UNO Offers Recreation Facility Access to Service Members on Leave

Omaha – Today the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is announcing that the campus Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) facilities are now available, free of charge, to any active duty service members on leave.

Effective immediately, any active duty service member with proper documentation that they are on leave can utilize UNO’s state-of-the art recreation and exercise facilities, which include an Olympic sized swimming pool, climbing wall, basketball courts, work out space and an Outdoor Venture Center.

This new program is an expansion of a similar offer made by UNO Campus Recreation and the UNO Office of Military and Veteran Services during the 2013 Holiday Break. The previous offer ended in February of this year.

"We had such a successful response to this over the holidays that we immediately began working on finding a way to make this a permanent fixture within Campus Recreation here at UNO,” said Mike Kult, associate director of facilities at HPER. “This is hopefully one less expense that our military and service members have to worry about, which only makes sense considering how much they sacrifice for us on a daily basis."

The HPER facilities are located on UNO's Dodge Campus, directly adjacent to the Sapp Fieldhouse. In 2010, the HPER building reopened after a two-year, $38.6 million renovation.

In November 2013, UNO was named the No. 1 public four-year university for veterans by Military Times Magazine and earlier that year, in May, UNO’s Online Bachelor of General Studies degree was ranked No. 5 in the nation for veterans by U.S. News and World Report.

“This effort is one more example of how UNO continues to expand on its already nationally-recognized military offerings,” explains Mike Connolly, director of UNO’s Office of Military and Veteran Services. “We are very excited to expand a popular one-time program into a year-round service.”

Those with questions about the program should call the HPER front desk at 402.554.2539.

For media inquiries, please contact Charley Reed, UNO media relations coordinator, at unonews@unomaha.edu or by phone at 402.554.2129.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

Become a fan of UNO on Facebook: www.facebook.com/unomaha and follow UNO's Twitter updates at http://twitter.com/unomaha.