‘Bigger Better Burdick’ named as an Outstanding Sports Facility

By Kyle Hobstetter on March 17, 2019

Towson University’s new Campus Recreation center has officially earned its nickname of “Bigger, Better Burdick.”

The 94,000-square foot addition to the campus recreation center was recently named as an Outstanding Sports Facility by the National Intramural-Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA). 

NIRSA is a non-profit membership association that provides resources and education for advancing campus recreation. Since its founding in 1950, NIRSA comprises nearly 4,500 dedicated professionals, students and businesses while serving over 8 million students.

The NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facilities Awards recognize the innovative designs of new, renovated, or expanded collegiate recreational facilities of NIRSA Member Institutions. Awards are conferred to institutions for facilities that have been built or renovated in the previous year and a half. Approximately ten winners are selected each year. 

For Grady Sheffield, director of Campus Recreation, the award reflects the collaborative effort, hard work and innovative design put forth by all those who were associated with the Burdick’s expansion.

“We took a vision and an idea of creating a state-of-the-art recreation facility that would serve as a beacon of activity and engagement for the campus community, turned this vision into a reality, and literally a Bigger, Better, Burdick,” Sheffield says. “As campus recreation professionals, we are honored to have accepted this award on behalf of TU and proud of the impact our facility, programs and services are having on the industry.” 

Since opening a year ago, the new Burdick Hall has averaged over 1,700 daily participants, and had over 393,000 total visits during its first year of operation.

The expansion has also allowed the Campus Rec ream to offer not only more space, but new options on how attendees can work out. Some of the new features that can be found at Burdick Hall are: 

• Two multi-activity courts with rubber athletic flooring lined for volleyball, badminton and Futsol
• A state-of-the-art cycling studio with sound, lights and video display
• A “skills studio” with retractable heavy bag system, speed bags and other equipment used for boxing and skill-based training
• 22,000-square feet of open fitness floor space for cardio, strength and functional training
• Brand-new cardio machines, strength training machines, and free weights
• A sprint hill and simulated stadium stairs for interval training
• A new outdoor adventures center
• Three fully equipped studios for group fitness classes
• A professionally designed “Ninja Warrior” style training course called “The Jungle,” where students can try exercising on obstacles based off the hit television show. 

And while the new additions and equipment has impressed outside organizations like NIRSA, Sheffield said he’s got a lot of positive feedback from his most important audience — the Towson University community.

“The feedback has been nothing but amazement, and shock and awe I think,” Sheffield laughs. “There are comments about how beautiful the facility is and how amazed with everything we have to offer from a fitness standpoint.

“With this new expansion, people just want to be there and see what we have to offer.”

The Burdick Hall expansion is just one of several new additions coming to Towson University’s campus. It’s also the latest addition to “Tiger Way,” the pedestrian walkway spanning West Village to York Road — which will serve as the main gateway to Towson University featuring Burdick Hall, the expanded University Union and the College of Liberal Arts building.