Former University of Idaho football All-American offensive lineman and former Seattle Seahawks player Mike Iupati and his wife, Ashley Iupati, gave back to the Vandals with a “generous contribution” to be put toward upgrading the Fueling Center in the Kibbie Dome.
According to a press release from Vandal Athletics, the contribution from Iupati will fund a “major upgrade” to the space and will “significantly improve the functionality” for several years. Some of the donations will go toward the newly established Ashley and Mike Iupati Athletic Nutrition Endowment, which will continue to fund the Fueling Center in perpetuity.
“These earmarked dollars will be geared toward supporting the necessary funds to stock the shelves and coolers of the Fueling Center,” the press release stated. “The endowment provides a level playing field across all of Vandal Athletics, for student-athletes from every program.”
The Fueling Center is an educational snack station with nutritional food and drinks available for UI’s 300-plus student-athletes. The students are able to grab a snack between classes or after practices without needing to worry when their next large meal will be to keep them going.
“When it comes to overall performance, our goal is to ensure they’re competitive athletically, academically, socially and nutrition drives a lot of that,” Mahmood Sheikh, associate athletic director for development, said. “In 18 to 22-year-old bodies, they’re burning a lot of calories and just need to replenish their bodies with fuel. Good fuel. Good food, good drinks, nutritional food and drinks.”
Sheikh said student-athletes could find anything from a bagel to a bowl of cereal, a quick nutrition bar or a sports energy drink. With the gift from the Iupati family, students will be able to access a smoothie station for easy, on-the-go snacks as well.
“It makes a big difference,” Iupati said to The Spokesman-Review. “You are in meetings most of the time, and when you get a break it is nice to get a snack or a shake to keep yourself awake. It helps a lot, especially when you are in a group. You can hang out together.”
UI previously did not have any sort of provisions, other than the regular sports drinks available at practices and games, before the Fueling Center was created in spring 2019. During the student-athletes exit interviews, which are conducted when they leave the program, the quantity of food available was mentioned often enough to draw attention.
“You’re starting to see a stronger emphasis in intercollegiate athletics when it comes to the well-being of student-athletes,” Sheikh said. “That includes their mental health and physical well-being, their ability to perform, having adequate education, nutrition and mental health assistance. I just think the timing was right because a lot of our peers were starting to go down that path, and it made sense for us to provide as a competitive advantage.”
The Fueling Center officially opened in the fall of 2019 but was shut down the following March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheikh said toward the end of January the Fueling Center was taken “on the road,” meaning food and drinks were taken to the student-athletes after practice rather than having them gather in one space for a bite to eat.
Now the Fueling Center is open and operating almost normally, following COVID-19 safety protocols like social distancing and required face coverings.
Along with being a good place to grab a quick snack, the Fueling Center has the potential to be educational as well. Ann Brown, director of the human performance laboratory, exercise, sport and health sciences, said the university’s $30,000 grant from Dairy West is meant to get student-athletes thinking about and interested in their nutritional intake while educating them.
Brown said there are rotating posterboards set up in the Fueling Center that cover the benefits of specific foods, like chocolate milk or creatine. The center also offers optional nutrition education talks and activities which cover subjects like when student-athletes should eat, fad diets and goal setting.
However, not all sports are taking advantage of the educational tools available, and information reaching the athletes depends on coaches, Brown said. In order to get information to student-athletes outside of the posters in the Fueling Center, Brown has to go through the coaches first, and many of them haven’t been interested so far.
“I can’t tell them what to do if they’re not also interested in it,” Brown said. “So, it’s really also just trying to get them interested in nutrition because we haven’t had any kind of nutrition program with athletics before. We need to get athletes on board and interested in their nutrition for fueling performance.”
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5