GREENSBORO, N.C. – One great thing about 2020 for UNC Greensboro (UNCG) athletics was the opening of the Academic Success Center and the completion of renovations to the Bodford Family Speed, Strength and Conditioning Center.
 
These were highlights that signified progress for the Spartan athletic department.
 
The Academic Success Center is a welcomed and state-of-the-art space that allows student-athletes to achieve excellence and provides a gathering space for academic sessions, leadership meetings, small group sessions, and individual studying. As evidenced by a 3.45-grade point average following the spring 2020 semester, the Academic Success Center has helped student-athletes reach their full potential even as they log long hours at practice.
 
Later in the year, the renovated Speed, Strength and Conditioning Center opened to rave reviews.
 
Maria Esch ushered in an exciting era in UNC Greensboro (UNCG) athletic history when she stepped inside of the well-lit facility complete with state-of-the-art and high-tech weightlifting, fitness, and training equipment like glute/ham developers, lat pulldown/low row apparatus', jump mats, chains, and a pit shark at 6:49 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
 
The UNCG volleyball team was the first squad to workout in the space. It was also a special day for the UNCG strength-and-conditioning staff of Danny Wheel, R.J. Goubeaux and Kelly Self, who enjoyed watching the excited expressions of the student-athletes and working with them.
 
"It was so exciting stepping into the Speed, Strength & Conditioning Center," volleyball senior Stephanie Meysembourg said. "Being a member of the first team to use it made it feel even more special. When I arrived as a freshman, this space looked much different. They did an amazing job on it and I can't wait to continue to lift in our beautiful new facility."
 
These transformative and memorable destinations are ones in which student-athletes tingle with excitement before visiting thanks to the generosity of the numerous donors who have contributed to the UNCG Athletics' Campaign for Champions, a fundraising campaign to transform student-athlete academic and support facilities, and to recruit and retain top coaches to lead UNCG's 17 Division I athletic teams.