By August 15, the finishing touches will have been put on Northeastern’s most recent addition: an academic center in the Cabot Center for student athletes.
“It’s something that helps us,” said soccer coach Ed Matz. “As with our program, everything comes back to resources. This is something that makes parents of possible student athletes feel very secure when they visit. It says that the school is as concerned about academics as they are with athletics. It’s a priority.”
The center, which opens on August 18, will include a study hall, a computer lab featuring 20 workstations, offices for NU’s Student Athletes Support Services staff and NCAA compliance personnel, as well as a classroom equipped to handle around 60 scholars, according to http:\\gonu.com.
“It will be more hands on,” Matz said. “With our offices right here, we can be more involved and aware of how our athletes are doing and if they need help, it’s right upstairs.”
Volleyball coach Ken Nichols couldn’t be happier about the addition, which is situated directly across from his second-floor office.
“First and foremost, it’s a recruiting asset,” he said. “When people come for official visits, the parents are thinking about the coach, the area and the academic opportunity. Now when they come, it’s all right in front of them. They have to walk past it to get to the volleyball office. I certainly appreciate the location.”
The Academic Center is just one in an impressive line of campus upgrades, according to Nichols.
“I’ve lived in [Massachusetts] my whole life, and to see the things that have gone on here in just the last three years it’s pretty remarkable. The new weight room, locker rooms, training area in Cabot coupled with the additions to West Campus with the tower are really impressive. Usually schools try to do an upgrade like those every four years, but at Northeastern it’s on an annual basis. The kids that have been here for a few years are just amazed by how much things have changed.”
NU athletics have just come off an impressive academic year, with five members of the field hockey team being named Academic All-American, while the men’s hockey team had more All-Academic Hockey East members than any other program in the conference.
Collectively, the student-athlete grade point average is just under 3.0. Dan Belcher (men’s track), Shannon Brooker (volleyball), Aaron Hill (men’s track), Milena Ninkovic (women’s basketball), Cassandra Rossetti (women’s track) and Jamie Williams (women’s crew) each recorded a 4.0 grade point average during the winter quarter, for Brooker and Ninkovic, it was their second consecutive perfect marks.
