Lepley Sports Center

Built: 1962 | Type: recreational

Quick Facts

• Ground-Breaking Ceremony: October 12, 1961
• Building Dedication: March 12, 1962
• Cost: $1,320,063.18
• Architect: O'Dell, Hewlett, and Luckenbach, Inc.
• Construction: Erikson and Lindstrom Construction Co.
• Funding: OU Foundation (student fees; donor and foundation support)
• Specifications: 74,021 sq.ft.
• Namesake: Hollie L. Lepley, who served as Director of Physical Education from 1959 to 1979

History

Student interest in a wide range of athletics activities - from team sports such as swimming, tennis, and track to recreational sports such as squash and dance - prompted the creation of the Hollie L. Lepley Sports and Recreation Center. Featuring an olympic-sized swimming pool, weight room, and centers for individual and group sports, the recreation center engaged the initial campus community to take care of their bodies as well as their minds. During the building's dedication in 1962, director of Physical Education Hollie L. Lepley was ceremoniously dunked in the swimming pool by a prankish pair of undergraduates in celebration of the special occasion.