The Board of Visitors announced Friday that the Aquatic and Fitness Center's three-court gym will be named the Mark E. Fletcher Gymnasium in honor of former Intramural Sports Executive Director Mark Fletcher, who passed away unexpectedly in June.
Athletic Director Craig Littlepage cited "the desire for many here at the University to find an appropriate way to recognize Mark Fletcher and what he did for the University and the University Community" as the reason for the Board's decision to rename the gymnasium.
The re-naming of the basketball court in Fletcher's honor is especially significant. Though he loved all sports, he especially loved basketball and could be found frequently playing the sport in the AFC, IM Sports Interim Director Ed Rivers said.
Fletcher came to the University in 1985 and served as IM Sports director before becoming associate director for facilities. He accepted his most recent position as executive director just two years ago, Littlepage said.
Rivers, who worked with Fletcher for 23 years, said the gymnasium's new name will help memorialize its namesake.
"[It will] designate a space in memory of someone who loved this place as much as any graduate ever," he said. "It recognizes the contributions of his professional career and the way he changed the landscape of the athletic facilities."
Fletcher was committed to creating a community in which students and faculty could develop relationships removed from the University's classrooms, Rivers said. He also noted that Fletcher took a new spin on the Jeffersonian idea of student and faculty interaction, expanding it outside of the academic sphere to reach into recreational facilities, such as the AFC.
Fletcher also made significant contributions to the expansion of Scott Stadium and renovations to Memorial Gym and North Grounds Recreation Center, as well as the creation of the AFC, the Carl Smith Center, Kl
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