Kent State University
Kent, OH
MISSION
The Department of Recreational Services aims to foster a lifelong commitment to health and wellness for the people we serve through exceptional programs, learning opportunities, services and facilities. Our staff includes programmers, administrators and more than 200 student employees all focused on creating an outstanding experience for the people we serve.
FACILITIES
Student Recreation and Wellness Center — The Student Recreation and Wellness Center features 153,000 square feet of state-of-the-art fitness amenities. Opened in April of 1999, the facility has won numerous architectural design awards and has been featured in magazines as one of the top recreation facilities in the nation.
Tri-Rec — This new 7,000 square-foot fitness facility, opened in January 2017, is exclusively open to on-campus residents only. Located above the Tri-Towers Rotunda, this convenient space includes more than 70 exercise machines, functional equipment and free weights for an in-and-out workout.
Student Recreation Fields — The Student Recreation Fields feature two lighted multipurpose fields, a picnic pavilion, restrooms and equipment storage. The fields are utilized by intramural and club sports on a regular basis. They are also available for general use and rentals.
Kent State Ice Arena — The Kent State Ice Arena boasts two rinks, a party room and a snack bar. Offering Learn to Skate and Learn to Play Hockey lessons, the Ice Arena also rents ice time to local organizations and is the home rink for the Kent State Club Hockey Team and the Kent Figure Skating Club.
Crooked River Adventures — Crooked River Adventures is a canoe and kayak livery based at Tannery Park in downtown Kent, OH that offers canoeing, kayaking, tubing and stand-up paddle boarding down the Cuyahoga River. The livery is open seasonally from April to October and sees an average of 2,500 participants each year.
Allerton Sports Complex — The Allerton Sports Complex includes four softball fields and a concession stand. The complex serves more than 32,000 players each year. The facility is used by intramural and community leagues in the addition to private rentals.
Kent State University Disc Golf Course — Developed in Fall 2014, the Kent State University Disc Golf Course offers 18 holes over a two-mile course and connects our existing facilities to establish an official Recreation Corridor at Kent State University.
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
We offer a wide variety of programming for Kent State students as well as faculty/staff and even our local community members. From Outdoor Adventure and customized programming to private swim lessons, we have programs for all ages and interests.
- Aquatics swim lessons and certifications
- 22+ Club Sports
- Crooked river adventure kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddle boarding
- Customized team building and leadership challenge
- Flashfleet bike share
- Fundraising events including Zumbathon, Pedal for Heroes and Flash-a-thon
- Ice skating and hockey
- Indoor climbing wall and low-ropes course
- 50+ intramural sports programs each semester
- 20+ outdoor adventure trips per year
- Nearly 630 PEAK youth summer campers over 10 weeks
- 2,000+ SilverSneakers members
- Community offerings like Safety Day, siblings weekend and trick-or-treating
FUN FACTS
– 10% of all Recreational Services participants are international students and 8% of our student staff has international status
– 35% of all Kent State students engage in a program on average once a week
– Our Kent State Club Sports teams competed in National Championship tournaments in 2016-2017 in Equestrian, Gymnastics, Bowling and Women’s Rugby Nationals Championships this year and Men’s Lacrosse were the 2017 Midwest North Conference Champions.
– The new Kent State of Wellness HR initiative has created opportunities for more than 2,500 faculty/staff members to take advantage of various fitness programming and ‘Free Friday’ _usage of our facility.
– More than 40 high school hockey teams from 3 different states use our Ice Arena annually
– Our new satellite facility, Tri-Rec recorded more than 8,000 entries in its first 2 weeks of being open
– PEAK Summer camp had more than 630 youth campers last summer
– Recreational Services employs more than 200 students each academic year with an average GPA of 3.17
– One of our many service initiatives includes removing more than 8 tons of trash from the Cuyahoga River each year
– Hosted the Ohio Special Olympics Winter Games for the 35th year and the premiere Kent State sled hockey team
