Alma Grace McDonough Center - Performance Gym

Broke Ground April 1992
Dedicated September 1, 1994
Gym Capacity: 2,200

The 107,000-square-foot (9,900 m²) facility The 107,000-square-foot (9,900 m²) facility serves as the home court for the Men's and Women's basketball, volleyball, acrobatics & tumbling, and wrestling teams. It has served as the host site for several NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Tournaments, hosting the Men's Basketball Regional Tournament in 2018 as well as the Volleyball Regional Tournament 10 different times. The building also houses the Alma Grace McDonough Center Natatorium, the Athletic Training Faciltiy, and Auxillary Gym, the Wrestling Room, and an Athletic Weight Room and Cardio fitness rooms for student-athletes.

The performance gymnasium inside hosts the Wheeling University basketball, volleyball, acrobatics & tumbling, and wrestling teams throughout the season. Built in 1994, the gymnasium holds a maximum capacity of 2,200 people with both floor level seating and seating along the upper track. The indoor track is available to the public when the gym is not in use by an athletic team. The gymnasium features new scoreboards as of 2016, sponsored by Undo's family restaurant and catering services. The gymnasium also enhanced visibility with the addition of LED lighting in 2019.

Parkersburg resident Alma Grace McDonough, wife of industrialist Bernard McDonough, consistently and generously supported Wheeling University throughout her life. The bronze commemorative bust of McDonough (located in the foyer of the Alma Grace McDonough Athletic Health and Recreation Center) serves as a symbol of the WU community's appreciation, and bears the simple words, "A gift of love, a symbol of thanks."

Born in Spencer, West Virginia, Alma McDonough was one of six daughters from a strong Catholic family. After graduation from Parkersburg High School in 1925, she attended Marshall University for her undergraduate education. Upon graduation, she began a teaching career in Wood County (W.Va.) serving at various elementary and junior high school grade levels. While teaching, she completed her Masters degree in education at Ohio University, Athens.

Alma McDonough met her future husband, Bernard McDonough, through mutual friends, and they were married in 1938. Alma continued to teach for two years after their marriage, but reluctantly retired to raise their growing family. Their son, Bernard III, was born in 1941 and their daughter, Mary, in 1942. Two of Mrs. McDonough's grandsons, Patrick and Brendan, graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University in 1988 and 1991, respectively. A strong Catholic family, the McDonough's were members of St. Michael's Parish in Vienna, West Virginia.

Throughout her life, Alma McDonough demonstrated strong leadership in educational and civic enterprises across West Virginia and Ohio. Catholic schools and universities were particular favorites of both Alma and Bernard. Parkersburg Catholic High School owes its existence to the efforts of the McDonough's. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. both received substantial donations from the McDonough's. Their generosity continues to benefit colleges and universities throughout Ohio and West Virginia through the Bernard McDonough Foundation. The Foundation has funded numerous projects from the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business at Marietta College (Ohio) to technology programs at Ohio Valley College in Vienna (W.Va.).

Mr. McDonough, a highly successful entrepreneurial businessman, became involved with WJU during the college's infancy and served as a member of the school's original board of directors. During these early years, he contributed thousand of dollars to keep the fledgling school from failure. In 1983, the McDonough's donated the first of three sizable contributions for campus construction. This one million dollar contribution allowed the construction of the Chapel of Mary and Joseph. Following the death of her husband, Alma gave 2.5 million for the renovation of Donahue Hall in 1987, and, with the assistance of her daughter, Mary Riccobene, gave six million dollars for the WJU Athletic Center in 1993. Although Alma McDonough donated sizeable gifts to the University, she never asked for any recognition of her contributions.

The Wheeling community recognized this remarkable and generous women by naming the Alma Grace McDonough Health and Recreation Center in her honor. President Emeritus Rev. Fr. Thomas Acker once noted that "[Alma McDonough is] the most important private benefactor Wheeling Jesuit has ever known." Mrs. McDonough died on May 4, 1992, two years before the dedication of the McDonough Center.