It also will include team lounges and locker rooms for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball, two film and game-planning rooms and a multi-purpose study and social space.

President Christopher Callahan said the center embodies Pacific’s mission to support the whole student.

“The complex will significantly improve our student-athletes’ experience—supporting their health, academic success and overall well-being,” he said. “It represents our deep commitment to the holistic development of every student.”

The facility will be located at the site of the former South Campus Gym, adjacent to the Alex G. Spanos Center. Director of Athletics Adam Tschuor says the facility is the missing piece in Pacific’s athletic facilities, which are among the best in the conference.

“It will provide spacious, state-of-the-art team lounges and locker rooms to help us recruit and retain top athletes in some of our most prominent sports,” he said. “On the sports medicine side, we’ll gain cutting-edge technology and a space nearly three times larger than what we have now. This will truly be a cornerstone piece of our competitive resurgence in the West Coast Conference and nationally.”

The facility will also expand hands-on training opportunities for students in the Master of Science in Athletic Training program—the only accredited athletic training program in Northern California.

Students in the program treat student-athletes before, during and after practices and games under the supervision of the athletic training staff, led by Chris Pond, assistant director of athletics for sports medicine and wellness.

“The sports medicine hub will allow us to strengthen our ties with the medical providers from the community and across campus, providing cutting edge medical care, consistent with best practices.

“As an added focus, it will allow us to partner with the mental health side of care as the sports therapists will be located in the same building. Having early, easy access to those services will only enhance rehabilitation outcomes and strengthen a holistic approach to care. This will provide both clinical and didactic space to allow for experiential learning at the highest degree, with actual patients from our athletic community,” he said.

The athletic training portion of the facility will be named for Pond, who has been an athletic trainer at Pacific for more than 30 years.

The project is expected to cost $11 million, funded entirely through donor support.

“We’re here today because you all believe in this vision,” Scott Biedermann '05, '20, vice president for development and alumni relations, told donors at the groundbreaking. “You see the center’s value for our student-athletes, and now, your generosity is making it happen. I thank you wholeheartedly—not only for supporting a building, but for investing in healthy, successful student-athletes for years to come.”

The Eberhardt family and the Bank of Stockton provided the lead gift for the facility. Board of Regents Chair Mary-Elizabeth Eberhardt ’76 praised Pacific’s athletics programs as “among the best in the nation.”

"(This facility) will set us apart from our peer institutions, making us fiercer competitors while positioning us as a model of holistic support for students,” she said. “It will support wellness across all aspects of what it means to be a student-athlete at Pacific. It will be a jewel in the university’s crown. To support it was an opportunity my family and I could not pass up.”

Regent Rupert Hall, Jim ’68 and Gretchen ’68 Mair, John and June Rogers and the Kim Allen Morton Private Foundation also provided generous support for the facility.

For many Pacific athletes, the project represents more than just a new building.

“It really shows how much they care about us as student-athletes—on and off the court,” said Jayhlin Swain ’26, a volleyball player and a health and exercise sciences major. “It means a lot to all of us.”

First-year student-athlete Matthew Dillon ’27, a swimmer and mechanical engineering  major, agreed. “It shows that Pacific is continuing to invest in us, even as other schools are scaling back. It’s exciting to see that commitment to the future.”

Construction is expected to be complete in summer 2026.