One of my favorite television shows is Pimp My Ride on MTV. As many of you may know, the premise is to take old cars that are falling apart or look terrible and revamp them with a new paint job and accessories. The major allures of the show in my eyes are the bad jokes and seeing what completely unnecessary things the crew will load up in each car. The John Paul Jones (JPJ) Arena is much like a final product of the show, as it came pimped out to an extent that Xzibit himself would be impressed with.
By now, many of you have probably been to JPJ, either for the screening of the football game against Pitt, one of the concerts or the women's basketball game last night. If you have, you are already familiar with the multiple big screens on the jumbotron and the array of message boards around the sides of the concourse, not to mention the sheer size of the new sports complex. Further, there have been a number of columns this semester highlighting in greater detail the audio/visual hookups, sweet concession selections and sick locker rooms at JPJ.
Most of the features in the new arena are what you would expect: practice courts, weight rooms and athletic department offices. One of the things that you probably haven't heard much about is the athletes-only dining hall in JPJ. I am basing this assumption on the fact that the majority of people I mentioned this column idea to did a double take and quickly responded, "There's a dining hall in JPJ?"
Executive associate director of athletics Jon Oliver could be considered the mastermind behind the new athletes-only dining hall at JPJ. Oliver was the department's liaison to the new arena building project and was able to drum up support to include a whole slew of amenities in the new building once the foundation for the arena itself was completed. Academic support facilities, media relations offices and the new dining hall were among the additions to JPJ. In addition, Oliver pitched the idea of an athletes-only dining hall, which was supported by the University.
Though I am not a varsity athlete, I was able to check out and eat at the new dining hall this past weekend with my buddy Sam, a member of the track/cross country team. The dining hall is on the second floor of the arena, which is about level with the main concourse of JPJ. There is even a separate room that overlooks the court from one end zone, a perfect view for checking out basketball or a concert.
Anyway, the first thing that really hit me when I walked in were the eight flat screen televisions hanging around the room and the retractable projection screen in the middle of the dining area. I went on a Sunday night, which tends to be the least crowded because of the lack of late practices, so there were not a lot of people in the dining hall. However, I still got a sense for the relaxing, social atmosphere the setting provides.
The dining hall accomplishes a number of goals. First, it is conveniently located relative to where most teams' practices take place, so it helps eliminate trips to another dining hall. Another goal is offering foods that meet the nutritional needs of student-athletes, in the hopes of putting them in the best position to succeed. I had pork chops, baked potato, corn and pasta with meat sauce when I ate at JPJ. While Sam contends that it was an off-night food-wise, I still found it to be a great meal.
A less obvious goal of the dining hall is to promote camaraderie amongst athletes who otherwise wouldn't have much contact with one another. The busy schedules of varsity athletes leave little time for socializing across teams, so what better way to promote socializing than dinner and multiple TVs?
Oliver stated that the "reaction from coaches and student-athletes has been overwhelmingly positive," but that the department is trying to make the experience for student-athletes at the dining hall better every day. The next big step in achieving this end is a nutrition kiosk, which will help student-athletes make instantaneous decisions pertaining to their meal choices. Sometime in the future, Oliver hopes to have a full-time nutritionist hired to "assist all of our student-athletes with their nutritional goals in support of maximum performance."
With the more publicized opening of JPJ this semester, the dining hall is a lesser-known example of the University's commitment to its athletic program. Hopefully, the facility will contribute to the continued success of Cavalier athletics in the future.
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