Southern Methodist University announced yesterday that they will be adding an outdoor pool to their existing Robson and Lindley Aquatics Complex. The project will include an 8 lane, 50 meter by 25 yard pool as well as a 20 by 40 foot teaching and therapy pool. 1 and 3 meter diving boards will also be included. The construction is notable as SMU becomes one of the few universities in the country to have both an indoor and outdoor long course pool at the same facility.
The project, which will be named the Holt Hickman Outdoor Pool, will have a budget of $11 million. The Hickman family donated $2.5 million to honor their husband and father, Holt Hickman, who swam for SMU from 1952-1954 as a sprint freestyler. The project will also be aided in funding by Bruce Robson and Steve Lindley, the namesakes for the Robson and Lindley Aquatic Center.
The Holt Hickman Outdoor Pool will serve as a major addition to the existing indoor Barr-McMillion Natatorium, which was completed in 2017 to replace the school’s legendary Perkins Natatorium. The indoor pool is a state of art complex, with spectator seating for up to 800 and a full platform diving tower that will serve as host for the 2022 AAC men’s and women’s swimming and diving championships.
In addition to the new pool, the project also includes the construction of new locker rooms, outdoor showers and a new indoor dryland training area for the Mustangs’ varsity teams.
SMU joins a very prestigious list of collegiate institutions that have both an indoor and an outdoor 50 meter long course pool in the same complex, including the University of Texas, Auburn, and Tennessee.
Not sure if anyone is still looking at this article, but in addition to Florida having indoor and outdoor 50m pools, the University of Memphis does as well! How’s that for a piece of trivia?
Needs a lazy river and a smoothie bar
Methodist. No music . No fun. Closed Sundays . Im not sure where smoothies fit in 19th C dissertations but likely banned.
Ok I’m joking , I’m a very big fan of C19th US Methodist architecture . Whole villages in sth Va are just beautiful with clean simple lines. Id live there.
Anything METREs in the US is a great leap forward
Indiana has at least 3 pools. Indoor 50 plus diving well. Outdoor 50 with teaching pool and diving well. And of course Royer where all us old guys swam. Not sure if the old pool still exists. Ask Jennifer Brinnegar she would remember swimming there.
Royer definitely still exists! But those 3 pools are all in separate facilities across campus.
Frogs just got leap frogged.
Is this the same kind of outdoor 50m pool NC State put in? Been looking forward to that one for the past 5 years.
Nc state next!
Excellent news!
What TCU Needs
What are you talking about? TCU has a 50m outdoor pool! Stop trying to bash an up and coming team, with great facilities to compliment their great coaching staff!
homie take a chill pill
Might be referring to a new pool in general.. indoor tank is 6 lane 25 yard and shallow.
TCU just needs an 8 lane pool with gutters lol
TCU recruited me and both pools were the worst pools I’ve ever swam in.
So the TCU guys can smoke SMU worse than they just did last night?