West Texas A&M started a busy week of impactful news with the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the state-of-the-art Bain Athletic Complex on Tuesday morning on campus.

The fully complete Bain Athletic Complex, located just west of Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium, has been a 15-year, $12.5 million project. The complex was the dream of Dr. Barbara and the late Dr. Ray Bain, whose family is among the school’s most generous supporters.

WTAMU invited faculty, coaches, boosters, fans and the media to celebrate the monumental event and get their eyes on the new digs.

“It’s been a long journey,” WTAMU President Dr. Walter V. Wendler said. “The Bain family helped get this over the finish line and we’re thankful for it. It’s a first-class facility and when our student-athletes see this they will know this school is a great place to be. It feels good to say it’s finally done. It was meaningful to Mike Bain. This was a dream to his dad and now we can see how it is going to impact West Texas A&M.”

During his speech at the ribbon cutting, President and CEO of First United Bank, Mike Bain, summed it up best.

“Good things come to those who wait, and today is that day for West Texas A&M.”

The new Bain Athletic Complex boasts a team meeting room, new locker room for both track and field teams, a nutrition station, conference room and offices for the football and track coaches.

“It’s a game changer,” WTAMU head football coach Josh Lynn said. “I don’t many Division II programs that have the resources that we have now. It’s a space that is well located and it makes it efficient for student-athletes. I’m happy with the overall vision. It will make us better not only as a football team but in the recruiting piece which is critical.

“It has 150-seat meeting room you can break into three separate meeting rooms. You need a space like that because you’re constantly meeting. We are reporting 150 players this year so now we can come here every day and get things addressed.”

Senior linebacker JT Cavender has seen this project grow since his freshman year. With Cavender now being a senior leader for the Buffs, Cavender is excited to get to use the new facility.

“The Activity Center was the meeting place we had,” Cavender said. “I’m not knocking the AC at all but having this new facility gives WTAMU the ability to recruit and it makes us want to be in a meeting room and stay focused. I believe it will help the play on the field. All the seniors are sad it got done during our last year, but we’re glad we get to enjoy it for one full year.”

The busy week for WTAMU continues as the school will introduce new vice president of athletics, Doug Lipinski, to the public with a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.

On Thursday, head football coach Josh Lynn and select players will attend Lone Star Conference Media Day in McKinney to gear up for the 2024 football season.

How the project developed over the years 

• Construction on the first phase of the complex was completed in 2012 with a 3,900-square-foot locker room for the football team.
• Phase II, which was completed in 2016, included a 7,600-square-foot weight room with capacity for 500 student-athletes.
• Phase III was completed in 2018, providing an athletic training room and locker rooms for the women’s and men’s soccer teams.
• The final phase provides more modern office space for administrators and coaches, track and field locker rooms and the Piehl Family Hall, which will provide a large team meeting room space.