IU opens Cook Hall for basketball development

IU Athletics will dedicate its new basketball development center, Cook Hall, at 3 p.m. Sunday.

“IU has a long basketball tradition comprised of legendary coaches, players, fans and victories,” said Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Fred Glass in an IU press release. “Cook Hall honors the hard work and determination of those who have made IU great, and it represents a renewed commitment to elevating both our men’s and women’s basketball programs into a new era of excellence.”

Those speaking at the event include Glass, IU president Michael McRobbie, basketball head coaches Tom Crean and Felisha Legette-Jack, former IU basketball players Scott May, Quinn Buckner and Amy Metheny, and current student-athletes Jori Davis and Jordan Hulls.

Jim Edson, from the architectural firm Populous of Kansas City, Mo., will present the building for dedication, and Stephen Ferguson, chair of the IU board of trustees Facilities Committee, will accept it before McRobbie does the formal dedication.

The ceremony is open to the public with an informal reception and tours of the building to follow the dedication.

“This new facility — made possible by the remarkable generosity of Bill and Gayle Cook — will have a tremendously positive impact on our student athletes,” McRobbie said in the release. “It promises even greater levels of academic and athletic achievement by providing our student athletes with the finest training facilities possible. It also gives our many alumni and fans an opportunity to share in IU’s celebrated basketball history while they get an up-close view of the world-class resources that will enable our student-athletes to compete at the highest levels of performance.”

— Lindsey Erdody