The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has had a few new additions to the campus within the past couple of years. The addition to the Pioneer Activity Center is among the most recent projects. Students can see the progress as they walk across campus, but what is actually being added to the building, and what could it mean for current and future students here at UW-Platteville?

The PAC was initially renovated May 2009. This first renovation added two levels: one consisting of cardio equipment, stretching mat and two aerobic rooms and the other consisting of strength training equipment. This addition provided more room for the growing enrollment at UW-Platteville, but now it is too small to host students, community members and the growing sports involvement.

“The addition of three new wooden courts and the outdoor multi-sport artificial turf field will help alleviate the scheduling restrictions of the current facilities and provide more facility options for all students and club sports,” head football coach Mike Emendorfer said.

He also expressed how the extending of facilities provides more opportunities for scheduling while avoiding conflicts. Emendorfer could only speak for the football team when expressing how they look forward to additional facilities for in and offseason workouts.

Looking outside of athletics, other students reflect excitement, too. Due to the extending facilities and larger amount of new equipment, students will have more room to work around team-workouts in order to get their own workouts in.

The opening of space in the training center will also provide for a safer environment students.

“I know when I wanted to work out, there was a limited time I had to show up where I knew it wouldn’t be too crowded,” former mechanical engineering major Alex Robinson said. “The trouble was, if I didn’t show up at the small window of time, I struggled to find equipment to use and often just chose not to go.”

While this new addition provides more space to current students, it has also spurred questions of UW-Platteville now having the opportunity to move to a higher division in the NCAA. After asking Emendorfer, it was found this was not true.

“UW-Platteville is firmly committed to the NCAA Division III guiding principles,” Emendorfer said.

While the denial has been expressed, the question is definitely warranted and understood.

Even though no division move is on the immediate horizon, other projects are set to add to the UW-Platteville landscape. With the new Sesquicentennial Hall being approved and construction expected to begin in fall of 2019, UW-Platteville does not plan to slow down its changes any time soon.