The renovations and upgrades to hockey facilities at UAA's Wells Fargo Sports Complex will honor the father of Seawolves hockey, and the school will also recognize a couple who have been longtime supporters of UAA's flagship sports program.
The remodeled hockey center will be named the Brush Christiansen Hockey Center in recognition of the man who founded the program in 1979. In his 17 seasons as head coach, Christiansen guided the Seawolves into Division I, the highest level of NCAA sports, from Division II.
Christiansen was behind the bench for the high point in Seawolves hockey in 1991, when underdog UAA, an independent team without a league, traveled to Boston College and swept the highly regarded Eagles in a best-of-3 NCAA tournament series. The Seawolves fell in two quarterfinal games at eventual national champion Northern Michigan.
The rink at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex will be named the Chuck Homan Hockey Rink after the longtime booster, who was instrumental in getting the rink built nearly 40 years ago. Two of Homan's sons played for the Seawolves.
Additionally, the box office at UAA's Alaska Airlines Arena will be known as the Terry Ann Homan Box Office. Terry Homan, Chuck's wife, was UAA's longtime ticket manager and remains a supporter of Seawolves athletics.
Both Christiansen and Chuck Homan are members of the Seawolf Hall of Fame. Christiansen was inducted in 2002, Homan in 2003.
The renovations to the hockey center and the rink are part of a $10 million project to upgrade the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. Improvements also include an upgraded student fitness center, new air conditioning systems and fire alarm systems.
The $10 million came from UAA's deferred maintenance budget. The school said upgrades to the Wells Fargo Sports Complex have been back-logged for years.