Northern Illinois University has announced that it is shifting oversight of its recreation department and facilities to its athletics department.
NIU President Lisa Freeman said that the move of recreation functions to athletics has several potential benefits for campus, the most important of which are strengthening the connection between NIU’s Division I student-athletes and other students on campus, and improving coordination of the academic programs that interact with athletes at all levels (club, intramural, intercollegiate), including athletic training and sport management.
“Students with a passion for athletics, whether they participate in Division I, in club sports, or in intramural sports, share an affinity for competition and an appreciation for how sport develops teamwork, leadership, communication and other skills,” Freeman said in a post on the school’s website. “Creating a singular entity to work with, and for, all of those students will improve the experience, and provide the opportunity to promote better connections between these groups of students.”
The schools said the move will also help realize operational efficiencies. Potential benefits for campus include maintaining and further enhancing the educational, fitness, and indoor and outdoor recreational activities that the current staff and facilities have provided the campus community in the past.
The NIU Recreation Center will look to open in early August with adjusted hours of operations and facility layout changes and restrictions. NIU will gradually re-introduce additional programs and facility operations over the course of the fall semester while maintaining appropriate health and safety protocols.
