UTSA unveils new volleyball and basketball training facility

On Wednesday morning, UTSA held a ceremony unveiling its new 53,000-square-foot volleyball and basketball training facility. The two-story building is one of the largest on campus and will now give basketball and volleyball the premium resources they deserve. The project was spearheaded by athletic director Lisa Campos and university president Taylor Eighmy. The morning ceremony highlighted a key goal for UTSA: creating a state-of-the-art institution and delivering a new student-athlete experience.

“This is an important moment highlighting the trajectory of our athletic program and where it is going,” Eighmy said. “It’s an important milestone that we’re going to celebrate.”

The facility was approved in January 2024, with construction starting in late December of the same year. The building features two full-size NCAA practice courts, an individual suite for each sport, two film rooms, a weight room, and an athletic trainer room. The design was created to serve the player, with each suite including a study lounge, kitchen area, and 24-hour open policy.

“Our strategic conditions included creating a first-class experience,” Campos said. “Creating a culture of excellence, developing resources, and uniting our community. This training center will check all of those boxes.”

Perhaps the facility’s biggest draw is that it will allow coaches more freedom concerning practice schedules and court sharing. With two full-sized courts, the building allows basketball and volleyball teams to practice simultaneously. Ensuring that both programs could thrive independently was a point of emphasis for Campos and Eighmy. The goal was to give the programs the space, scheduling flexibility, and resources needed to succeed.

“For the first time since we began intercollegiate athletics, our basketball and volleyball teams will have the ability to practice at the same time,” Campos said. “This will allow our teams to choose practice times based on what is best for the student-athletes, not only from a training perspective, but also from an academic perspective.”

The second floor features three coaching suites and conference rooms for each sport. In addition to the offices, the facility includes the April Ancira Creator Lab — a podcast and editing studio designed to allow student-athletes to tell their stories and build personal brands that strengthen their name, image, and likeness opportunities. 

“This will allow us to take the next step in reaching greater heights,” senior women’s basketball forward Idara Udo said. “One of the things I’m most excited about is having a place I can call home and go to whenever I need it.”

Volleyball head coach Carol Price-Torok, women’s basketball coach Karen Aston, and men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch attended the facility’s grand opening. Each participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, recognizing the milestone achievement and growing eager to get in the gym as quickly as possible. 

“Having this is a game changer for us,” Claunch said. “The practice facility in itself is the biggest thing for player development, and for our program to move forward like we want to. I know myself and our guys are fired up.”

The opening of the practice facility will offer both basketball and volleyball something previously lacking: the flexibility to practice freely and devote more time to athlete development. Each sport will look to immediately move in and get to work, with volleyball midway through its season and basketball gearing up for the start of its season. 

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