Georgia Tech’s Student Athlete Performance Center, a 96,000 square foot facility to be built where the Edge Center currently sits in the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium, received a new name Tuesday.
The Georgia board of regents, in a meeting Tuesday, approved the naming of the facility to the Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center in honor of Tech alumnus Dr. Thomas A. Fanning. Fanning earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial management from Tech and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2013.
According to the board’s agenda, Fanning, “has demonstrated his deep appreciation and commitment to GIT through more than a decade of service on high-level advisory boards on campus, including the Georgia Tech Foundation, two campaign steering committees, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, and the Alexander-Tharpe Board for athletics leadership. In addition, he has provided philanthropic support for an endowed scholarship in the Scheller College of Business and for GIT’s athletic scholarships and programs.”
Fanning had a 43-year career with Southern Company which included serving as president and chief executive officer from 2010-23. He has also served on national energy boards, including the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the international advisory boards of the Atlantic Council and the American Energy Innovation Council.
The newly-named Fanning Center will house strength and conditioning space, a dining hall and nutrition rooms, a dedicated sports science and data analytics area and a sports medicine and recovery room. The Fanning Center will also include a football player’s lounge, meeting space and athletic support offices.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
