St. Cloud State Opens Huskies Academic Center for Student-Athletes in Halenbeck Hall

(KNSI) – St. Cloud State University student-athletes have a new space on campus dedicated to hitting the books and clearing their heads.

The Huskies Academic Center opened in February inside Halenbeck Hall, built out of empty space using two grants. Upgrades to the center continued through the spring and summer.

A grant from the Husky Impact Fund paid for signage, decor and furniture, along with technology upgrades for security and a sign-in system that tracks how often student-athletes use the space.

In its first three months, the center logged 393 individual check-ins and more than 600 hours of study time. Upperclassmen with strong academic records supervise the center and tutor other student-athletes on request.

Huskies Athletics posted its best classroom numbers on record in 2025-26. The combined student-athlete GPA was 3.38, and all 17 athletics teams finished above a 3.0. University data shows SCSU student-athletes also graduate at a higher rate than the student body as a whole.

The center is adding a mental health component for the 2026-27 school year through a partnership with Athletic Training and a grant from the Grachek-Svela Mental Health and Wellness Fund. A room inside the center has been set aside for student-athlete mental well-being, with a massage chair, dimmed lighting and stress-relief items including red light therapy, puzzles and NeeDohs.

Athletics officials say the room is meant for athletes who need time alone to work through the kind of emotions sports can produce quickly, such as an injury, a lineup change or academic pressure.

Fall semester classes at St. Cloud State begin later this month.

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