By Currie McFayden
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
In January 2015, a long-standing goal of Campbell athletics finally came to fruition: the completion of a state-of-the-art sports performance center located at Barker-Lane Stadium. The Burt Family Sports Performance Center, which broke ground four months earlier, is the exclusive home for strength and conditioning for Campbell's football and lacrosse programs.
"You cannot build an organization in football without a weight room," head coach Mike Minter said of the facility. "I don't care what kind of players that you get in here. If you don't have a place to go work and get bigger, stronger and faster, it can't happen. We are so thankful for all the support and for everyone who stepped up and made this project happen."
Redshirt senior linebacker Andrew Yost echoed Coach Minter's sentiments. "For me, as a guy who has been here for five years now, to have that weight room is such a blessing. I think I'm even more thankful for it just because I've seen what we've had in the past. Not every program, even true Division I programs, have this type of facility. It is by far the best in the conference, and I believe it ranks up there with the top weight rooms at the FCS level."
The 6,000 square foot facility features 900 square feet of sport turf, 12 state-of-the-art custom Hammer Strength combo racks with inlaid Olympic lifting platforms, six glute hamstring developers and four Hammer Strength plate-loaded machines.
"It's been great since moving over from the other facility," assistant athletics director for sports performance Andrew Carter said. "We've doubled our square footage. Because of how we were able to lay everything out, we've made it a lot more user-friendly so that we can have more efficiency with our workouts. A program that might take an hour and 15 minutes in the other weight room can take just 35 minutes here."
The training facility also includes two Pit Shark belt squat machines, custom iron grip dumbbells, custom plyometric jumping boxes and a comprehensive nutrition and hydration station.
"The intensity that the building itself brings helps to make my job a lot easier," Carter added. "For our freshmen, we start with a very basic approach. We help them learn how to move before we add much weight. A lot of our guys come in with movement disorders or deficiencies that hinder them, but we work very hard with them to clean up those movement patterns. We want to make sure that we move well first, and then build on that."
Prior to moving into the Burt Family Sports Performance Center, the football and lacrosse teams shared time with Campbell's 19 other Division I sports in the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center's weight room, which was renovated in tandem with the construction project.
"This new facility has given us the tools that we need to get guys ready to go," Minter said. "Anytime you do everything to a high level, it forces your football team to start holding up that standard as well. They start to think that they are champions already, and that's the key. This weight room has given them the understanding that if we are going to spend money like this, then we have to put in the work to put a great product on the field."
The Fighting Camels posted a 5-7 overall record and a 4-4 mark in Pioneer Football League play during the 2014 season, including a 4-2 record in games played at Barker-Lane Stadium. Yost, who appeared in all 12 games and led Campbell with 86 total tackles, sees the new weight room already having an effect on the team.
"I think as a team we're probably the strongest that we've ever been. Personally, I know that I'm the strongest that I've been. I think that it's helped to bring an even better work ethic; we work harder and more efficiently. Overall, the team attitude has become more positive towards working out," said Yost.
Like Yost, Minter believes that the team has reached new heights since the opening of the facility.
"There is no one on our football team right now that doesn't have the mentality to get better every day, even just one percent," he said. "With the freshmen that have come in, we tell them to get in there and start working. We'll get them to where they need to be. That's the mentality that Coach Carter brings to the table, and because of that, now people are putting in the effort that we need to see."
Outside of the improvements to the on-field product for the Camels, the new weight room has already begun to play an important role in recruiting for the team, helping to lure potential players because of the quality of the facility.
"In recruiting, when you bring kids here and they see this weight room, you hear 'I didn't know this was here at Campbell, I love this weight room.' It's fresh, it's clean, and it makes these guys want to get in there and go to work," Minter said.
"When you're recruiting at the FCS level, having excellence everywhere helps to sell your program. Uniforms, a stadium, a weight room, all of those things give impressions of your program. At the end of the day, recruiting is a selling business," he continued. "This weight room alone has sold a lot of players that are on this football team today. These are guys who have gone all over the country and haven't seen anything that compares to ours. It's one of the biggest marketing tools that we have right now."
"If I were an incoming recruit today and saw this weight room, my eyes would light up," Yost said. "I really don't know if I could say much, almost like it was when we saw it for the first time as a team. As a recruit, how could you say no to a program with a facility like this? Other major programs don't show off their weight room, but as a young kid, this is exactly the kind of thing that you are looking for."
The project was made possible in part by a large contribution from the Burt family, which holds a connection with the Campbell football program through former All-PFL offensive lineman Branden Burt. Burt made 39 starts in 42 appearances for the Camels from 2008-11 and helped to make the Camels the top rushing team in the PFL in each of his final three seasons.
"For the folks who made this facility happen, I'd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I know that the kids feel the same way," Carter said. "It was an undertaking to raise the money, but to have this here for us is great. We want them to know how appreciative we are of their donation and of their support of this program."
"I want everyone to know that no one on this team takes this weight room for granted," said Yost. "We truly appreciate the fact that they have put money into this program and that they believe in us. Now we have to put together a good product and get some wins for them; that would be the best way to thank them that we can give."
"Every single time that we step into this facility, we are thankful. [Director of Athletics] Mr. Bob Roller has come here and turned around the entire university as far as sports are concerned," Minter added. "When he hired me, he asked me what I needed and said that he would make it happen, and he has been true to his word. You also can't ask for a better man in your corner than [Vice President for Business and Treasurer] Jim Roberts. He understands sports and supports our teams 100 percent."
"Finally, before his retirement Dr. [Jerry] Wallace gave the final support that this project needed. We are incredibly thankful for those three gentlemen and their leadership that made the weight room happen. Now, everyone will get to see all of their hard work come to fruition as we take the field this season."
