Administration: Vanderbilt dedicates brand new basketball facility, Huber Center

On January 26, 2025By Littum

Vanderbilt Athletics dedicated Huber Center, a brand new basketball facility for Vanderbilt’s men’s and woman’s basketball team, January 24, 2025. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Athletics Director Candice Store Lee, Main Coach Mark Byington and Shea Ralph and Primary Donors George and Cathy Huber talked all at the event.

Huber Center represents an important milestone for Vandy United it is the first non-renovation project to be completed as part of the campaign that began in 2021.

“We launched Vandy United to reintroduce the future of Vanderbilt Athletics and stick to the standard of expertise that always guides us,” Diermeier said. “The values of our coaches and student athletes master the values we hold onto Vanderbilt; Hard work and courage, continuous growth, equal measurements of challenge and support and selflessly gather in the pursuit of a larger common purpose. “

The chancellor could not resist a playful jab at Vanderbilt’s academic and athletic rivals.

“As I like to say on Vanderbilt, we beat Harvard during the week and Tennessee on the weekends,” Diermeier said.

Lee spoke afterwards and repeated similar feelings. She offered a special thanks to the Huber family for their contribution to the building’s creation.

“Every day we have been on this journey, which we began almost five years ago, we proclaimed the highest hopes for Vanderbilt -Athletics and then began to do what was needed to bring this vision to life,” said Lee. “We didn’t want this beautiful building without the generous support of George and Cathy Huber.”

Lee expressed his enthusiasm for the combined charm of the Huber Center and the legendary Memorial Gymnasium.

“Now we have the best of both worlds. We have a legendary, quirky, historic fitness center that gives us a home-ground advantage like no other in the country, ”Lee said. “(And) We have the best-equipped, unique placed and visual-strolling practice facility in America.”

The hubs spoke next, with George Huber, who emphasized his family’s love for Vanderbilt, who came from their son’s participation at the university.

“When (Diermeier) and our truly amazing athletic instructor Candice Lee – who I’m lucky to call a very good friend of me – (prayed) me to meet and see if Cathy and I would be willing to give money To help with this, it was really easy to say yes. “

The inauguration ended with words from both Vanderbilt’s basketball trainer. Ralph started.

“There is a clear vision for the relentless obligation to maximize our potential as human beings (at Vanderbilt),” Ralph said. “For me, it gives me the opportunity to create this opportunity that I don’t think our student athletes could experience elsewhere in the world.”

Byington, who is in the middle of the leading Vanderbilt -men Basketball for his best season since the 200s, repeated a similar mood.

“We came in (Huber Center) around mid -December, still with construction, but we were just so happy to come in here,” Byington said. “I may have broken some codes (before then) coming in here, and checked every day on the construction without a hard hat, but I just couldn’t wait to get in here.”

The facility houses men’s practice law and offices on the first floor and the women on the third. The second level in the building has a weight room, athletic gym and other common facilities.

The first and third floors are mirror images with a few exceptions. Byington’s office looks out over Firstbank Stadium, while Ralph’s office overlooks the women’s practice field, giving her the opportunity to see her team at all times. Both teams dressing rooms have Ping Pong and pool tables, arcade games and pop-a-shots. Both changing rooms also have a film studio attached to them.

Second Sal’s Weight Space is the “best” Byington has ever seen. It has a large number of Vanderbilt basketball -labeled equipment as well as a miniature peat field and a basketball ballhoop.

Alongside the athletic training room is the sports medicine. However, the expected massage tables and examination rooms are the Hydrotherapy package that houses a watermill, several heating/cooling vessels and a sensory deprivation.