USC Unveils The $70-Million, 110,000-Square-Foot John McKay Center

The University of Southern California’s brand new $70-million, 110,000-square-foot athletic facility was unveiled to the media Sunday afternoon, and the John McKay Center certainly did not disappoint as associate senior athletic director Mark Jackson led the extensive tour.

Located directly west of Heritage Hall, the new building is a secured facility strictly designed for the use of student-athletes and USC athletics personnel. Each student-athlete has been finger- and thumb-printed, so that the front computer will recognize his/her hand and grant access to the facility.

Upon entry, one is immediately greeted by beautiful pictures of USC’s student-athletes posing together on Malibu’s picturesque El Matador Beach. Star quarterback Matt Barkley is shown, but so are 20 other USC student-athletes, each representing a different USC team. Although football undoubtedly reigns supreme at USC, Jackson emphasized that the facility was designed for all of the teams to enjoy and is most certainly “not a football building.” Read more >>

Milton-Jones and Ross Reunited by Basketball

On a hot Sunday afternoon in July, Los Angeles Sparks forward DeLisha Milton-Jones relished in shooting around with her teammates. The one they call “Sunshine” was about to make her 400th career WNBA start, but it was business as usual for the 37-year-old forward, who smiled before every one of her previous 399 starts.

Since Milton-Jones played her first professional game more than 15 years ago, she’s built an impressive resume: Two WNBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, three WNBA All-Star selections, two FIBA gold medals and the list goes on.

But long before any of these accolades, current Sparks head coach Carol Ross recognized something special in young Delisha Milton (before she got married and added “Jones” to her name) more than 20 years ago.

Ross, who was then the head women’s coach at the University of Florida, had already developed a relationship with the lanky 17-year-old over the phone, but the two had never met.
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