University of the Pacific officials, donors and student-athletes broke ground Thursday on a new student-athlete and sports medicine center.
The facility, expected to be open by September 2026, will focus on the health, wellness and academic support for the school’s nearly 400 Division I athletes. The 15,682 square foot center will also expand the training of students in the Master of Science in Athletic Training program, which is the the only accredited athletic training program in Northern California.
The ceremony took place outside the Janssen-Lagorio Performance Center on the Stockton campus, where university officials marked the start of the project that will replace the South Gym building.
The project is fully funded through private donations, with no university operating dollars involved. Key contributors include the Eberhart family, who are naming the rehabilitation area after Chris Pond, the university’s longtime assistant athletic director for sports medicine and wellness.
University President Christopher Callahan called the center the “missing piece” in Pacific’s athletics infrastructure, highlighting its focus on comprehensive care.
“It’s going to have world-class athletic training, injury treatment, rehabilitation, nutrition and mental health support,” Callahan said. “It will also have locker rooms and film rooms for our men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams.”
The facility will triple the size of the current sports medicine space, expanding from about 1,500 square feet to include features like hot and cold tubs with underwater treadmills, multiple taping and treatment tables, physical therapy areas, a doctor’s evaluation room and an office for a mental health practitioner.
Centrally located near athletic fields and pools, it will support athletes across 19 sports, including basketball, soccer, tennis, swimming, water polo, golf, cross country, track, baseball, volleyball, softball and beach volleyball.
Athletic Director Adam Tschuor, who has been at Pacific for more than two years, said the center has been part of the athletics master plan since before the COVID-19 pandemic delayed progress.
“This is going to be a huge step for us,” Tschuor said. “It’s a daily use facility for our student-athletes, not just a competition venue.”
Pond, who has spent 36 years at the university, described the expansion as “transformational” for athlete care.
“We treat all of our athletes the same, whether it’s men’s basketball or women’s cross country,” Pond said. “This will allow us to provide faster recovery and better support with top-of-the-line modalities.”
Students in Pacific’s athletic training programs, the only accredited master’s program in Northern California, will gain hands-on experience in the new space. Master’s student, Valeria Gonzalez Satilla who transferred from San Jose State, expressed enthusiasm during the event.
“I’m super excited to be able to use this equipment and get real-world experience,” she said.
Participants included swim coach Matt Dillon, donors John Rogers, Jim Mayer, Rupert Hall and Tom Jones, and student-athlete Jalen Swan.