Syracuse to Dedicate State-of-the-Art William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center

The nationally-ranked men's and women's rowing teams have a new home. Located in the heart of Syracuse University's campus, the William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center (Sanford RPC) includes a state-of-the-art tank room, meeting space and coaches offices and is located in The Barnes Center at The Arch, Syracuse's new wellness center that was officially dedicated on September 13^th, 2019.

For 110 years, the facility has been home to Syracuse Rowing, a program that has developed 15 Olympians, 75 academic All-Americans, and many other Syracuse student-athletes who train to compete at the highest level. A ceremony officially dedicating the Sanford RPC will be held Sunday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m.

"We are honored to have our renovated tank room named after Coach Bill Sanford and his family," said men's rowing head coach Dave Reischman. "The Sanford name is synonymous with Syracuse Rowing as Bill and six other members of his family have either coached or rowed here. Bill spent 38 winters coaching in the old Archbold Tank Room and if that does not put your name on the wall I don't know what does. The vast majority of our living alumni have been impacted by the Sanford family in a substantial way as have many members of the Syracuse community."

The history of Syracuse Rowing is on full display in the most recent renovation, including an all-time letterwinners list that features every year from 1900 to present and a timeline documenting the history of the men's and women's programs which began in 1874 and 1977, respectively.

"This facility demonstrates our commitment to provide our student-athletes with the resources to compete and excel at a national level," said Director of Athletics John Wildhack. "We strive to develop the whole student-athlete to prepare them for academic and competitive success. We appreciate the support and generosity of our lead donors who made this project a reality."

The tank room was upgraded with air conditioning, new lighting, flooring, railings, renovated coaches' offices and a conference room that will serve as a meeting space for coaches and student-athletes.

Syracuse University Athletics and the rowing programs are grateful to all who helped fund this project, including four major donors in Charles D. Harris, the James V. Breuer '72 Family, Peter and Jeanne Henriques, and Wendy Hubble.

"The newly renovated William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center is a world-class training facility uniquely positioned in the heart of the Syracuse University campus," said women's rowing head coach Luke McGee "It exemplifies our commitment to the Syracuse student-athlete and our values of excellence through academics and athletics. This will be a game-changing training site for our team that will provide every athlete with the platform to achieve their goals. The coaching staff and student-athletes are extremely excited to move into the new space and get to work!"

The William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center is named after longtime men's rowing coach Bill Sanford, who rowed for the Orange, was a men's freshman coach (1963 to 1968) and the varsity men's coach from 1968 through 2002, and his family members, who have dedicated much of their lives to the rowing programs at Syracuse and in the community.

Sanford's rowing career began as a student-athlete at Syracuse University in 1960. He rowed for three years on the varsity squad following his first year in the freshman crew. He was a team captain in 1963. The head coach of the Orange for 34 years, Sanford earned his bachelor's degree in liberal arts in 1963 and his master's in psychology in 1969.

Sanford's watershed coaching moment occurred in 1978 when the SU varsity eight captured the national championship by winning the prestigious IRA Regatta. He also coached the Orange varsity four to an IRA victory in 1981. In 1990, Sanford's varsity crew finished the regular season undefeated. Sanford also developed five Olympic rowers during his coaching tenure. In addition, during Sanford's tenure, the 1976, 1977 and 1978 freshman eights, coached by Drew Harrison, won three straight IRA championships.

Sanford's daughters, Kris, Jennifer and Shawn, also have rowing in their blood. Kris was the Syracuse women's head coach from 1996 through 2010 after a successful intercollegiate rowing career at the University of Washington. She led the Orange women to the inaugural NCAA Championship regatta in 1997, and coached teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship regatta in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005. In 2001 the Orange finished third at the Eastern Sprints and sixth at the NCAA Championship, including the varsity eight that was the first to advance to a national championship grand final.

A 1993 graduate of Syracuse University, Jennifer is in her 23rd season as the head coach at the University of Connecticut, while Shawn was the first female coxswain for the Orange men's team, competing in that role from 1985 to 1987. Bill's brother, Paul, was an assistant at Syracuse during Bill's tenure from 1990-91 through 1998-99.

Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse to Dedicate State-of-the-Art William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center

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