Jerry McCormick Strength and Conditioning Center

On Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 Gerard "Jerry" Patrick McCormick was memorialized at Mercyhurst College, when officials publicly unveiled the much anticipated Jerry McCormick Strength and Conditioning Center, a varsity athletes-only weight-lifting and conditioning facility constructed at the east end of the college’s Ice Center.

Construction of the 2,970-square-foot facility, which will support the training demands of Mercyhurst’s 600+ varsity athletes, is estimated at $250,000 and includes nearly $117,000 in equipment. It is funded through the college’s capital budget and a substantial six-figure gift from Mercyhurst College Trustee Owen McCormick in honor of his younger brother, Jerry, who died on July 28, 1985, at the age of 24. Jerry McCormick was a well-known and versatile athlete at Kanty Prep, a standout in football, basketball and baseball who went on to graduate from the University of Notre Dame before entering the family business, the Joseph McCormick Construction Company.

Owen McCormick cut the ribbon, signaling the center’s opening, while Msgr. David Rubino, special assistant to Mercyhurst President Dr. Tom Gamble, blessed the new center. Comments were made by Gamble, Mercyhurst Provost Dr. James Adovasio and Marlene Mosco, chair of the college’s board of trustees.

“We are deeply grateful to Owen McCormick for his generosity and we embrace the opportunity to memorialize his brother, an outstanding athlete in his own right,” Gamble said. “I think we can take great pride in naming this center after a man whose life was the embodiment of the success that we hope all our athletes can achieve, both academically and athletically."