Montclair State University: The Student Recreation Center

MISSION

The department of campus recreation strives to be an integral part of the collegiate experience and offers exceptional services to students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The department of campus recreation strives to:

Be an integral part of the collegiate experience.
Exceed accepted national standards of quality for programs and services.
Be responsive to the needs and desires of an ever-changing campus population.
Create an environment where everyone is treated with dignity, acceptance and mutual respect.

FACILITY DESCRIPTION

The Student Recreation Center (SRC) opened on March 24 of 2008 and serves as the home of the campus recreation department. Almost 3,200 students passed through the front doors on the first day. Serving a community with an enrollment of over 21,000 students, the SRC takes great pride in prioritizing the recreational needs of students, but also offers memberships to faculty, staff and alumni. The facility allowed for an increase in campus recreation offerings in intramural sports, club sports, fitness group exercise classes and special events while providing a solid wellness model for students.

The SRC also serves the local community through youth swim lessons and children’s birthday party rentals. The original hope for this building was to bring Montclair State University to the forefront in recreational opportunities. The facility has become a focal point on campus and has impacted the university both visually and programmatically. The SRC is the heart of student social interaction and the majority of the campus population uses it almost any time of the day.

78,000 square feet.
Recreational multipurpose court space.
Jogging/walking track.
Two racquetball courts.
10,000 square feet of fitness space.
Two multipurpose activity studios.
Six-lane indoor pool.
Multiple lounge spaces equipped with televisions for viewing and console gaming.
Locker rooms.
Administrative offices.
Reception lobby featuring a monumental staircase and channel glass “light wall.”
The architectural style incorporates the campus’ prominent Spanish Mission Style with modern elements that creates an “old meets new” design.
Campus recreation also oversees the Montclair State Ice Arena, which includes two full size rinks, three outdoor tennis courts and the Dioguardi Field complex.

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Aquatics

Hires and trains an average of 75 lifeguards during the academic year and offers free learn-to-swim classes to the student population.
Aquatics offers youth learn-to-swim programs year-round, and offers birthday parties to the public as well.
Partners with the fitness area and host standup paddleboard yoga in the pool.
Aquatics also runs a wide range of special events including dive-in cartoons, Wipeout obstacle course, canoe battleship, RC boat racing, virtual trivia and mermaid tale showcases.
Aquatics trains student staff as lifeguard instructors and certifies between 200 and 250 students each year in CPR, plus an additional 40 to 50 students and the public in lifeguard training.

Outdoor Adventure

Each semester, outdoor adventure offers 10 to 15 different outdoor trips ranging from day trips to multi-day overnight trips, and another six to eight on-campus programs including nature hikes and Friday Night Fire Pits with free s’mores.
Off-campus trips include hiking, biking, canoe camping, indoor rock climbing, kayaking, standup paddle boarding, alpine skiing, snowshoe hiking, paintball, horseback riding, trips to working farms and the NY State Renaissance Faire.
Outdoor adventure also rents outdoor equipment and gear for free of charge, including tents, sleeping bags, picnic sets, backyard games and more.
Returning in 2022, outdoor adventure will be offering an exclusive overnight orientation for first year students, with canoeing, hiking, low-ropes adventure course and archery.

Intramural Sports

Offering various sport leagues such as flag football, soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball, intramural sports sees over 1,500 registrations and participations annually.

Club Sports

Over 27 club and non-varsity sports provide over 430 student athletes the opportunity to participate in high level athletic competition across various leagues and national governing bodies.
Nationally competitive club sports programs including men’s and women’s basketball, women’s rugby, cheer, dance, gymnastics, and wrestling.
The esports association competes across various leagues and game titles.
Club sports has provided an opportunity for students to gain leadership opportunities, compete and build lasting friendships. It has also been a model of success and accomplishment.

Equipment Checkout

Equipment checkout is a high traffic and quick response area that can have hundreds of customer interactions daily. Recreation provides lending for items such as sport equipment, video games, fitness equipment, outdoor equipment and so much more to use within the SRC or around campus, as well as products that can be purchased. Recreation has everything someone may need from campus rec apparel to workout and swimming accessories, personal care products, and more.

Fitness and Personal Training

One-on-one and small group training with nationally accredited certified student personal trainers at a very affordable rate for members of the campus community.
Pre-COVID-19, recreation provided over 50 group exercise classes per week including a wide range of formats: cycling, yoga, Pilates, Zumba, TRX, barbell strength and toning, a variety of martial arts, and HIIT. These reach over 7,000 student participants each semester.
Hawk On Wheels — the bicycle lending program — was launched in May 2013 with great success and interest. Starting with 40 bikes, recreation added 12 more in 2016 to a total of 52 bikes. Over the last nine years, recreation has serviced nearly 2,200 rental requests in total. All bicycle maintenance is completed in-house by trained student employees.
Collaborating with other programming areas, Fitness hosts a number of special events each year including glow in the dark/blacklight yoga, mountaintop yoga, paddleboard yoga, fitness competitions and guided bicycle trips.

Health Promotion

Overseen by Campus Recreation, Health Promotion provides education, outreach and advocacy to enhance the health of all students, faculty and staff.

Rec Nights

Rec nights is part of the SRC’s dedicated nighttime programming. This area was started in 2017 and provides weekly events for students. Events range from crafts like pottery painting to more speciality events such as human curling or archery tag. In Fall 2021, rec nights saw over 900 participants throughout the semester. The goal is to make the SRC an activity point everyone can enjoy, not just a place for physical activity.

Special Events

The department of Campus Recreation hosts a variety of events throughout the year for the students of Montclair State University. There are many free events as well as fundraisers for various local charities. Events are sponsored ‌by RecBoard, a student-run campus organization. The goal of the events is to help students get involved on campus while having fun.
Special events include Rec Fest, Rec World Tour, Super Bowl Bash, trips to professional sporting events and more each year.

Community Service

Prior to Covid-19, the SRC at Montclair State University hosted an annual event called “Friends Day.” This event allowed children with disabilities to come to the facility and pair up with two college-aged individuals and utilize the facility for a day of fun and entertainment. The program has been run since the facility opened and will resume once it is safe to do so.
Each year the fitness area along with the student organization called Recboard run an event called the “Turkey Ride” which is a bike ride through the town of Montclair where the staff and students raise money to purchase and deliver turkeys to local families in need and food pantries.
In 2015 the men’s hockey program, which falls under club sports, was selected as the ACHA Community Service Award winner. The honor is a nationwide award where over 180 teams from across the country are nominated. The team has also been nominated in 2016, 2019 and again this year.
Over the years campus recreation has participated in breast and heart awareness fundraising and awareness campaigns, as well as fundraising for the campus food pantry.
Coordinated a giving tree for students in need during the holidays to receive a gift.

FUN FACTS

Located 15 miles west of New York City, the second-floor fitness area and track offer patrons commanding views of the Manhattan skyline.
The SRC won two awards in 2009: “Excellence in Design Award” from the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association and “Innovative Architecture & Design Award” from Recreation Management. Over time, the department of Campus Recreation was honored with several marketing awards as well as programming and professional achievement awards.
Campus recreation is one of the largest student employers on campus employing just under 330 student leaders.
Pre COVID-19, on average 240,000 patrons pass through the SRC annually.