IU trustees OK $53 million project to enclose south end zone of football stadium

The Indiana University board of trustees approved the $53 million proposal at its business meeting on Friday.

The 66,575-square foot addition will include a home for the Excellence Academy, a program to help student athletes develop in areas outside of academics and athletics. The Excellence Academy will focus on things such as leadership, life skills, career counseling and nutrition.

“Now it’s a just a program, not a place,” Indiana athletic director Fred Glass said. “This gives it a place.”

The addition will also provide a place for a center for elite athlete development, with equipment and technology Glass likened to flying cars in the cartoon television show “The Jetsons.”

He said there will be things such as anti-gravity treadmills that keep pressure off the joints of athletes recovering from injuries while still allowing them to maintain their cardiovascular fitness levels. Ocular exercise machines will be used to improve reaction time.

“Kind of like whack-a-mole on steroids,” Glass said.