ALDO T. "BUFF" DONELLI STRENGTH & CONDITIONING ROOM

DIRECTIONS | DODGE FITNESS CENTER | DODGE FITNESS CENTER FACILITIES

QUICK FACTS

Official Name: Aldo T. “Buff” Donelli Intercollegiate Strength Room
Date Opened: 1988, moved and rededicated in 1995, updated in 2002
Surface/Structure: 6,000-square foot room
Location: Second floor of Dodge Fitness Center, Morningside Heights campus, Columbia University
Original Cost: $2.5 million
Named For: Aldo T. “Buff” Donelli, former head football coach at Columbia
Address: 3030 Broadway, Mail Code 1900, New York, N.Y. 10027

THE FACILITY

In 1995, Columbia opened the state of the art Aldo T. "Buff" Donelli Intercollegiate Strength & Conditioning Room which continues to serve all 31 of Columbia's intercollegiate athletic teams. The $2.5 million dollar project was named for the head coach of Columbia's 1961 Ivy League championship football team and was donated by the captain of that team, William V. Campbell '62CC, the former Chair of Columbia's Board of Trustees.

The 6,000-square foot facility includes 20,000 pounds of free weight, six multi-faceted exercise platforms, and 10 self-contained power racks. The open layout enables student-athletes to exercise at a station for the duration of their workouts. In addition to its practicality, the strength room maintains a historic feel, conforming to the architectural design of the old Columbia pool, over which it was built.

A tremendous leader, Donelli led Boston University into the nation's top-10 before coming to Columbia. Once in New York, he set out on a course to build a winner. And his first true recruiting class, the Class of 1962, would be one of Columbia's very best. After three rebuilding seasons, Donelli's Lions began to turn the corner in 1960, winning three Ivy League contests for the first time since the official start of Ivy League play. And in his fifth season on Morningside Heights, Donelli guided the Lions to a season for the ages – winning the Ivy League Championship in 1961.

Donneli’s strength was his belief in his players, and his understanding of the value of hard work to achieve one's goals. Over the course of his 10 years as Head Football Coach at Columbia (1957-67), he recruited and coached some of the most famous names in Columbia football history.

Donelli was an accomplished soccer player, who represented the United States in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal against Italy. He was also the first man to coach both an NFL and college team at the same time, guiding the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Duquesne Dukes simultaneously in 1941, after the resignation of Steelers coach Bert Bell.

ALDO T. "BUFF" DONELLI INTERCOLLEGIATE STRENGTH ROOM AMENITIES

6,000-square foot strength & conditioning room
2,000-pounds of free weights
65 exercise stations
10 self-contained power areas (SCPAs)
$2.5 million facility
Seven Inlaid Olympic lifting platforms and half racks equipped with Eleiko competition bars and bumper plates
Seven Multi-purpose Sornex Double Half Racks
Dumbbell area with seven benches and weights from 5-70 in 2.5-pound increments up to 150-pounds
Four Gluteham benches
One Reverse Hyper
One Leg Press
York Bars and Plates