Morehead State University values building a community on campus with services, support and facilities to create the best student experience possible. For the last 15 years, the Recreation & Wellness Center has offered multiple ways for students to stay active while helping students form bonds, friendships and memories with their fellow Eagles.
MSU’s Recreation & Wellness Center (often referred to as the “Rec Center” or “The Rec” by students) opened in the summer of 2011 and quickly became a go-to destination for the campus community. This nationally recognized, award-winning facility houses three full-size basketball courts, a swimming pool with a whirlpool, two racquetball courts, a running track and multiple fitness areas with cardio and weight training equipment across two floors.
Bill Campbell (Class of 2010, 2012) is the director of the Recreation & Wellness Center. As a two-time MSU graduate, he remembers past facilities like the former Laughlin Health Building and the previous wellness center and is still blown away by the quality of the facility he oversees.
“It’s my favorite Rec Center, really,” he said. “I’ve been in a bunch, but I think where we are on campus, specifically how the building looks and how it feels, it has been my favorite.”
The Recreation & Wellness Center is located beside Eagle Lake Apartments and within walking distance of residence halls and The Rocky Adkins Dining Complex (a.k.a. The Rock). The Rec serves as a hub for fitness, recreation and community, offering students convenient access to a variety of programs, equipment and services.
The first floor features basketball courts, which may be used for volleyball and pickleball. It is also home to the facility’s primary fitness area with free weights, machines and several types of cardio equipment.
“You can quit lifting weights, walk 10 feet and start playing basketball if you want,” Campbell said.
As a long-time fitness enthusiast and former high school athlete, Campbell tries to bring new types of equipment and offerings almost every year to meet the needs of the modern lifter, whether they are into bodybuilding, powerlifting, CrossFit, or Olympic weightlifting. The Rec Center recently upgraded many of its pin-loaded workout machines located on the first floor.
“This is Morehead State’s gym. But I kind of get to roleplay like...this is my gym, too,” Campbell said. “Any person, no matter what kind of fitness background, can do anything they want to do workout-wise.”
The facility's second floor is perfect for a quieter, more focused fitness space. It has a walking track, rows of cardio machines facing the Rec Center’s windows overlooking campus, two separate workout stations and classrooms that host group fitness classes and training.
At the Rec Center, there are also activities for people who want to socialize and have friendly competition without breaking a sweat. The first floor has beanbag toss and arcade games like Golden Tee and Mortal Kombat, while the second floor houses ping-pong and foosball tables.
“Some of my fondest memories I’ve ever had were playing foosball with a staff worker on lunch,” Campbell said. “There’s a little bit of something in here that can kind of accommodate the student for whatever they are trying to do as far as getting out of the residence hall and trying to relax.”
The Rec Center hosts most of MSU’s intramural leagues and social events like Rock the Rec and the Blue and Gold Bash. While student employees in majors like exercise science and health promotion get a training ground to learn in their areas of study, the Rec Center has become more of a place for students to connect than ever.
Trey Collins, a junior sport management major from Morehead, is one of the Rec Center’s facilities supervisors and trains for powerlifting at The Rec when he is not working. He said that since he enrolled at MSU, the facility has transformed into more than just a place to get fit and stay active.
“Besides working here and working out, I’ll spend a whole hour to an hour-and-a-half talking to people I know,” Collins said. “Since I started coming here, the amount of people that show up has increased a lot. Not just for the socializing and lifting. Just a place to be.”
“They’ve created a community and that’s what we want,” Campbell said. “The end goal is we want them to look forward to seeing people they know at the gym, using state-of-the-art equipment, and they create bonding by being at the Rec Center.”
Campbell, Collins and others who help maintain and improve the Recreation & Wellness Center see the facility as a place playing a pivotal part in their overall MSU experience.
“I want our students to miss this place when they leave, and I can verify to you that many people do,” Campbell said. “That’s what I want. I want you to miss coming here.”
Current students and full-time employees receive memberships automatically through their student fees and benefits packages. Paid memberships are available to part-time MSU employees, MSU spouses and retirees, active alumni, and community members aged 18 and older.
To learn more about MSU’s Recreation & Wellness Center, contact Campbell at wjcampbell@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2083.