KU opens new locker room, weight room for football team

photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World photo

The inaugural workout, shot from above, in the new Kansas football weight room on Aug. 8, 2023.

Kansas Athletics officially opened its football team’s new locker room and weight room Tuesday afternoon, bringing to a close the first stage of upgrades to the Anderson Family Football Complex and kicking off a broader series of athletic renovations as part of the university’s “gateway project.”

Head coach Lance Leipold said the substantial changes served as a reward for the current players who have helped develop the program.

“We know this, that this program’s been behind for quite a while,” Leipold told reporters. “And this is another statement, and we have more coming, of course, that are going to show that this program, from our chancellor, our athletic director, and our boosters, that we’re in it.

“We’re not on the sidelines anymore, we’re not hoping about things, and when recruits and people start walking through they’re going to see the difference.”

The locker room improvements created space for 14 additional lockers, included a large video board at the entrance and an audio system, put a recliner in each player’s locker and added a barber’s chair. The weight room upgrades are centered on efficiency in that they feature more racks with increased functionality at each station, Director of Sports Performance Matt Gildersleeve said.

“Time is our most valuable asset,” he said. “And we got a whole heck of a lot of it back by having this facility.”

Gildersleeve added that many people provided input into the design, which ultimately serves to bolster the ways KU already runs its strength and conditioning program. Some of the new equipment is also emblazoned with program slogans like “We Will.”

“The company that made all this equipment, I’m not sure how big of fans they are of mine — they said these are the most customized racks they’ve ever had to design,” he said, “because as you guys see, the nuances of every piece of equipment here, it’s tailored specifically to us.”

He did make sure to add, though, that his players would be perfectly willing to work out without fancy amenities: “You give us a barbell and some weights, we’ll find a way to get the job done that we have to get done.”

As for the locker room, Leipold said it provides “space and comfort and it’s a gathering place.” The project wasn’t totally complete, Leipold said, until about 15 minutes before players entered it for the first time — which happened just about an hour before he spoke to reporters. (According to a schedule released by KU in February, the project began on April 10.)

Leipold added that the opening of the new locker room required the temporary removal of a gaming area which, along with a nutrition area, will be restored as part of Phase 2 of the Anderson Family Football Complex renovations.

The unveiling also came a week before KU is scheduled to officially reveal more information on its gateway project and football stadium renovations at a press conference on Aug. 15.