WKU cut the ribbon Thursday on the new women’s athletic facility for the Lady Toppers soccer and softball teams in an event open to the public.

The complex breaks ground for the two teams. The Lady Toppers Softball team originally shared a locker room with the Men’s Basketball team in Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers Soccer team shared their locker room in Houchens-Smith Stadium with the football team. Both stadiums are a considerable walk from the softball/soccer fields. 

The Soccer/Softball Complex houses locker rooms for the teams much closer to their home fields. The complex will also have offices for the coaches to call home. Inside the complex there will be training turf and batting cages, along with spaces for team classrooms, athletic training and nutrition. 

“So, today, I am thrilled to celebrate with you a new facility that forever transforms the operations of the WKU women’s soccer and softball teams,” WKU President Tim Caboni said. “A much-needed space equipped for training, for studying, for team meetings. An extraordinary complex that elevates the play of our current Hilltoppers, while at the same time elevating our ability to recruit future athletes to our Hill.”

The complex is part of a larger project created to help elevate student life on campus. The space itself was funded by exit fees of teams that left Conference USA in recent years. The WKU Board of Regents approved construction for the new facility in April 2022. 

“Fast forward 20 years (from the start of the program), and look where we are now,” Lady Topper Soccer Coach Jason Neidell said. “Look at what we can show to recruits. Look at the office space that we have to sit down and meet in. Look at the film room. The locker rooms are absolutely luxurious. We are so blessed and so grateful for the opportunity to have these facilities for our current student-athletes and to showcase to future student-athletes. We have come a long way in 23 years.”

The Soccer/Softball Complex will help WKU Athletics with competitiveness in recruiting athletes in the future. The complex will also help keep the talent the Lady Toppers have at WKU. These athletes hope to help WKU stay competitive in Conference USA and on a national stage.

Sports reporter Morgan Larkins can be contacted at [email protected]