BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University, a cornerstone for Titan athletics and a hub for sports and community events in Bloomington, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Located at 302 E. Emerson St. on the north side of campus, the Shirk Center opened in 1994, made possible in part by a $5 million gift from the Russell and Betty Shirk Foundation of Bloomington. Russell Shirk was a member of the Class of 1943.
The facility and the Shirk family who made it possible will be honored on Saturday, Jan. 11 with a ceremony during halftime of the 4:15 p.m. game between the IWU men’s basketball team and North Central at the Shirk Center. A private post-game reception will follow. The IWU women’s basketball team will also play North Central at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“For three decades, the Shirk Center has supported Titan athletes with state-of-the-art resources to train, compete and excel. The doors have also opened to countless members of the Bloomington-Normal community, hosting events that bring people together on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan. We are deeply grateful to the Shirk family for their generosity, which made this incredible facility possible,” said President Sheahon Zenger.
The Shirk Center is used for varsity athletics and by students, faculty, staff and alumni for fitness and recreation. In the case of inclement spring weather, Illinois Wesleyan’s outdoor commencement ceremony is relocated to the Shirk Center, seating up to 3,450 for graduation. The building also hosts more than 100 community events each year and has been the site for six NCAA Division III national championship tournaments.
“Since the Shirk Center opened its doors, the student-athlete population at Illinois Wesleyan has nearly doubled from 322 to 625 and the number of coaching staff has almost tripled from 11 to 31. We’re incredibly grateful for all that it has provided for our students and greater community,” said IWU Athletic Director Mike Wagner.
The two-level, 135,344-square-foot complex serves as a versatile center for athletics, recreation and wellness. The main performance arena can seat up to 2,680 for indoor sporting events. The facility also houses four multi-use courts for tennis, volleyball and basketball, multiple golf rooms and bays, racquetball courts, a 200-meter track, a training room and wellness center, classrooms and athletic department offices.
In 2016, another major gift from the Shirk family and the Shirk Family Foundation was used to expand the fitness and athletic team space on the building’s east side. The two-story expansion doubled the size of existing fitness facilities, provided multipurpose rooms for athletic and recreational use, added locker rooms for teams, and addressed other training and storage needs.