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DENVER - The University of Denver Division of Athletics and Recreation's Pioneer Health and Performance has opened a brand new nutrition station in the Pat Bowlen Training Center inside the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness, Associate Athletic Director for Pioneer Health and Performance Julie Campbell announced on Wednesday.

"It's a pleasure to create and launch the Pioneer Health and Performance Nutrition Station to fuel and hydrate DU student-athletes," Campbell said. "This elevates our ability to positively impact all of our sports programs and student-athletes to benefit sport performance and holistic well-being. We are fortunate to have generous partners that have made this initiative possible for DU Athletics and Recreation."

The Division of Athletics and Recreation held a soft opening on Tuesday with members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, coaches, members of the Pioneer Health and Performance staff and major donors that contributed to make this new nutrition station a possibility for DU's student-athletes.

Closet Factory CEO Mark Lestikow (BSBA '75), and his wife and President Polly, are the lead donors that helped make this Pioneer Health and Performance Nutrition Station a possibility. Polly designed, and the Closet Factory team manufactured and installed, the cabinetry that stores and displays the numerous nutritional food items to help fuel the athletes.

"I met Brandon Macneill and he told me about their idea to do a nutrition center," Polly Lestikow said. "I replied back to him 'you know we are big supporters of DU, but what you don't know is my undergraduate degree is in food, science and nutrition, and I was a registered dietitian for 20 years. So I'd love to help you with this project.' It's been really fun to be here today because so many of the students and coaches have shown such great gratitude for our contribution. The coaches are grateful that their kids can have [access to] good food, and we witnessed the soccer players grabbing food right after their practice, so [being here] is very gratifying."

This nutrition station sets out to provide convenient access to unlimited food for Denver's student-athletes, maximizing their energy, performance and recovery with nutritious choices of optimal food for athletes. The setup inside the Pat Bowlen Training Center also provides student-athletes the opportunity to better balance time demands between classes, practices and lifts.

"We can't thank Mark and Polly enough for their continued support. They have been wonderful supporters of DU over the years and this is just another example of their philanthropy," Associate Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Brandon Macneill said. "Polly also provided us with a wealth of knowledge and advice as we put this project together."

The University of Denver would like to thank its corporate sponsors: Closet Factory, Honey Stinger, Meadow Gold Dairy/Dean Foods and Pepsi Cola/Gatorade for their continued support in making this vision a reality at DU.

An additional feature to the new nutrition station includes a hydration station. Campbell's staff worked with University of Denver Sustainability Coordinator Chad King on making this campus-wide initiative part of the nutrition station to provide student-athletes easy access to fill up water bottles to support DU's environmentally friendly movement.

About Pioneer Health and Performance: Pioneer Health and Performance is a multi-disciplinary approach organized to maximize the student-athlete health, wellness and physical development related to competitive performance. A collaborative approach between Sports Performance, Sports Medicine, Sports Psychology and Sports Nutrition will enhance the total student-athlete experience. A still relatively new endeavor, Pioneer Health and Performance has already tackled some major projects such as: a concussion study with DU's Engineering department and the Human Dynamics Lab, psychological interventions with student-athletes during injury rehabilitation, hosting a medical symposium with CU Sports Medicine, hosting Reflexive Performance Reset (RPR) clinics with other strength coaches in the state and now the launch of this nutrition station.

Student-Athlete Alumni Giving Challenge:
In 2017-18, the University of Denver is holding an alumni giving challenge in an effort to increase student-athlete alumni participation in the Denver Athletics Annual Fund. The sport program with the highest percentage of alumni participation will receive an additional $10,000 of support through the generosity of an anonymous donor. Former student-athletes can make a gift online, by calling 303-871-2388 during normal business hours or by sending a check to:

Athletics Development Office
Attn: Kaley Rickert
2201 E. Asbury Avenue
Denver, CO 80208

Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneer Movement Annual Fund can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.

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