The calendar shows July 11, which means we continue to inch ever closer to the start of the 2008-2009 athletics season at Wabash College.

Did I say inch. I should have said race. It's hard to believe our first fall sports event, a soccer match at Mud Hollow Field against Holy Cross, will take place on Saturday, August 30. That's a mere 50 days from today. Yes, that's right --- 50 days.

One sport at Wabash will enjoy an immediate upgrade to its playing facilities when the students return in August to begin the new school year. Construction works have been busy tearing out the old insulation and lighting in the Collett Tennis Center over the past few days. Next week new insulation will be in place and new, indirect lighting system will be added. The new system will drastically improve the playing conditions of the indoor courts at Collett.

Those are not the only changes, however. A dropped-ceiling will enhance the lighting to provide about 100 foot candles of light (the best example I heard today was that operating room conditions provide about 110 foot candles; our old lighting was about 30 foot candles). In addition, the courts will be changed from a green base to red, and the areas outside the court will be a light gray. The total project will provide a better indoor environment for practices and matches when inclement weather forces the team inside the Center. The improvements should also encourage casual players from the campus community to find some extra time to hit a few serves and volleys during the school year, as well.

The crew hopes to have everything finished in about three weeks, well ahead of the first scheduled fall practice for the tennis team. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of facility upgrades that are being planned for the athletics department --- but there will be more about that as information becomes available. In the mean time, load that tennis racquet into the car for your fall visit to campus and be prepared to enjoy the new look of the Collett Center indoor facility.

Photos - (Top right) Workers remove the old florescent lights from the Collett Tennis Center. A new indirect lighting system will be installed in the next few weeks.

Roll after roll of insulation is ready to be put inside the Center.