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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

The BANC is open for business.

Coinciding with the first day of classes for the fall semester, the new Beauchamp Athletic Nutrition Center opened its doors Monday and served meals to an appreciative group of Baylor student-athletes.

"You can walk right over here from weights," said Aiavion Edwards, a junior football player. "It just makes it nice to stop and go. Sometimes, it's hard to park on campus, so it's real nice to park here right at our home."

First through the doors and the serving line, just after 7 a.m., were baseball players Tyler Shumpert and Collin Garrett.

"Being here (at the BANC) for breakfast, was so much nicer than being on campus," Garrett said, "and everything was right there in front of you. Plus, it has better seating and more TVs."

Conveniently located adjacent to the Allison Indoor Football Practice Facility amid the Highers Athletics Complex along the Brazos River, the BANC features a downstairs dining hall that can seat 160 people, an upstairs players' lounge equipped with three 80-inch LED televisions and a "fuel station" that will include drinks and snacks for the 500-plus student-athletes.

"I'm pretty much living the dream right now, having the ability to feed the athletes the way we want to. It's amazing," said Jana Heitmeyer, who was just hired this summer as Baylor's Director of Performance Nutrition. "It allows me to talk the same language as them. I know what foods they're getting now, I know what they're going to be getting, so I can talk to them a little bit about what foods to choose and which ones to avoid."

With the BANC directly across from the Simpson Strength and Conditioning weight room, it creates a "one-stop shop" for the student-athletes where they can work out, get academic advisement and eat meals without ever leaving the Highers Complex.

"Pretty much every one of our student-athletes comes through here every day," said Deputy Athletics Director Todd Patulski. "This becomes somewhat of a main hub for all the student-athletes. We added (an 80-spot parking lot) out front, which makes it convenient for everybody. So, we have a better one-stop shop environment, which really considers a student-athlete's busy schedule. For them to have to travel from here to Brooks Hall, back to here, then over to practice . . . is just not ideal."

Kevin Karr, Senior Project Manager with Baylor Design and Construction Services, said crews were still finishing up work this weekend and there are still some finishing touches that have to be completed.

"It's probably your typical athletic construction project, where there's always a deadline," Karr said.

"The schedules aren't going to change. With athletics construction, you just have to do what you can do to get the facility open."

Other than a "few hiccups" in the morning, Karr said the BANC opening went off without a hitch.

"For going from zero to 100 mph -- when on Friday I don't think they had even had their first test meal yet -- to actually provide meal service today, I think it's an amazing job by the dining folks and us on the construction side for giving them a facility where they could do that," Karr said.

Along with landscaping around the facility, one of the improvements still left to be done is the flooring in the dining area.

"We're looking at some options, some different concrete treatments, that we can do to the actual surface to improve the look," Karr said. "Or, we're also exploring some tile options. So, maybe we completely cover the floor and do a nice tile in here to really finish off this first-class facility."

Patulski said the landscaping and improvements in the marina area are "going to make the biggest difference."

"We already have a million-dollar view," Patulski said. "Now, if you can add some landscaping around the water -- maybe you put in a water fountain, more boats from campus recreation -- and it gives you that boathouse-type feel. That's what we were looking for from the beginning. When that occurs, I think it's going to materialize what you thought it would be -- a fine dining environment with a tremendous view and relaxing, socially."