For more than 100 years, Edwards Gymnasium has been at the center of Ohio Wesleyan University athletics.
Opened during the 1905-06 academic year, the still-unfinished facility hosted Ohio Wesleyan's first intercollegiate basketball team. As many as 3000 fans crammed their way into the double-decked court on the building's second floor, which was renovated in 2014 and still hosts varsity practices and intramurals. The building's first floor and ground floor underwent a full renovation in 2014-15 and houses the athletics department along with the department of health and human kinetics.
Edwards Gymnasium adjoins the Simpson Querrey Fitness Center, a 4350-square-foot workout space that includes a mezzanine and a wide range of cardio and strength equipment, which opened in September 2015.
Simpson Querrey Fitness Center photo galleryIn the fall of 2012, the Morrill Strength and Conditioning Room was dedicated. The weight room includes a total of 10 Power-Lift combo racks, allowing more users to work out simultaneously and making the facility more efficient and functional, along with nine new pieces of cardiovascular equipment, including two Octane Pro4700-series elliptical machines and two Life Fitness treadmills.
Morrill Strength and Conditioning Room photo galleryEdwards Gymnasium was named after John Edwards, who served on the Board of Trustees in the late 1890s and early 1900s. One of the biggest facilities in the state at the time of its construction, Edwards was one of the first sites for the Ohio high school basketball tournament championships, which it hosted into the 1930s. The Morrill Family Strength & Conditioning Room is named in recognition of benefactors Bob Morrill ’59 and his wife, Barbara. The Simpson Querrey Fitness Center is named in recognition of lead donors Louis A. Simpson '58 and Kimberly K. Querrey, who contributed $8 million toward the creation of the center and the concurrent renovation of Edwards Gymnasium.
