Jim Richey had a vision when he took over as president at Eastern Florida State College.

He wanted to create a truly collegiate experience for the students, to give them opportunities to learn and grow in the classroom as well as outside and to feel pride in the school they attend.

Now, that vision is starting to come into focus thanks to the recently unveiled master plan, which aims to create a central hub and a student gathering spot on the Melbourne campus.And a big part of that is an opportunity Richey saw and has run with: sports.

The results are a soccer complex that has brought the NJCAA Division I Women’s Soccer National Championship Tournament, the FHSAA soccer state championships and even the Jamaican National women’s soccer team to the Melbourne campus.

“Students should have the collegiate experience they are seeking. It is important on so many fronts. It is important for retention of students,” Richey said. “When students come onto campus, they have to click with something. Is it this organization that reaches out to them? Is it the arts that interest them? They want to play intramural sports, or do they want to play varsity sports? Of course, we know that in colleges that plays a role in why a number of folks come and want to be here.”

But to make sports an integral part of the college experience, Richey knew things needed to change.

“I just felt like — consistent with my personality in a lot of different areas — if you are going to do something, you really have to do it well. That is no reflection on the people running those sports or the athletes. More of a reflection of the facilities than a lot of things,” Richey said.

What he found:

• Nobody attended the college’s games.

• The facilities were not up to par.

• Excitement was lacking.

“It never had the kind of enthusiasm that it needed to have, I think, and clearly as I became president it was an opportunity to build school spirit and a passion for the sports,” he said.

A mantra Richey said a lot early on: “What are we doing here, and what can we do here?”

New facilities

With the new soccer complex nearly complete, a scoreboard has been ordered and will be in by the end of the season. Next on the list was the tennis courts.

The school started varsity tennis last year, but had to play their matches at Fee Avenue courts because the old courts were in no condition to play on.

“It just wasn’t ideal on many fronts,” Richey said of playing matches at Fee Avenue. “So they needed a place to play, and it just seems like a good idea to keep it all together.”

There will be eight courts with lights and a building that will have drinks, tennis balls and someone working, taking reservations and making sure the facility is taken care of.

That is because, in Richey’s mind, the courts are not just for the teams, they are for the college.

“I would like to see students, faculty and staff be able to make a reservation and play,” Richey said.

But he is quick to point out that it will not be like the old courts, which were open to anyone at any time.

“We had tennis courts. They were horrific. And why were they horrific? Because we just opened it to the public and nobody managed it. We are not going to do that here,” Richey said.

And in the bigger picture, like soccer, Richey hopes to use the courts to draw other events to the college.

“I like to see them get some use in addition to the women’s team. The same things we have done with soccer, you have good facilities, you have an open administration. Why don’t we hold other events?” Richey said.

After tennis, the plan is to build a new softball field on the Melbourne campus, eliminating the field on the Palm Bay campus. The baseball facility, already receiving a face-lift, is already on the Melbourne campus. In the end, Richey plans to have all of the teams, except golf, on the campus.

“Our goal with these facilities, when I say first class, I don’t mean Giants Stadium or U.S. Open,” he said. “I am talking about quality, well-done but not overly extravagant in any way. Something that is sufficient that people would find attractive. But not luxurious, we are not doing that sort of stuff.”

The money

So where is the funding coming from?

All you see around the Eastern Florida State campus is growth. New buildings, new sports complexes, and there are plans for much more in the near future.

It is mostly coming from state money allocated for capital projects. Richey said they also use money coming in from tuition, as well as donations.

“We look at it like this, this is part of the student experience they are looking for, so student money is used, some state money is used — all allocated for capital things. Frankly, when we go about doing some of these things, we don’t hire everybody and spend millions of dollars,” Richey said. “We do it ourself. We have hundreds in the facilities department, and a lot of them have experience. They built the first baseball field. We needed engineering help, but we built it ourselves. That keeps our costs in order.”

And while it is not why the facilities are all being built, Richey and officials at the school are aware they can house other community events. And, they welcome that opportunity.

“We like things like that. We are a state college. We are a public college, so it is fantastic that our neighbors, businesses can make some money off the things that we are doing,” Richey said. “We want to be that place that people come to and say, ‘Hey, they have a nice facility. It may be a good place to go.’ Be that community partner.”

But make no mistake, the goal of these facilities is to build that student experience. Everything else is just a bonus, Richey said.

The future

The vision is taking shape, and Richey can already see a brand new Eastern Florida State College.

And what does he see in the future?

“I see people working hard, trying to be good at what they do,” Richey said. “I am going to see student athletes, of course, I am going to see crowds, but more than that, I am going to see school spirit. And frankly, if you heard me at the welcome back, a sense of pride. Someone said during that (welcome-back assembly) that you work for a college.

“I got up afterwards and said, you don’t just work for a college, you work for Eastern Florida State College. And what does that mean, we are very, very good at what we do. And that is not just my opinion, we can go on all kinds of statistics. I want to see the pride and good student-athletes.”