Photo Gallery from groundbreaking ceremony

The UTEP men and women's basketball teams took a giant step toward a new era with the groundbreaking for the state-of-the art $13 million FosterºStevens Basketball Center on Wednesday morning. Dignitaries including UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio, Director of Athletics Bob Stull, Paul Foster and Jeff Stevens were on hand for the historic event.

"I want to thank Paul Foster, and Jeff and Sharon Stevens for their lead gift which enabled us to move forward on this project," Stull said. "We are so excited about this facility, as it will enable us to do so many things.

"We have been able to move forward with our strategic planning thanks to the vision and support of Dr. Diana Natalicio," Stull said. "When I came here in 1998, there were a lot of things I thought we needed to do and I had a lot of plans. Thanks to her support, we were able to move forward with all of the new facilities that we have built."

The breathtaking facility will feature two practice courts, a strength and conditioning center, a sports medicine center, two academic/film rooms, coaches' offices, locker rooms, an equipment room and two lounge areas for the UTEP men's and women's basketball programs.

The facility will be located on the corner off Mesa Street and Glory Road and will be constructed to reflect the Bhutanese architecture featured throughout the entire UTEP campus.

"This is a wonderful thing to be celebrating at the beginning of the academic year," Natalicio said. "The generosity of good friends like Paul Foster and Jeff and Sharon Stevens, who committed six million dollars to this practice facility, created a foundation for us then to seek the support of other donors who would contribute and help make this into the facility that it is going to be.

"UTEP is going to great places," Natalicio said. "Danny Olivas demonstrated that the sky is not the limit for UTEP, and we are going for as high of goals as you can imagine."

Tony Barbee and Keitha Adams, respective head coaches for the men's and women's basketball programs at UTEP were also in attendance, and the significance of the day's events was evident to both individuals.

"On behalf of the women's basketball program, I want to thank Paul Foster and Jeff and Sharon Stevens for this gracious commitment to our program," Adams said. "This is a great addition to our program and to the university."

"I want to thank Paul Foster and Jeff and Sharon Stevens for their unbelievable support and gift that allows us to have this facility," Barbee said. "This building is going to be a tremendous asset to our program and to the UTEP campus."

Completion date for the 43,000 square-foot facility is targeted for October 2008.

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