By Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Not long after putting a shovel in the dirt during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the $115 million RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center, Pat Hobbs turned his attention to the next project.

“It's going to be a very, very big focus in the next six months,'' the Rutgers Athletics Director said, pointing to a proposed training facility to accommodate the men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse programs. "There are a lot of folks who are passionate about soccer and lacrosse, as I am, and they know the importance of that facility.’’

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

That statement seems prophetic after Hobbs on Monday announced a $15 million gift for the lacrosse and soccer training facility.

The naming rights were secured by Gary Rodkin and his wife Barbara, both Rutgers alums. Gary Rodkin is best known as the former Chief Executive Officer of Omaha-based ConAgra Foods, one of the largest food-processing companies in the country.

It marks the largest gift in Rutgers Athletics history, and university officials say "the Gary and Barbara Rodkin Center for Academic Success.'' will support the academic achievements of Rutgers’ 680 student-athletes.

"It’s fitting that the largest gift in (Rutgers) athletics history is focused on the academic success of our student-athletes,'' Hobbs said in a statement. "Gary and Barbara wanted to marry their two passions — academics and athletics. This facility will enable us to build a best-in-class academic support program.

"Rutgers is committed to student-athlete success while in the classroom and later in life after they have finished competing for the Scarlet Knights. We are incredibly grateful to Gary and Barbara for their wonderful generosity. Hopefully, their giving will inspire others, as we continue to write a great chapter in Rutgers Athletics history.''

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The facility will be built on the Busch Campus, tucked in between High Point Solutions Stadium and Yurcak Field.

The previous rendering of the soccer/lacrosse training facility was a two-story building that was slated to include training and equipment spaces for each program, new lounges and meeting rooms, coaching offices, and locker rooms.

While those same amenities will be included, the new plan will consolidate all academic support services for Rutgers athletics in a single building. Currently, Rutgers athletes have academic-support services in the Hale Center. Rutgers' athletics administrators — who are spread between the Hale Center, the Rutgers Athletic Center and on the press-box level of the football stadium — will also have offices inside the Rodkin Center.

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While there is no timetable for construction, Hobbs told NJ Advance Media that he expects to have a groundbreaking at some point in the next four months. There is no price tag on the project, but Hobbs said the Rodkin family gift should "allow (Rutgers officials) to have a bunch of conversations for six-figure gifts'' for naming-rights to rooms throughout the new facility.

The renderings obtained by NJ Advance Media show a refurbished Athlete's Glen, which is currently used on football game-days for a concert stage, meet-and-greet area for the men's and women's basketball teams, and for food stands.

It shows the Rodkin Center to be built on land currently used by the men's and women's soccer teams as a practice field.

Under the new plan, the soccer teams will have their fields moved to closer to the indoor Bubble. The lacrosse teams will practice on land near Yurcak Field that currently is used as a parking lot on football and soccer game-days.

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Everything you need to know about the RWJ Barnabas athletics center

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The $15 million donation drew praise from university President Robert Barchi, who said: "Among my highest priorities has been to improve the academic resources for all our students. This gift from Gary and Barbara will further our aspiration to be recognized as one of the world’s premier universities. I want to thank the Rodkins for their remarkable leadership in helping our student-athletes achieve the highest academic standards.''

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Gary Rodkin grew up in Piscataway and attended every Rutgers football game for more than a decade, according to a feature on the Rutgers foundation website. A 1974 Rutgers College graduate, Rodkin is the vice chairman of Rutgers' Board of Overseers, the university's chief fundraising arm.

The Rodkins have previously given more than $5 million to Rutgers, including a $2 million gift to the university's Honors College.

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Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics

They have also given generously to the Rutgers Future Scholars, Douglass Residential College, the School of Engineering, the Center for Social Justice and the LGBT Emergency Fund, and the Big Ten Build.

"Barbara and I are very pleased with the progress Bob Barchi and his excellent team have made, and where the Strategic Plan is headed,'' Gary Rodkin said. "We have been very fortunate in our lives and we want to share. That’s very fundamental to who we are. We much prefer to do this now, rather than later in life, so we can see and experience the impact on our students and university for many years to come.''

Added Barbara Rodkin: "Rutgers is where our family began. We met in the library. I was a senior in 1976, after Gary had graduated, during the basketball team’s Final Four season. I could get a ‘date ticket’ to a game in the Barn for a dollar. I have always been suspicious that he continued to date me for those tickets.''

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Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics

Rutgers officials say the Rodkin Center will include an expansive lounge area to foster peer-to-peer learning among student-athletes from all sports.

"The great state universities pride themselves on excellence, both in academics and athletics,” Gary Rodkin said. "Being a successful student-athlete is a difficult balancing act. These young men and women represent us. We feel a responsibility to help provide the resources necessary for them to achieve on the playing surface and in the classroom.''

Barbara Rodkin echoed that sentiment.

"Most of our student-athletes are not going to play professionally or compete in the Olympics,” she said. "It’s very important they graduate and contribute to their communities. We trust that many will become leaders in whatever field they choose to pursue.''

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RWJBarnabas athletics center on track for July 2019 completion

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The Rodkin Center will be the second facility to rise via the "R B1G Build,'' a $100 million campaign launched in January 2016 that has now raised $92 million through private and public support.

The RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center, which is currently under construction on land adjacent to the RAC, is a 295,000-square-foot, four-story sports facility and parking deck that will feature practice facilities for the men’s and women’s basketball teams as well as the wrestling and gymnastics programs.

"We strongly believe that the success in athletics not only instills pride in our 500,000 alumni, but across the entire state of New Jersey,” Gary Rodkin said. "We really hope that this gift inspires other alumni and New Jersey residents to give what they can. Rutgers is already recognized as a great public University, and we want to help make it second to none.''

Barbara Rodkin said she hopes the gift "shows that you don’t have to pick between academics and athletics when giving.''

"You can do both, or either,'' she said. "At the end of the day, you are making life better for all Rutgers students.''

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.