FAYETTEVILLE — A University of Arkansas Board of Trustees subcommittee recommended Thursday for the Razorbacks' soon-to-be-completed football operations center to be named after longtime donor Fred W. Smith.
Smith, the chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, was unanimously recommended by the board's building and grounds committee. The building, located adjacent to the south entrance of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, is expected to be finished this summer.
The UA board will formally vote on the recommendation Friday.
The Reynolds Foundation donated $10 million at the outset of the project in 2011 and an additional $1 million last April toward a proposed student-athlete center for what it described as "courageous leadership" by athletics director Jeff Long in the wake of firing former football coach Bobby Petrino for misconduct. Smith donated an additional $250,000 last April.
The football operations center - which will house new coaches' offices, locker rooms, training rooms and several other amenities - is part of an estimated $40.35 million project that includes two outdoor practice fields and a 225-space parking deck completed last summer.