User:Kaityrose/Karges Physical Education Center

R.A. Karges Center

The R.A. Karges Center is named after the hometown hero, Dr. R.A. Karges. The UWRF Basketball team played in North Hall in a "crackerbox" of a gymnasium. Karges was known to run into the center of the court in the middle of a game just to check the score bored. The then large gym for UWRF that served about 1,500 students was built in 1959. However, now with an enrollment on average of 6,700 students each year, R.A. Karges Center is simply too small for a growing student population. A new building will also be more attractive for not only new athletes to come, but also new Health and Human Performance Majors as well. This will also bring in larger audiences for sporting events, with more comfortable seating than the old wood bleachers.

UWRF is a NCAA Division III school and the R.A. Karges Center supports volleyball and basketball. Both the men's and women's basketball team at UWRF compete in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and need a new gym floor. So, an architect and engineer team was appointed to begin planning for a new center. There is a scheduled Public Scoping Meeting schedule for March 13, 2013 to discuss that new building and its features. If all goes as planned, building will begin September 2014, and the building will be open for use in December 2016.

The process of drawing up building plans, receiving the funds, and putting the plan into action has been a very long process. This process started back when Faye Perkins came to UWRF in 1988. In 1990, a planning committee was finally established, and the planning began.

The new building will be much larger and more fit to support the Health and Human Performance Majors, as well as hopefully drawing in new athletes. The building will include: classrooms, human performance and anatomy laboratories, a gymnasium, a dance studio, offices, locker rooms, training rooms and much more.