In a season sure to be full of changes for the Falcon men’s soccer team, the most noticeable for players – outside of a new coach – may be their brand new locker room.

Program alumni from as far back as the 1960s to recent graduates provided the program the money needed to build the $30,000 locker room.

And with the financial difficulties the University is currently enduring, any improvements would have been hard to come by otherwise. The team didn’t even have to hire an outsider to design the new room.

Right winger Chuko Evwaraye, an architecture major, spent his summer designing and overseeing construction of the locker room as part of an internship.

‘Coach [Eric] Nichols came to me and told me that he liked my design projects,’ Evwaraye said. ‘So he had the idea to let me put together a 3-D rendering of the locker room, to get the ball rolling.’

Evwaraye took the challenge a step further and turned the project into an entire summer internship, collaborating with Nichols on design aspects as well as managing final construction.

That final construction includes a flat screen television and built in wooden lockers for each player.

Senior Thomas McLean was blown away by the locker room’s new appearance.

‘It’s really top class,’ McLean said. ‘It is very professional looking. It’s a million times better than what we used to have.’

Fellow senior Jacob Lawrence was also grateful to the alumni who contributed to the project.

‘It’s unbelievable. It’s one of the best locker rooms in the Mid-American Conference,’ Lawrence said. ‘We are really grateful for the money we got from the alumni; hopefully this will signify one of the changes we will make this year.’

Senior defender Tyler Deal appreciates all the comforts of the new locker room and was glad to see the old one replaced.

‘Last year, we had these little metal lockers that were recycled year to year, so I’m really excited about the new ones,’ Deal said. ‘They are professional quality. We have surround sound and a big screen TV. It’s really nice.’

Nichols summed it up best when speaking about the contributions from the former coaches and players.

‘Those guys really helped us financially, with the locker rooms and some money for scholarships,’ Nichols said. ‘They want to share the memories and help us paint the picture of tradition that this program used to be.’

The Falcon players and coaching staff see the new locker room as an investment into the program’s future as nice facilities are a way to capture recruits’ interest in any sport.