USD Men's Basketball 2000-2001

JENNY CRAIG PAVILION

USD opens arena ofdreams

5,100-seat sports facility will host WCC Tourney The mov ie Field ofDreams int rodu cedthe phrase "build it and they will come" into the Ameri– can lex icon, and USO students, ath letes and coaches hope that phrase will apply to the arena of their dreams , which was offici all y dedicated and ope ned on October 5, 2000. The University is counting on the Jenny Craig Pavilion to attract more fans to the campu s and more top athl etes to its Di vision I sports pro– grams. The pavilion already has garnered major attention from around the region, as West Coast Con-

Jenny Craig Pavilion was officially dedicated on October 5, 2000 fere nce officials selec ted USO as the site of 200 I WCC Tournament , to be he ld March 1-5 for all eight women's and men's WCC teams. "The Je nn y Craig Pavi li on ma ke s a sta teme nt to th e athletic community and to th e community a t la rge about the

qu a lity of our athletic programs and the ir impo rt a nce wit hin the uni ve rsity," stated Tom Iannacone , USO Direc to r of Ath– le tic s. "The pavilion is a c hamp ionsh ip ve nu e for me n's a nd women 's basketba ll and vo ll eyball , a nd has already begun to improve recru iting a nd attract hi g her q ua lity opponent s. In ad – diti o n, it is a n exce ll e nt ve nu e fo r te lev is ion . These things w ill help to increase th e compe titi ve ness o f a ll o ur programs. " The pavi li on , wh ic h wi ll be home to both USO bas ket– ball teams , a nd th e volleybal l team, sea ts twi ce the number o f fans as th e un iversi ty's o ld Sports Cente r. Unlike baske tba ll ve nues th at have the score board suspe nded over th e cente r of the court, forc ing some spec tators to crane their necks to c heck the sco re, the Je nn y Craig Pavili o n was de s ig ned with la rge score boards and video sc reens o n th e north a nd south wa ll s, and small e r score boa rd s o n the east and west s ides.

Sid and Jenny Craig and USD President Alice B. Hayes (far left) joined to celebrate the a,11,01111ceme11t oftl,e Jenny Craig Pa,,ifion and tl,e Craig's lead giji to jimd tl,e facility. Well known for tl,eir pl,i/antl,ropy, Sid and Jenny Craig are tl,efo1111ders ofJenny Craig International, one of'tl,e larg– est u~eight 111a11age111e11t services in the world. Jenny Craig served"-" a trustee oftl,e university from /990 to /996. "The prospec ts o f havi ng a qu a lity team , ushering in a beautifu l new a re na and hosting the WCC T o urn ame nt g ives us a lo t to look fo rwa rd to,"says men's basketball coach Brad Ho ll a nd. Whil e the pavili o n prov ides a first-rate ve nu e fo r USO a thl e tes , it a lso w ill se rve as US D 's front po rc h, li v ing room and backyard. Home to a 3,800 sq ua re-foot fitn ess cente r, sports med ic ine c lini c , media room , the Chet a nd Marg ue rite Pag ni Fami ly Athl e ti c Hall of Fa ri1e , and a recepti o n a rea with sweep ing v iews of the campus, the a re na will draw more ed ucation a l, soc ial a nd c ultural eve nts. Afte r see ing o ther local uni versities ope n new arenas in rece nt years , the 6,800 stude nts a t thi s private Catholi c uni ve rs it y are thrilled to al so have the ir own ve nu e .