Dec. 1, 2023 marks a historic day for Northwestern State University of Louisiana, as the ground was broken to prepare for the new David and Sherry Morgan Health Performance Center.
The groundbreaking ceremony was joined by many notable Louisiana officials, including mayor of Natchitoches, Ronnie Williams Jr., Representative Alan Sebaugh (R), 18th President of NSU, Chris Maggio, Senator Louie Benard (R), Senator Jay Luneau (D) and Sherry and David Morgan, namesakes of the new health performance center.
Marcus Jones, NSU President, explained that the renovation and expansion of the athletic complex is a major milestone for NSU athletics.
“Not only is it a symbol of progress and pride, but it is also an investment in our coaches, staff, student athletes and future demons. For NSU to remain competitive, we must recruit the highest caliber of student athletes. Modern recruiting standards are based on the expectations of prospective student athletes and the quality of facilities is a major factor in the decision making process of every student athlete,” Jones said.
This new state of the art building will reside beside the NSU Athletic Fieldhouse, located between Turpin Stadium, Brown-Stroud Field, Prather Coliseum, Lady Demon Softball Field and Walter P. Ledet Track and Field Complex. This center will be the health performance home for 14 intercollegiate sports at NSU.
The David and Sherry Morgan Health Performance Center will include a strength and conditioning facility, offices, a lounge, an artificial turf area and a nutrition center, Jones said. “Being able to showcase a state of the art facility such as the one that will be built here will give NSU an advantage over our peers and help us to attract a high caliber recruit.”
With the completion of the new health performance center, will come transformations of the NSU Athletic Fieldhouse, including new training rooms and a sports medicine rehabilitation center. Jones believes this will enhance the medical care provided to student athletes for all 14 intercollegiate sports who will have access.
Part of the funding for the David and Sherry Morgan Health Performance Center came from Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. Kirk Solieau, Chief Executive Officer of NRMC Hospital, said that the 500 thousand dollars given for the health performance center will strengthen the community and NSU, which will in turn strengthen NRMC as an organization.
David and Sherry Morgan are both alumni of NSU, who met in class, and recently celebrated their 50 year anniversary. David describes his achievements as a turtle on a fencepost, something that you do not see often, but you know that the turtle did not get on the fencepost on his own, without help.
“I feel like we are living the dream. Things have worked out very well,” David Morgan said. Both David and Sherry were first generation students in a fraternity and sorority, respectively. David was involved in SGA, and spent time as Vic the Demon. He met his future wife in a business class, and they now have three children and seven grandchildren.
“Northwestern put me on the right path. It gave me the opportunity to excel,” David Morgan said. David loves the small community feel of NSU, and how personable it is.
While David did not physically play any sports, he understands how important athletics are, saying athletics is the window that the world sees how you are performing, which makes it an honor for the couple to be able to provide the funding for this building.
