Texas Tech University

Sports Performance Center Grand Opening

Celebrating an iconic, donor-funded sports facility

New buildings demonstrate the physical impact of philanthropy. Texas Tech University’s Sports Performance Center is no exception. The achievement and drive of the school’s student-athletes inspired event collateral and a booklet commemorating this new training and competition venue.

Process

As construction neared completion, Texas Tech University looked to celebrate the opening of the Sports Performance Center, a $48 million building comprised of an indoor track and field venue, indoor football practice field, sports medicine and nutrition spaces, and a strength and conditioning center. It was among the largest projects funded by The Campaign for Fearless Champions, and from its ambition to impact each of the school’s more than 450 student-athletes to the litany of facilities under its sweeping roofline, everything about the facility was dramatic.

To honor the donors who made the project a reality and the student-athletes who would benefit, our design needed to capture the school spirit and dynamism of collegiate athletics. For the October 2017 grand opening, we crossed the finish line with an invitation and event collateral for alumni and donors attending the event and followed through with a brochure to share the news with a nationwide audience.

Invitation

In its school song, Texas Tech refers to its students as “fearless champions,” a term the athletics department has used to capture the aspirations of its student-athletes and brand its ongoing philanthropic campaign. We paired the vibrant red in the school’s colors with equally strong typography to extend the campaign’s brand identity throughout the event collateral.

Sports Performance Center grand opening invitation and envelope
Invitation and envelope
Sports Performance Center grand opening invitation card and sleeve
Invitation card and sleeve

A foil-stamped sleeve of red UV paper encased the invitation and referenced its red duotone background. To communicate the campaign’s momentum, we took inspiration from the forward-leaning posture of athletes in mid-sprint and created a stripe motif using the forward slash.

Event Graphics

To accommodate everyone from kickers to pole vaulters, the 156,000-square-foot Sports Performance Center is purposefully cavernous. For the grand opening, organizers needed to define a more intimate space within the venue. We designed a series of panels that framed the speaker, created a human-scaled focal point and branded the event.

Illustration of stand-up banners designed for the Sports Performance Center ribbon-cutting ceremony
Environmental graphics carried the invitation branding into the event, defining space and featuring photos of student-athletes that illustrated the Sports Performance Center’s facilities for nutrition, football, track and field, and strength and conditioning.

Continuing the invitation’s themes, the environmental graphics prominently featured the stripe motif and the school’s logo. Student-athlete photos illustrated the facility’s focus on nutrition, football, track and field, and strength and conditioning. Placing the campaign logo on the lectern emphasized the event’s philanthropic message for media.

Commemorative Booklet

Following the grand opening, Texas Tech’s athletics director wanted to showcase the Sports Performance Center to NCAA Division I coaches and Texas high school athletics directors while acknowledging the contributions of project donors. We created a commemorative booklet that highlighted both the facility’s architecture and its philanthropic origins.

Pages from the commemorative brochure celebrating the opening of the Sports Performance Center
Pages from the commemorative brochure celebrating the opening of the Sports Performance Center

Part magazine feature, part photo essay, the booklet’s concept created flexibility for sidebars, pull quotes and other layout features that empowered the reader to scan for content or dive deeply into the narrative. Weaving together portraiture, event photos from the grand opening and architectural photographs, the visual elements of the booklet furthered the storytelling for general audiences and donors alike.

Inside cover and greeting from Kirby Hocutt from the Sports Performance Center commemorative booklet
The inside covers featured the images from the ribbon-cutting ceremony’s stand up banners in a stunning red duotone that echoed the art direction of the invitation suite.
Feature story opener from the Sports Performance Center commemorative booklet
The award-winning group portrait used for the story opener features student-athletes from each of Texas Tech University’s 17 intercollegiate sports inside the Sports Performance Center.

The booklet’s design built on elements of the invitation and event graphics. Photos used for the event’s panels were repeated on the inside covers in the stunning red duotone from the invitation. Inside, a group portrait of student-athletes from each of the 17 sports at Texas Tech introduced a feature story that combined the perspectives of project donors, student-athletes, coaches and administrators.

Feature story spread from the Sports Performance Center commemorative booklet
The booklet’s feature story showcased the Sports Performance Center’s impact and features through interviews with Texas Tech student-athletes and coaches as well as project donors.
Photo essay spread from the Sports Performance Center commemorative booklet
The commemorative booklet included a photo essay that served as a visual tour of the Sports Performance Center and included images from the first meet held in the indoor track facility.

Results

By using a consistent design, the event collateral, environmental graphics and commemorative booklet amplified the story of the Sports Performance Center. Drawing inspiration from collegiate athletics and university traditions, the bold designs commemorated, celebrated and communicated the best-in-class features of an incredible building and the generosity that made it possible.

Team

Terry Greenberg

Writer

Artie Limmer

Photographer

Derrick Spencer

Photographer

Recognition

Bronze Award, Publication Design

Council for Advancement and Support of Education, District IV 2019

Bronze Award, Portrait Photography

Council for Advancement and Support of Education, District IV 2018