It took unbelievable vision to build Mountaineer Field in the late 1970s and similar vision was used to make the current Puskar Center a reality.
The current structure was renovated in 2020 and completed in 2021. The facility underwent $55 million in renovations over that span, bringing improvements to the Hall of Traditions, locker room, training facilities, player’s lounge, offices and more. These changes were made with the hopes of improving the overall experience for current players, while attracting recruits and generating pride for fans and team members alike.
First Floor
The spacious player’s locker room, adorned with video screens and lights, also includes an enclosed area dedicated solely to former West Virginia players now playing in the NFL. These guys can use it whenever they return to campus to work out with Mike Joseph and the strength and conditioning staff.
The Puskar Center Training Room was completed in 2018 after the former room was totally renovated and modernized, adding an additional 4,150 square feet to bring the total square footage to 8,600. The training room accessories include 13 treatment tables, 10 taping positions, two cryotherapy pools, a Grimm Ready/Fit Cold2 Warm System and a warm therapy pool.
In the mud room, WVU players dispose of their dirty gear in a special room before proceeding in car-wash fashion down the hallway toward the pool area where water is sprayed on them to remove the rubber pellets from the turf field. Then they walk through a shallow pool before heading into the shower.
The sleep room, adjacent to the players’ lounge, has two sleep pods, two massage chairs and eight zero-gravity seats in which the players can use to get a nap between practices. The ceiling simulates a starry night and up to 15 players can catch a little shut-eye at any time of the day.
Down the hall, past the athletic equipment room, is the player recovery area, which includes a tracking station to monitor how much the guys are eating, sleeping and hydrating. There is a nutrition fueling area for players to eat or drink before and after workouts and a high-tech recovery suite adjacent to the weight room.
The players’ lounge features a barber shop, a recording studio to create podcasts or music videos.
Second Floor
The Encova Insurance Team Room is a fully functional auditorium that provides space to comfortably seat the entire football team and staff with more than 125 seats. Team meetings, weekly media activities and large group gatherings take place in that room on a consistent basis. Outside the team room, is a replica ESPN College GameDay set for some camera-phone pictures.
Before you get to the assistant coaches' suite, there is a fully functional creative studio for the head coach to do his weekly media obligations. It also is used as football's main hub for all virtual visits.
The team position rooms feature stadium-style seating for the players, attractive graphics highlighting some of West Virginia's greatest players, plus individual records pertaining to their positions. There is a massive meeting room adjacent to the head coach’s office that is big enough for the Pentagon to use. The Almost Heaven Room also is constantly in use as the various internal and external units hold their weekly meetings in there.
There is a Fifth Quarter suite, which is focused solely on off-the-field player development before you get to the academic support suite. The team training room is another area that gets your attention.
The hallway leading to the sports performance center (training table) is made up solely of West Virginia players in the NFL, connecting the training table area to the Hall of Traditions, which was relocated to the far corner of the Puskar Center for better fan access.
The Sports Performance Center offers the players a state-of-the-art nutrition center to provide the proper individual diet that each athlete needs to build their bodies. The center provides plenty of various choices from each food group that the players can choose from either the buffet line or one of several different specialty stations.
The Hall of Traditions is in the front of the building and is much more accessible to West Virginia football fans for game days and during weekdays. Its provides a complete history of the football program and gives the fans displays that showcase different aspects of Mountaineer gridiron history, along with interactive video displays.
The Reynolds Family Academic Performance Center - more than five times the size of the previously existing study center - occupies nearly 5,600 square feet on the upper floor of the Puskar Center. The facility features 30 computer stations, four tutoring rooms, eight small-group study stations and a library-style, open area for non-structured, individual or small group academic work.
