In the spring of 2019, student-
athletes, coaches and University
staff members moved into an
8,600-square-foot, $1.8 million
center that serves as the new home
for the men's and women's lacrosse
teams. Jacksonville University
became the first Division I
institution in the country to build
a facility dedicated solely to its
lacrosse program. And thanks to a
recent “transformational” gift from
lacrosse alumni Dave Rock ’92 and
his parents, Alvah and Susan, the
facility is now known as the Rock
Lacrosse Center.
“From an enrollment perspective,
we are trying to attract national
freshmen classes,” Athletic Director
Alex Ricker-Gilbert said. “Lacrosse
is growing. This is an opportunity
to get into really good high schools
throughout the country and not just
the Southeast region."
“This gift is not only transformative
for our program, it also deepens the
tradition of what was built over 30
years ago and will propel us into the
next 30 years,” men’s lacrosse Coach
John Galloway says.
Once prospective students choose
JU, the Rock provides a multi-
purpose home. “It’s a one-stop shop
where student-athletes can hang
out, study, watch film and get ready
for competition,” Ricker-Gilbert
said. “It also allows our coaches to
develop deeper relationships with
the students because the students
want to be there (for longer periods
of time) instead of just showing up
for scheduled meetings.”
The commitment needed to pull that
off called upon many contributors.
“We couldn’t do it without
parent support because we just
graduated our seventh class (of
student athletes),” women’s lacrosse
Associate Head Coach Paul McCord
said. “We got as many parents
involved as we could. You are
fundraising for both your building
and operating budget. So we asked
the same people to do a lot.”
For many of those parents, the
mission’s success hinged on backing
a plan that had a completion date
after their child’s graduation from
the University. Barry and Polly
Gleichenhaus’ son, Ben, became an
All-Southern Conference goalie for
the Dolphins before graduating in
2018. “The way recruiting works,
our son went on his recruiting visit
in his junior year of high school in
2013,” Barry Gleichenhaus said. “So
it took six years from that point to
get funds raised and get momentum
behind it. Both the men’s and
women’s team put their passion and
energy into it.”
If Gleichenhaus, a Colorado
businessman, had to put a list
together of the people who made
the facility a reality, the top of the
list would belong to Jacksonville
University President Tim Cost, the
former standout JU baseball pitcher
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