Student Recreation Center

Nothing like this place existed when I was a college student. While we typically visit here for swim meets at the natatorium, this entire facility is impressive (and expanding further). The competition pool is one of the best in the state, for both swimmers and spectators. The workout facilities are impressive, there’s the obligatory climbing wall, a Smoothie King (never hurts), outdoor pool, basketball and racquetball courts, and more. Can get quite crowded, and they have some unexpected charges here and there.

Great place to play racquetball! Overall quality gym, they keep things maintained, but I have an issue with their photo ID policy. I tried to enter the center while in a rush to work out. Offered several forms of identification and was not let in because I could show valid photo id.

Ah… the Rec.
I graduated last May and have been working for the past few months. but one of my friends and I were visiting in College Station for the weekend. We’re all pretty focused on fitness, so we decided to work out in the afternoon.
We found out that we have to pay $ 10 to work out. WTF? I just graduated 2 months ago, man. I thought I was part of the Aggie family. What happened to tradition?!
But we decided to just bite the bullet and pay anyway, because it was a 1 time thing and we weren’t about to skip a workout day!
In the end, it was worth every penny.
Here’s the thing — students are blessed to have the Rec. Yes, it gets crowded a lot, but the facility is AWESOME. You get 3 floors, racquetball rooms, a killer weight room, several basketball courts, several pools, a built-​in restaurant, and even a banquet hall.
In my local gym (It’s a 24 Hour Fitness) near my workplace now, I get 1 floor, 1 basketball court, 1 pool, a shitty weight room (where NOBODY reracks the weights), and weirdos who are not OK with you working in with them. The people are a mix of gym bros and douchebags who are a night-​and-​day difference from Aggies.
So, take it from this old geezer. (I’m 22) Don’t take things for granted. Learn to appreciate the subtle little things and you’ll be happier in life because of it.

The Rec looks great on the surface and membership is included into your student fees but I have found it extremely inconvenient. The parking is always a hassle and it is ridiculously crowded at all hours! They are working on expanding it but that will not be done until I am graduated and out of school. The weight room always has a wait for every machine and it is difficult to find an elliptical at te peak hours. They will not let you into the weight room without a towel and it costs money to rent one of theirs. There is also an extra charge for the classes they offer and ANY extra services. No lockers unless you pay for them. It is unfortunaate that they take the fees out of your student fees automatically. If they wanted to really help the students, they would be open 24 hrs so that everyone would get a chance to work out. I have been early in the morning when it opens and late at night when it closes and it is always crowded. Hope this problem is fixed for future students with the expansion.

Dang, Greg D. beat me to the first review. Anyway, I loooove the rec center! It’s HUGE and super nice inside!
The good:
–plenty machines in the weight room
–nice upstairs track
–personal (free) lockers
–clean bathrooms
–free rockclimbing on the first Friday (?) of every month
The bad:
–when it gets crowded (which is often) it feels like a sauna in the weight room. Turn… up…a/c…
–you have to pay to play racquetball?! You also have to bring your own eye protection or they won’t let you play
–many of the lockers are broken
I’d say busy times are after 3 pm. You’ll have to fight for parking and machines!

Commonly know as «The Rec» or «The Rec Center», this modern 400,000 sf facility includes the Natatorium with the most excellent swimming pools, hot tubs and diving platforms on A&M Campus. The only reason I can’t give it 5 stars is that the prices for use have skyrocketed, tripling in 6 years. For pool use (day pass is for everything) I originally paid $ 4 (this was in 2007), then it went to $ 6, $ 8, $ 10 and now it’s $ 12.