A new aquatics center for Tufts swimming and diving—and the greater Tufts community
It's time for a championship-level aquatics center. A facility designed to bring our Tufts swimming and diving family even closer together by strengthening the bonds between student-athletes, alumni, and coaches, and just as important, by providing a gathering and recreation space for all members of the Tufts community.
Coach Don Megerle to Be Honored
Through the generosity of our three leadership donors, the new natatorium will be named after “Coach,” long-time head coach Don Megerle. We cannot think of a more fitting tribute to Don's legacy and his incalculable contributions to Tufts University, Tufts Athletics, the Tufts Marathon Team, and the thousands of Jumbos and Tufts families he has so positively impacted across his 55 years of service to the university. But we need to complete our fundraising to honor Don in this meaningful way.
The new aquatics center will set a new competitive standard
Our new aquatics center will transform not only our Jumbo swimming and diving program, but also our campus-wide recreation and fitness and wellness programming, by:
- Enabling Tufts to host NESCAC and other top national competition on campus, thereby increasing the visibility of our university.
- Putting our swimming and diving program in a position to recruit the most talented student-athletes from around the world and compete for NESCAC and NCAA championships every year.
- Allowing full-team practices and eliminating the need for our diving student-athletes to train and compete off-campus.
- Creating a large, multiuse space that will generate countless new opportunities for club sports, recreation, and fitness and wellness programs to benefit our faculty, staff, and student body.
- Providing the entire Tufts community with a beautiful new gathering place and center for excellence.
There is no better time to dive in and join the effort to help build an aquatics center worthy of our swimming and diving teams. A $5 million challenge match has been generously issued by Trustee Doug Rachlin, Trustee Rebecca and husband Jim Neary, and the Cummings Foundation (founded by Bill and Joyce Cummings). You can double your impact—each gift will be matched dollar for dollar.
Let’s all come together as a Wall of Blue. Every member of the Jumbo family, and every donation—large or small—is essential to support this initiative and help us finish strong. To learn how you can help, contact Mark Adzigian, A88, director of development for athletics, at 617-627-0376 or mark.adzigian@tufts.edu.
Anatomy of a standard-setting aquatics center:
- 50-by-25-meter Olympic-sized pool with two moveable bulkheads
- Two 1-meter and two 3-meter diving boards
- Seating for 300 spectators and standing room for an additional 200 spectators
- A state-of-the-art timing system and scoreboard
- Locker rooms for team and the Tufts community
- A natatorium wet classroom to support aquatics education and training
- Ample equipment storage space for varsity, club sport, intramural, and general recreation activities
Naming opportunities:
- Aquatics center (named)
- Natatorium/Pool (named)
- Lobby/Atrium
- Seating/Concourse
- Upper lobby
- Viewing deck
- Team rooms (2)
- General student locker rooms (2)
- Staff locker rooms (2)
- Head coach's office
- Reception desk
- Assistant coaches' offices (2)
- Scoreboard
- Diving platforms (4)
“I’m excited to think about the team potential and relationships that will be even closer with a facility that can accommodate our needs. This new facility would also give full-time coaches an extra two to four hours per weekday to work with athletes individually as well as work on program development.”
“This will be an environment where nationally ranked swimmers and divers will push beyond their combined expectations of themselves, within a culture of success, while fulfilling dreams that will help them discover their true potential.”
