New Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed says new practice facility is 'critical'

Upon being introduced Thursday as Georgetown's new athletic director, Lee Reed vowed to base his decision-making on the best interests of the Hoyas' 750-plus student-athletes from an academic, social and competitive standpoint.

To that end, Reed said he viewed construction of an on-campus practice facility as "a critical piece" of providing the best college experience.

"I'll work with our senior management team, and I'll work with fundraisers in our athletic program to move forward in raising the money that is necessary to build that facility," Reed said when asked whether he intended to make the project a priority. "Yes, it is critical to us."

University officials unveiled plans for such a project -- a five-story, 90,000-square-foot building to house locker rooms, sports medicine offices, weight training facilities, administrative offices and a basketball court -- in September 2007. But plans have languished in the absence of a concerted fundraising effort.

Meantime, Louisville, Villanova and arch-rival Syracuse, among others, have opened similar facilities to accommodate their athletes and impress prospective recruits.

Georgetown's 58-year-old McDonough Arena, by contrast, is cramped and heavily booked, with the volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams juggling time on its lone court.

Reed, who assumes his duties May 1, comes to Georgetown from Cleveland State, a member of the Horizon League, where he had been athletic director for eight years.

The move to Georgetown represents a major step for the former Cleveland State guard, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from New Mexico.

Georgetown sponsors 29 sports for men and women, compared with Cleveland State's 17. The Hoyas men's basketball team drew an average crowd of 12,040 to their home games last season; the Vikings averaged 2,800.

But Reed said his experience and values were solidly in line with Georgetown's.

"Great athletic programs are coach driven, student-athlete centered and administrator assisted," Reed said. "The model that we have here [at Georgetown] -- balancing and committing to academic excellence and competitive success -- is the model that should be followed throughout the country. Georgetown has it right."