Ohio State Athletics Receives NACDA Award for Schumaker Complex

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the USG Corporation named their sixth-annual winner for the Sustainability Award Tuesday afternoon, selecting Ohio State as the 2020 recipient for its efforts on The Schumaker Complex.

The award was created to honor NACDA member institutions across all divisions, recognizing Directors of Athletics and their universities for “incorporating sustainable practices and materials into their athletics facilities.” A six-person committee consisting of AD’s across the country, and representatives from USG and NACDA, aided in selecting the 2020 winner.

"We are honored to receive this award, as it is a great testament to the hard work of many in our department," Gene Smith, Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director at Ohio State, said through NACDA’s official release. "The process of creating and maintaining sustainability processes for The Schumaker Complex, Covelli Center and Jennings Wrestling Facility were truly a team effort. We also know that moving forward, continuing to find ways to keep the facilities on the forefront of sustainability will be critically important."

We are proud to announce @OhioStAthletics as the winner of the Sixth Annual @usgcorp Sustainability Award! ♻️🏆

Read more about OSU's work on the Schumaker Complex: https://t.co/4nT1YjTcDd
— NACDA (@NACDA) June 23, 2020

As this year’s recipient, Ohio State garners a prize of $40,000 in United States Gypsum (USC) product. They are an American company which manufactures construction materials such as join compound and drywall.

The Schumaker Complex, a 125,00-square-foot wellness facility, was recently completed as part of the Athletics District project on campus.

Structures in the district include The Covelli Center (a 3,700 seat arena hosting volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics) and The Jennings Wrestling Facility, a practice space consisting of 20,000 square feet.

The Covelli Center and Jennings facility were initially supposed to be separate buildings, but have been combined to benefit cost, resource savings and maintenance efficiency. This initiative furthers the Ohio State department of athletics to continue the legacy of excellence by providing a centralized and more socially and environmentally responsible infrastructure.

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