CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – With the support of over 80 alumni and friends, Harvard Athletics has completed significant renovations to the wrestling program's Malkin Athletic Center facilities to ensure that every Crimson student-athlete is able to pursue excellence and uphold the traditions of Harvard Wrestling.
 
For Jay Weiss, The David G. Bunning '88 Head Coach for Harvard Wrestling, the project – which included major updates to the program's wrestling room, strength and conditioning space, locker room, and coaches' offices – was worth the wait despite the challenges of the pandemic on the project's timeline.
 
"I can't say enough about our facility renovation," Weiss said. "Yes, it's been a long time coming, but it has been so worth the wait. Special credit goes out to Dave Bunning '88, Bob Scalise and Erin McDermott for their leadership and persistence in seeing this project through."
 
Bunning – a two-sport athlete for the Crimson and dedicated Harvard leader – helped ensure the project became a reality.
 
"The Harvard wrestler embodies, in my mind, the ultimate student-athlete," Bunning said. "Forged by challenges on and off the mat, the wrestler develops the tools to fully utilize a Harvard education. The ultimate success of the Harvard program will be judged on its wrestlers' ability to apply this education, long after their last match. May Harvard Wrestling always provide a pathway to leadership and achievement."
 
Now in his 28^th season as the leader of the Crimson, Weiss – a two-time EIWA Coach of the Year – has mentored two national champions, 17 EIWA champions and 19 All-Americans. He has created a culture of excellence in competition, in the classroom, and in the community.
 
"This renovation has helped in every aspect of our training and culture building, more than I imagined," Weiss said. "Our wrestlers grow so much, and gain so many essential life lessons, throughout their time as members of the Harvard wrestling program and now they have a facility to match their aspirations."
 
Highlights from the renovation include an expanded locker room with a team lounge, new weight and training equipment, additional square footage to the wrestling room alongside state-of-the-art video training technology, updated athletic training space including a hydrotherapy tub, and a new office suite for the program's coaching staff.
 
"We remain extremely fortunate to have a dedicated group of alumni who believe in the impact that Harvard Wrestling makes on the lives of our wrestlers," Weiss said. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for supporting this initiative and for staying with us. With your help our wrestlers will continue to graduate from Harvard and go off to do bigger things in life!"