Athletics administrators at Division I schools have been talking for years about the athletics building boom, with the construction of facilities, new locker rooms and expanded stadiums seen as a necessity for recruiting student-athletes and also for raising funds from alumni.

And while Division III isn't building luxury skyboxes to attract thousands of dollars from alumni, there have been several multimillion-dollar facilities, many smaller projects and even one stadium with a corporate sponsor -- Shentel Stadium at Shenandoah University -- believed to be a first in Division III.

Division III facilities also are often a joint effort between schools and communities, undertaken with the intent of upgrading the fitness choices of students and even the entire surrounding community, and not an effort to "keep up with the Joneses."

A jewel for the entire campus

Division III institutions are known for their broad and varied intercollegiate athletics programs, and many of them offer a wide selection of intramurals as well. Most of the facilities constructed in Division III will be used by all students on campus, and as such, are somewhat of a recruiting tool for the entire college.

Illinois College recently began construction on a new $22 million athletics and recreation facility, the school's largest construction project ever.

"As the generations change, so do students' wants and needs," said Athletics Director Gale Vaughn. "Students in this new 'millennial' generation are into wellness and are conscientious about their lifestyles. They want excellent fitness facilities. The building will be a showplace and will allow us to continue to attract the caliber of students and athletes that we want."

The project includes a three-level, 150,000-square-foot facility with a gymnasium seating 1,600 and an indoor fieldhouse with a 200-meter track and four multipurpose courts. Also included is a natatorium with an eight-lane competition-sized swimming pool, a spa, a weight room and fitness center, and a wealth of locker rooms.

"From an athletics standpoint, this is a remarkable 'positive' for the college," Vaughn said. "Besides that, it will be the first thing people see when they drive up Lincoln Avenue. It will be a 'wow.' "

Another school creating a 'wow' is Susquehanna University. Its $14 million expansion and renovation of its sports and fitness facilities is anchored by the football field and track stadium located prominently in the middle of campus. The project also includes a fieldhouse, fitness center, baseball field and outdoor tennis courts, and it's expected to bring needed space to a school that had outgrown its facilities.

Since 1976, Susquehanna's student body has grown by more than 400 students, with its number of varsity sports going from 14 to 22. But while the decision to go ahead with the project was based on current capacity issues, it also has an eye to future classes of students.

"It's all about recruiting and retaining top-quality students," said Athletics Director Don Harnum. "The new generation of students has come along, and they expect and see more from the schools they are considering.

"In Division I, they're spending millions and millions of dollars on their facilities, and it's had a trickle-down to Division III -- and in recruiting the top-quality students and athletes, facilities are a big part of the process."

Another new facility that will be a campus focal point and also serve its community was recently dedicated at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. The $14 million project includes the David L. Kachel/D.L.K. Fieldhouse, which houses four multipurpose courts, a running track and an indoor practice space, as well as a renovation to the Williams Center, which includes a new weight room and fitness center, racquetball courts, training room, classrooms and a computer lab.

"The new and remodeled complex will provide a full array of high-quality and modern facilities for Wisconsin-Whitewater intercollegiate athletics, recreation, wellness and health, physical education instructional programs," said Jim Freer, assistant chancellor for administrative affairs at the school. "The new facility also will be a regional recreational center for students, staff and the community."

Simpson College also is sporting a $1 million project in the middle of its campus, and the renovated football field and track also will be widely used by the community, which is helping to pay for it. The cost of the work is a cooperative effort among the college, Indianola High School, which uses the stadium for its football games, and the Department of Natural Resources.

The project at Simpson will include artificial turf at Buxton Stadium, the same type as is used at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and that fact will surely be mentioned come recruiting time.

John Sirianni, athletics director at Simpson, said the $1 million price tag for the renovation and new track was worth it in terms of recruiting.

"Every time a prospective student-athlete starts to look at the different institutions they consider attending, the quality, safety, appearance, the aesthetics of the athletics facilities becomes a major factor," Sirianni told the Des Moines Register recently. "I think it's extremely important to make sure you have quality athletics facilities."

New opportunity

Some of the building boom in Division III may be attributed to the explosion of athletics participants, including female student-athletes, said Gary Grace, athletics director at Wartburg College.

"When a lot of the previous Division III facilities were built in the pre-1970s, women's sports weren't as predominant as they are today," Grace said. "So the percentage of the student body participating in athletics has just mushroomed. We have about 35 to 40 percent of our students participating in athletics at our school.

"The other thing that's happened is that, regardless of the institution, students in general are just much more savvy about wellness, and aware of what fitness facilities are available on campus. They want to know where they can go to work out and practice wellness, and I don't think that was the case 30 or 40 years ago."

Wartburg's new 4,000-seat Walston-Hoover Stadium for football and track will be unveiled this season and will feature a new Field Turf surface, as well as a concession area, restrooms, field lighting, new visitor stands and construction of an eight-lane all-weather track. New soccer fields and a throwing venue for track also will debut on the northwest side of campus.

Wartburg's administrators are hoping that the project enhances the unprecedented success the school's athletics department experienced in 2000-01 -- placing first or second in 13 of the 19 sports sanctioned by the Iowa Conference, while finishing10th nationally in last year's Sears Directors' Cup standings for Division III -- the highest finish ever by an Iowa Athletic Conference school.

The College of New Jersey finished third and has recently redone its outdoor track and stadium playing field. As part of its future $250 million master plan, the school hopes to build seven new athletics fields, a new 2,400-seat arena and a new ice rink.

And whether success is measured with wins, architectural awards or increased enrollment, the $8 million project that yielded new baseball, softball, soccer and field hockey facilities at Lebanon Valley College has been a winner.

The Flying Dutchmen baseball team has benefited, winning the Middle Atlantic Conference's Commonwealth Division regular-season title last spring for the first time in school history.

Perhaps the surroundings helped in other ways as well -- the softball team earned a berth in the conference's postseason tournament for the first time in school history, hosting the event and finishing second. The Lebanon Valley soccer teams also enjoyed unprecedented postseason success.

"No one can argue that what we have done hasn't produced results," Pollick said. "When students go on campus visits, they will come away saying, 'Most of the schools have nice campuses and programs, but Lebanon Valley has a unique bridge and memorable athletics facilities, and I didn't see those at some of the other schools.'"