For an athletic program with basketball teams that compete at the national level, Northwest Indian College has always lacked a basic function: an on-campus gym.
That changed last June when the college opened its Health and Wellness Center. This is the first season the men and women Eagles have had their own place to practice.
“It’s truly amazing because it gives these college guys more of an opportunity to get more gym access,” men’s basketball assistant coach and former player Trazil Lane said. “We now have our own gym that feels like home. They have been waiting for some time to get a floor.”
Before this season, practices were a patchwork of rentals and gestures of goodwill from other community venues.
“We are thankful for the Lummi Boys and Girls Club,” NWIC Athletic Director James Mathias said. “We had practices there in the morning before the kids went there after school and sometimes canceled practices if they had a half day. Jerome Toby at Lummi Nation School let us use their gym. We rented gyms when we had to.”
The cost of the new facility was around $8 million. The fundraising came from several sources, including the Washington State Department of Commerce, several tribal communities, Puget Sound Energy and community members.
The facility has a full-size basketball court with bleachers and a scorer’s table for home games, a leg compressor machine and sports medicine table, an office for the athletic department, and a conference room to watch film, study for classes, and have food and drinks for the student-athletes.
“It has been a dream come true for the community,” Mathias said. “We have some community members who never were able to see us play before. There is more of an environment at the games.”
The environment was evident at the men’s and women’s sophomore night on Feb. 28, similar to a senior night for two-year colleges, with a recognition of the sophomore players. Sophomore basketball players were honored in between the men’s and women’s games. The ceremony included the families meeting at half court with the coaches awarding the players a framed jersey and a speech about their impact at NWIC.
The facility was also scheduled to have locker rooms for both teams, a fitness and recovery center, a corridor for athletic offices and other spaces for community purposes. However, the plan to build the new gym and wellness center was in the works for more than a decade. The prices of materials continued to rise, especially after COVID-19, forcing NWIC to limit the Health and Wellness Center’s accessories.
“We wish we had some locker rooms and we do a makeshift concession stand,” women’s basketball coach Tony Lalonde said. “It could be easy to focus on the things we don’t have, but it is easy for us to focus on it being a big positive for us. I can’t imagine not having a gym, This was one of the draws for me to coach here.”
The facility has already played a pivotal role for the college. NWIC has utilized the space for community activities, graduation and physical education classes, including creating a pickleball class. The college has also hosted 11 home games this season, allowing them to save money from traveling as far as Tulalip for “home” games or renting other facilities.
Since NWIC is one of 37 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) recognized by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium in the United States, the school draws students from other tribal nations from Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and other states.
Both its men’s and women’s basketball teams are competitive: the men have won three American Indian Higher Education Consortium National Basketball Championship titles in program history while the women recently placed second in 2023.
Players who come to the school from out of state stay in dorms near the gym. The new facility allows players and coaches to access the gym nearly all hours. Mathias joked it has kept his young son focused on something else other than Fortnite, a popular video game.
With the 2024–25 basketball season nearly over, the athletic department is looking to raise more funds to expand the facility and acquire all their needs, such as locker rooms. Until then, the Eagles are grateful to finally have a home court.
“We are seeing this facility grow every month and the students wanting to get in here,” Mathias said. “You are going to see the strides of progress from both teams.”
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
