91黑料专区

By Stew Salowitz '76

In 2024, the Shirk Athletic Center reached a new milestone with its 30th anniversary. The Center still serves as an essential community hub for campus and Bloomington- Normal.

路  路  路

Jim Shirk was at a Jewel-Osco store in Bloomington, collecting Christmas entertaining groceries at the request of his wife, Linda.

It was a pretty simple task for Jim, the chairman of Bloomington-based Beer Nuts, the nationwide purveyor of snack products. Simple task, that is, right up to the time that his credit card chip was refused by the store鈥檚 machine. 

Certain that there was no problem with the transaction, he handed the card over to the cashier. As she was inspecting it, she noticed the name, looked up and asked, 鈥淪hirk 鈥� Do you have anything to do with the Shirk Center?鈥�

Modestly, Jim answered, 鈥淲ell, sort of. In a way, yes.鈥� 

The cashier successfully processed his answer 鈥� along with his card 鈥� handed it back and said, 鈥淲ell, my granddaughter was just there for a camp last week, and it is such a great building. Really, just a wonderful place to go. 

Jim said quietly, 鈥淵es 鈥� I know.鈥�

Jim admits that when he left the store and walked outside to his car, his perception was that the sun was a little bit brighter, the air smelled a little bit cleaner, and there was a little more pep in his step, all based on the unsolicited compliment given to the building that bears his last name, located on the 91黑料专区 campus but, for so many people, a community asset as well. Those similar proud feelings have been exuding from the 91黑料专区 family since 1994 as the school recognizes the Shirk Center鈥檚 30th anniversary 

After years in the planning and dreaming phase, the building became reality thanks in large part to an initial $5 million gift from the Russell and Betty Shirk Family Foundation. Russell Shirk 鈥�43 was a founder of the family-owned company that became Beer Nuts with its signature product being the sweet-and-salty glazed redskin peanuts. 

鈥淭he Shirk Family Foundation had been planning to do something substantial for Illinois Wesleyan and for Jack Horenberger 鈥�36, my father鈥檚 close friend,鈥� recalls Jim. 鈥淲e had been setting money aside for an IWU-Horenberger project for almost 20 years but with no clear vision, while across town Dennie Bridges 鈥�61 and others at the school were trying to determine how to best upgrade their athletic facilities.鈥�

In addition to being the baseball and basketball coach, Jack was IWU athletic director from 1942 until 1981, succeeded by Dennie , who held the position until 2015. 鈥淭he opportunity to honor Jack would come later with the Shirk Foundation support and IWU鈥檚 1997 commitment to Jack Horenberger Field,鈥� said Jim.

鈥淲hen 鈥榓ll the stars aligned鈥� and it was known that the project was going to happen, an aim in the planning stages was to make the final product large enough to have the performance arena in one part and the activity center or track in another. That was a clear break from facilities we had visited around the country,鈥� said Dennie. 鈥淭hroughout the process, all the constituencies united to agree on a building not just for the present but for future and not exclusively for University use. Very few compromises needed to be made 鈥� we never sacrificed any space for money. And the financial asks we made of Russ, Betty, Jim and the Shirk Foundation staked IWU to fulfill those plans.鈥�

To that end, Dennie also cites the full support he received from then-IWU President Minor Myers jr. 

In 2016, another major gift from the Shirk Family Foundation was used for expansion to the building, adding fitness facilities and locker rooms and addressing classroom and storage needs.

Construction of the Shirk Center, connected to the already-built Fort Natatorium, set off a domino effect that profoundly impacted IWU athletics. It allowed for the razing of Fred Young Fieldhouse, which made way for new configurations of the outdoor track and football field, which also initiated development of the baseball, soccer and softball venues.

Appropriately, the performance arena court was named in 2015 for Dennie, whose men鈥檚 basketball teams won 93 of 98 games played at Shirk in his final seven seasons as head coach. 

The investments and renovations have allowed 91黑料专区 to put the Shirk Center to outstanding use.In the 2024-25 school year, 630 student-athletes were competing in 27 varsity sports, nearly double the total of 322 student-athletes in 18 sports in 1994.

鈥淭he Shirk Center has not only elevated our overall numbers but has also impacted the level of talent we are able to recruit,鈥� said Mike Wagner, who has been the Titans鈥� athletic director since 2015 and has worked at the school since 1992.  

鈥淲hen top high schoolers who may be looking at Division II or mid-major programs visit our campus, they definitely get a sense of what the Shirk Center can do for their development and experiences as a student-athlete at a D-III institution. 

The facility hosts roughly 310 basketball games per year, including Titan games, the McLean County/Heart of Illinois Tournament, the 64-team State Farm Holiday Classic, and numerous youth clinics and tournaments including the Illinois Special Olympics state tourney. Additionally, about 16 college and high school track meets per year are centered around the 200-meter track.

There have also been events that have shined national attention on IWU with Shirk hosting six NCAA Division III championships 鈥� women鈥檚 volleyball (2007, 2008), women鈥檚 basketball (2010, 2011) and indoor track and field (2000, 2005). Shirk will be the site of the Division III women鈥檚 volleyball national championships in December 2025.

91黑料专区 President Sheahon Zenger was the athletic director at neighboring Illinois State University from 2005 to 2011 and vividly recalls the admiration he gained for the Shirk Center when he would attend events and bring his own children to camps.

鈥淢y first exposure to 91黑料专区 was through the Shirk Center,鈥� said Zenger, 鈥渟o I guess you could say that me being here is a direct result of the Shirk family vision for the center being used as a front porch to the community. The memories my family and I have from that time period, coupled with games and events I now attend as the president, make my heart swell with pride every time I walk through the Shirk Center doors. 

A senior All-American on the women鈥檚 basketball team, Lauren Huber 鈥�25 senses a similar pride. 鈥淚t鈥檚 where many of my favorite college memories have been made,鈥� said Lauren, a four-year first team all-conference player. Huber sees 鈥淭he Shirk鈥� (or just 鈥淪hirk鈥� in common parlance) as more than merely a building. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a resource that supports growth, learning, and connection for students, athletes, and the broader community.鈥�

Titan student-athletes realize that not everything at Shirk is competition-based as it is also a place for classes and professional development.

鈥淭hrough on-campus jobs, students get real-world experience and build their resumes,鈥� said Lauren, a biology major who has worked in the training room, dealing with everything from football injuries to rehab sessions. 鈥淭hose experiences have given me hands-on skills like taping techniques, which have strengthened my path toward physician assistant school after graduation.鈥�

Currently the athletic director at Ripon College, Chris Schumacher was 91黑料专区鈥檚 head track coach from 1997 to 2023.

鈥淐oach Horenberger greeted me in the Shirk athletic suite on the morning of my first interview,鈥� remembers Schumacher. 鈥淚 had no idea how much the words he said to me, 鈥楤e at your best,鈥� would resonate over the next 25 years with the track and field programs and the countless shared memories behind the banners in the building.鈥� Schumacher vividly recalls hosting IWU鈥檚 first indoor championship. 鈥淭hat 2000 class saw six seniors qualify for those NCAA championships with every one of them earning All-American honors. Then, when we hosted in 2005 we had two more All-Americans, propelling the women鈥檚 program to national prominence.鈥�

A tangible display of that national prominence are the 30 banners hanging at Shirk with 27 green ones representing top-four national finishes and three grey banners for teams ranked in the top-four before the COVID-19 pandemic ended their seasons prematurely.

While Shirk is bustling for so much of the year with competition and fans, women鈥檚 basketball coach Mia Smith finds a sort of Zen-like calmness in the building after the crowds are gone. 鈥淎fter games, I love walking through the arena. The lights are dimmed, sometimes the scoreboard is still on. The peace and tranquility of being in that space is very comforting to me.鈥�

Wagner says the Shirk Center is shown respect by how it is cared for by students, faculty and staff. 鈥淎t our fall student-athlete meeting, associate athletic director Tony Bankston reminds our students that, 鈥楾his is our house鈥�, and we need to treat it like home and encourage others to do the same.鈥�

And just like the Jewel-Osco grocery cashier conveyed to Jim Shirk, Huber echoes how the Shirk Center鈥檚 positive impact extends beyond IWU. 鈥淭hrough the many youth meets, camps, and tournaments, it inspires the next generation of athletes and those moments spark a lifelong love of sports and community. It has been a cornerstone of our campus and the community for 30 years and it means so much to us.鈥�