Iowa Wesleyan receives $250,000 gift for wrestling training facility

MT. PLEASANT - Iowa Wesleyan University will soon have a new wrestling training facility, thanks to a $250,000 gift donation.

With the help of Olympic gold medalist, Dan Gable, Iowa Wesleyan publicly announced the gift from Mark and Sandy Willis on Monday evening at the half-time of a IW women's basketball game. According to a news release from the college, Mark Willis is an alumnus of the institution who graduated in 1970, and was inducted into the IW Tiger Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. The university plans to name the new facility the 'Willis Wrestling Facility.”

During 'Dan Gable Night,” held on Monday, Dec. 16, the world-renowned wrestler and wrestling coach highlighted that, 'When you look at the sport of wrestling, there are numerous life skills that it teaches.”

Gable also added that 'there is no reason girls should not have the same opportunities as boys when it comes to what sports have to offer.”

The new facility is expected to be completed by the fall of 2020, which also will mark the launch of the university's men's and women's wrestling program. The new program was announced last May.

Funds from the Willis' gift 'will be used toward a building remodel to create a state-of-the-art wrestling training center.”

The center will be housed in a building on Taft Street, which was donated to the university in 2007 by the Randy and Karly Beavers family. Once renovations are completed, the facility will include a training area, locker rooms, a weight room and other wrestling amenities, as well as offices and a film room for the athletic program. Anticipated start date for to facility's renovations are late spring.

In their news release, Iowa Wesleyan President Christine Plunkett described the gift from the Willis family as 'significant for [the] community,” that would support the school's athletics program and 'enrollment management efforts.”

'This facility also will have an immediate and positive impact on our recruiting efforts for future Tigers,” she said.

Derek Zander, Iowa Wesleyan's director of athletics also added that, 'the facility will house all of the day-to-day operations of our teams, coaches, and staff.”

'It will greatly enhance the experience of our student-athletes and will assure potential recruits of our university's commitment to excellence to this new program,” Zander said.