Today’s dedication of its new Holt Hickman Outdoor Pool means SMU joins schools like Auburn University and The University of Texas as one of the nation’s few prestigious college institutions with both indoor and outdoor, 50-meter, long-course swimming pools in the same complex.
The new pool at SMU’s Robson and Lindley Aquatics Center was named for the late Holt Hickman, a former Mustang swim-team member who graduated from the school in 1954. The pool, which cost $13.5 million, was funded with lead gifts to the aquatics complex from the families of Hickman, Bruce A. Robson and Steven J. Lindley, plus contributions from other SMU donors.
“Holt Hickman embodies Mustang strength and pride,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said in a statement. “Through the Holt Hickman Outdoor Pool, our donors are commemorating a true visionary and continuing his legacy of excellence in our aquatics programming and across our university.”
The outdoor pool will enhance the campus and community for future generations of students and student-athletes, SMU said, in keeping with a main goal of its multiyear, $1.5 billion “SMU Ignited: Bolding Shaping Tomorrow” fundraising campaign. It will also strengthen the school’s offerings as it prepares to enter the Atlantic Coast Conference next July.
On hand for the pool’s December 8 dedication were Turner; SMU Vice President for Development and External Affairs Brad E. Cheves; and “SMU Ignited” Co-Chair David B. Miller, who’s also chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees.
The event marked the end of the second phase of construction on the Robson and Lindley Aquatics Center. More than 200 donors contributed to this stage of the project, whose first phase was made possible by 400 donors. The aquatics complex, opened in 2017, has hosted the last three American Athletic Conference Championships.
Over the years, the SMU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have earned 61 conference championships and qualified for more than 100 appearances at the NCAA national championships. SMU’s men and women swimmers have also qualified for 228 Olympic appearances since 1952, winning eight gold medals, eight silver medals and four bronze medals.
“The generosity of the Robson, Lindley and Hickman families and their fellow donors is shaping the future of SMU Aquatics and the opportunities it creates for its student-athletes,” Cheves said in a statement. “They spur SMU toward a bright future of excellence, both for its academic and athletic programs.”
* Photo provided by SMU