On time. On budget. Ready to go.
Nearly 10 months and $7.5 million later, Hillsdale College is hosting the grand opening for the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center on March 2.
Many donations flowed into the creation of Hillsdale College’s newest building, but it bears the name given by primary benefactor Frank Biermann in honor of his wife, who passed away in 2010.
To host indoor track meets, Hillsdale has long needed an indoor track in compliance with NCAA regulations. It certainly got one. While the indoor season is mostly over, said Director of Athletics Don Brubacher, there are trial runs and high school meets lined up for the new facility.
In addition, four tennis courts now accommodate the college’s rising women’s program. Future plans include the building’s use for commencement and other large speaking events. Besides that, said administrators, the sky’s the limit.
Biermann is situated between the existing George Roche Sports Complex and the Suites.
When ground was broken in May of last year, the area was not even leveled, and many of the downed trees that once stood there were still waiting to be dragged away. Now the structure, 76,000 square feet and about 50 feet from ground to pediment, looms over the baseball field and much of the surrounding area.
Not least of all, in an age where traditional brick-and-mortar field houses have become all but extinct, the Biermann Center carefully incorporates more of the yellow brick and large, monogrammed windows that have become a staple of Hillsdale’s revisited architectural identity. It is the first on-campus building dedication since the Moss Family Laboratory Wing and the Grewcock Student Union in 2008.
Frank Biermann himself is set to offer remarks at the Biermann Center’s formal opening during commencement weekend this May. As a young man, Frank met Margot on a train in the Netherlands. They were married for 38 years.
An avid runner of marathons around the country, Margot was intrigued by Hillsdale and enrolled in the teaching program at the age of 44. She graduated summa cum laude in 1993.
Before she passed, Margot made clear her desire to give back to Hillsdale in a way expressive of both her love for athletics and for education. Her dream has come to fruition in a way that promises to benefit the students and community for many years to come.
All are welcome to this weekend’s ceremony, which will be followed with food and festivities throughout most of the day.
The festival includes team events like volleyball, dodgeball, and a relay race. Students are encouraged to arrange teams of 8-12 (with at least three women) to compete for cash prizes. It all starts Saturday morning at 11:45 a.m.
Junior Jessica Youngstrom or sophomore AJ Maruna can be contacted with further questions.
