Two years ago we received the largest gift in FAU history – a magnificent $16 million from the Schmidt Family Foundation – to construct a world-class complex that would provide both training and academic facilities for our more than 450 student-athletes. This evening, we broke ground on the Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence, which will help create a national model of academic excellence in athletics here at Florida Atlantic University.

The Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence will include practice fields, indoor training facilities and locker rooms, as well as counseling and advising offices, study areas, a computer lab, classrooms and more to help our student-athletes succeed on and off the field. The Complex also will be the home of FAU’s Sport Management MBA program, which is ranked third out of more than 600 programs worldwide.

Among the friends who joined us for this momentous event were three Owls who are currently playing in the NFL: Brandin Bryant, Trevon Coley and Lucky Whitehead. It was great to have them back on campus to help us celebrate.

Thank you again to Dick and Barb Schmidt, Christine Lynn, Bobby and Barbara Campbell, Elly Baldwin, and all of the other donors who helped to make our dream of a world-class athletic center a reality. Together, we're building an athletics program that everyone in our community can be proud of.

Go Owls!