CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University Athletics announced on Monday a new student-athlete nutrition and recovery station project ahead of the university's annual Giving Joy Day on April 3. The Gatorade Fuel Station will be privately funded with nearly $100,000 already contributed specifically for the project, including a large seed donation from PepsiCo/Gatorade. Other private donors have already contributed $10,000.

EWU Athletics is asking Eagle fans to support the project with a donation on Giving Joy Day and beyond. Your gift helps Eagle student-athletes reach their full potential both on the field or court and in the classroom.

About the Gatorade Fuel Station

The Gatorade Fuel Station will help Eastern Washington student-athletes stay on track nutritionally by offering pre- and post-workout healthy snacks, fruits, smoothies, protein shakes and Gatorade products. This type of amenity has become the standard across all of NCAA Division I athletics.

"The Gatorade Fuel Station will benefit all of our 14 teams and over 300 student-athletes," said Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey. "Currently, we are handling nutritional needs by having snacks in our locker rooms or in the weight room. To compete at a high-level, we need to have a dedicated space that is supervised and offers pre- and post-workout nutrition, snacks and supplements."

Primary focuses of the station will be energy, performance and recovery, while helping student-athletes manage their time more effectively between training and academic pursuits.

"We are setting a foundation for our current and future student-athletes to be able to achieve their peak athletic performance," said Assistant Athletic Director of Athletic Performance and former NFL player T.J. Conley. "I've experienced first-hand what some of the best athletes in the world do to train their bodies and train their minds, and just as importantly, what they do to fuel their bodies and minds and refuel to sustain that performance.

"This new Gatorade Fuel Station will provide us with a space to support our championship behaviors."

The Gatorade Fuel Station will be located in the Physical Education Activities Building on the lower level, renovating an 800 square foot space previously used as a racquetball court. The total cost will be approximately $150,000 for the build plus monthly expenses for food.

"Eagle Nation, I'm challenging you to help us out with the Gatorade Fuel Station for our student-athletes," added EWU Football Head Coach Aaron Best. "We have to finish this up, we have a ton of momentum, but we need to finish this thing off before we enter the next academic year. It's going to make us better pre-practice, post-practice, pre-meeting, post-meeting.

"It's a big step in the momentum that we need and we're counting on you to get this done and finish the process up."

Pending full funding, construction for the project is scheduled to begin this summer, to be open and operational in Fall 2023.

Meet your Development Team

The EWU Athletics Development Team is here to help you invest in Eagle student-athletes as they compete at the highest level both on and off the field. For as little as $50 per year, you can join the Eagle Athletic Fund (EAF), supporting EWU's 14 sport programs. Our team can help you "Advance the Standard" of Eagle Athletics in a variety of ways, from season tickets to EAF contributions to specific focus area funds, such as the Gatorade Fuel Station.

Learn more at the newly-refreshed Eagle Athletic Fund website: ewu.edu/eaf

Reach out to our team today!