The Student Fitness Center and McCormick Hall is a large, shared use facility occupied by Campus Recreation, Health Promotion and Wellness, and the School of Kinesiology and Recreation. This 170,000 square foot facility provides extensive recreational opportunities for the campus community with over 22,000 square foot of cardio and weight training space, four fitness studios, multiple sport courts, an indoor track, swimming pool, climbing wall and much more. The facility also includes a variety of classrooms, laboratories, and office space.
Jamba Juice is located in the lobby of the Student Fitness Center and features made-to-order fresh fruit smoothies, fresh-squeezed juice, hot blend beverages, steel-cut oatmeal, and California flatbreads.
The Board of Trustees approved the construction of the Student Fitness Center and McCormick Hall (SFCM) at a cost of $43.9 million on October 26, 2007. On July 2008 BOT meeting, the project amount has increased to $49.6M. The 170,000 sq. ft. facility opened for fall 2010 and serves the Campus Recreation Services, Kinesiology and Recreation programs, students, faculty, and staff.
The Department of Campus Recreation began operating out of McCormick Hall in the 1960s, providing recreation opportunities for the student population of Illinois State University. The program moved to 220 North Main Street in Normal, the current site of the Outdoor Adventure Center. After a search for a larger facility, Campus Recreation found a new home at the site of a former ice rink on the corner of Beech and Willow Streets.
After significant renovations, the Student Recreation Building opened on March 14, 1988. This new facility provided space for cardio and weight training, racquetball, sport courts, and group fitness programming. The building also served as the home for Recreation Services, as it was known at that time, until its closure on December 15, 2010.
The department is currently known as Campus Recreation, and resides in the Student Fitness Center and McCormick Hall, enjoying its home in the heart of campus.
McCormick Hall was named after Henry McCormick in 1930 and was opened in 1925. Henry McCormick was a "beloved and respected teacher of history and geography" who came to Illinois State in 1869. He became Vice President in 1892, taught until 1901, and served as Vice President until his retirement in 1912.
McCormick Hall was originally built as a gymnasium. By 1958, the needs of the student population had increased and exceeded the constraints of the facility and McCormick Hall underwent remodeling in 1961. With the construction of the Student Fitness Center, McCormick Hall underwent extensive changes. Re-opening in January 2011, the building maintained its historic facade on the exterior, while providing a variety of interior changes to create a state-of-the-art learning facility for Illinois State students.
