Milan Puskar Center

After three years of construction, West Virginia University’s Milan Puskar Center, home to Mountaineer football, celebrated the completion of a $55 million renovation project in July 2021.

Thanks to the support of WVU leadership and private donors, the Puskar Center features improvements to the home-team locker room, player’s lounge, equipment room, recovery suite, Hall of Traditions, offices and team meeting rooms.

“I’m very proud of this facility,” WVU Head Football Coach Neal Brown said. “It’s got flashy. It’s got functionality, and it was renovated for a couple of different reasons. One, for our current players because they deserve it. Two, for recruiting because that’s our future and, three, as a source of pride for our players and coaches.”

The Puskar Center underwent 72,000 square feet of renovation and 13,700 square feet of expansion for new additions, such as a players’ mud room and quiet room. The changes to the Puskar Center complex are part of “Climbing Higher,” a $100 million capital campaign to support the facilities master plan for WVU athletics.

Brown continued, "I want to thank President (Gordon) Gee and his entire staff down at Stewart Hall, the Board of Governors because they made the decision to allow this project to proceed through the pandemic and to Shane Lyons, Keli Zinn and the athletics department for helping make this vision come true."

Zinn, a senior football administrator, assembled a team of committees to carefully consider every detail for the Puskar Center, right down to the color schemes, graphic choices, artifacts and displays. Players expressed gratitude for WVU’s commitment to making the upgrades.

“My first two years there were really no changes, and last year the locker room was done and the players' lounge,” senior defensive tackle Dante Stills said. “I can tell they put a lot of hard work into it, and I appreciate everyone who was involved with it.”

The changes were made with the hopes of improving the overall experience for current players like Stills, while also attracting new recruits and generating pride for fans and team members alike.

“We’ve got great momentum in recruiting, and I think this is a reason why we have that momentum,” Brown said. “I think this gives us an opportunity to compete. A lot of hard work, a lot of thought was put into it, and I’m fired up about how it’s all turned out.”

Visit wvusports.com/climbinghigher to learn more about the Puskar Center and other components of the facilities master plan, including a new golf facility and renovations to the Coliseum complex and Cary Gym. Email MAC@mail.wvu.edu or call (800) 443-2072 for more information about supporting WVU student-athletes.