By james art Courtesy of WVSU
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – HBCU West Virginia State University (WVSU) received $250,000 from the Kanawha County Commission to help build a new athletics complex at the university. The funding comes from American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and was approved by the committee at its meeting on Wednesday.
“We are grateful to the Kanawha County Commission for their support of the WVSU athletics complex,” said WVSU President Eric C. Cage. “This new facility will not only be a tremendous asset to our university and our student-athletes, but also to the entire Kanawha County community by giving local middle school and high school students the opportunity to practice and train here as well.” Since renewing our athletics programs, we have been actively working to raise the funds necessary to build a facility on our campus, and this commitment from the Kanawha County Commission is a huge boost to that work.”
WVSU brought back its men’s and women’s track and field teams last year. After returning, teams practice at off-campus facilities in the Kanawha Valley.
“This is another remarkable display of the committee’s commitment to not only supporting our WVSU student-athletes, but all youth in Kanawha County,” said WVSU Vice President of Interscholastic Athletics Nate Burton. “This new facility will provide championship-caliber resources for our student-athletes in athletics while providing an additional track for the community to utilize.” Similar to how all of our sports facilities are used, we envision high schools, middle schools and regional youth organizations using the facility for training and hosting matches.”
In addition to being the future home of Yellow Jackets track and field, once completed, the facility could also help recruit larger track and field events to the region, Burton said, similar to the large events that the nearby Shawnee Sports Complex has been able to attract .
The HBCU track will also be open for area residents to come, walk and run when not in use.
Fundraising for the construction of the new athletics complex continues. For those interested in donating, donations can be made online at
For West Virginia State University
West Virginia State University is a public, land-rights, historically black university (HBCU) that has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multigenerational institution located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to the academic growth, service, and preservation of the institution’s racial and cultural diversity. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.