Education
Mercer University Athletic Department
In 2020, Mercer University embarked on a locker room renovation to update its Division I Baseball team locker room. Over the next three years, the University continued to renovate its locker rooms for its Softball, Men and Women’s Soccer teams. The new locker room for the Women’s Soccer team’s was unveiled on August 1, 2023.
Though completed over the course of three years, the design language for these renovations is consistent throughout; with school branding and colors, each locker room is customized to the specific sport. The consistent theme throughout these facilities reflects the strong identity of Mercer University while showcasing each team’s unique personality.
The consistent theme throughout these facilities reflects the strong identity of Mercer University while showcasing each team’s unique personality.
Working directly with Mercer’s athletic team, Hollman Lockers helped design lockers to fit seamlessly into the new spaces. The customized lockers included a bat storage side compartment, vertical LED lighting, a USB outlet, lockbox and show cubbies. Brian Gerrity, the Deputy AD and Executive Director for the Mercer Athletic Foundation, revealed the school choose to go with Hollman Lockers after getting a recommendation from a fellow athletic director. “The world of athletics is really small, and our first project was a baseball locker room. When we started the process, I called a friend at the University of Southern California and asked who they used for lockers.”
According to Gerrity, their first time renovating a locker room was a positive experience. “There is a fundraising phase at first, and dictates what you can do in the space,” he explains. “Then, you start working with contractors to take down walls, space planning, etc.” Once the lockers were added in, it was time for the fun part. The graphics, the signage, the donor plaque recognitions, the ribbon cutting, etc.
“The most difficult project was the baseball locker room because we had to relocate the bathroom,” says Gerrity. The construction team ended up taking two bathroom stalls and a vanity out to create a larger locker room space, and converted two shower stalls into bathroom stalls. “Those types of logistics on the front end are always difficult, but the locker installation was the easiest part of the process.”
Another challenge the facilities department had to face: when one team gets [a new locker room], the other teams want one, too. “It’s been a cycle year after year—we’re going to be tackling our volley ball room next, which will be the last one,” says Gerrity. Because these renovations are supported by donations, Mercer University does locker naming, and includes alumni. They ended up having anywhere from 100 to 150 donors for the locker room projects. “It is shocking how different the images are—the before and after a renovation.”
Now, for this project to come together, getting coach input was critical. “It helps build a good relationship with a coach when you’re meeting together every day for six months,” says Gerrity. “You get to know them, and they’re a huge part of the fundraising process. Coaches play a big part in all of the areas of these locker room projects.”
In addition to getting input from coaches, relying on the same contractors for each project also made matters easier. “This has helped us streamline everything. We have really tall ceilings within our buildings, and it was actually a contractor who said, look, from 12 ft. and up, paint the entire ceiling black. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it became a game-changer. It makes the locker room space bigger.
“You learn through trial and error,” adds Gerrity. “I know how much it will cost to do the volley ball space; I know the breakdown of how that budget will be spent.”
As for advice for other facility managers, Gerrity’s recommends working on the front end when it comes to budgeting. It’s the construction piece that’s hard to estimate, but you set a minimum number construction might come into.
Now, students have had different reactions, from screaming in celebration to crying, when the new locker rooms were revealed. Gerrity recalls hearing,“you have no idea how much it means that someone cares about our program.”
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