Simpson College has opened a designated facility for its men’s and women’s gymnastics program, a gym that coaches say will help the program be more competitive, both in recruiting and in competition.

Construction on the 10,000-square-foot Fiterman Training Center, 805 W. Iowa Ave. in Indianola, began in May 2025. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last month.

The facility is named after Simpson alumni Steve Fiterman and Susie Galenbeck Fiterman who donated $1 million to the project. The total cost of construction was $2.8 million.

Colin Payne, Simpson’s men’s gymnastics coach, said one advantage of having a designated facility is being able to keep all the program’s equipment in one place, rather than having to move it to accommodate other athletic programs that use the Simpson Athletic Complex.

“It’s a big thing allowing [the equipment] to stay up and not having to move it around each day,” Payne said. “We were in the way of basketball, volleyball, all of those guys, so us being over here helps us having our own space but also every other team that needs an indoor facility.”

Having its own space helps the gymnastics program modify the space to meet its training needs, which helps the program better compete, especially on the men’s side, which competes with Division I programs, including some that have Olympians on their team, Payne said.

He said the new space helps in both recruiting and competing against other programs.

“It’s both bringing in good quality student athletes, but also being competitive on the floor, too,” Payne said.

The new facility has a seating capacity of about 250.

Steve Fiterman said his and his wife’s gift was a way for them to pay Simpson College back for “the great education we got there, and for helping us to find each other.”

The Fitermans were both members of the class of 1968.

“The facility is such a positive story for everyone involved. Competing at a high level nationally is a big deal for our student athletes, and [for] Simpson College,” Steve Fiterman said in a news release.

Payne, 37, came to Simpson five years ago as coach when the college launched its gymnastics program. His wife, Emily Barrett Payne, is the school’s women’s gymnastics coach.

Payne grew up outside of Nashville and trained with a coach in Knoxville, Tenn., after graduating high school. He wanted to pursue coaching, so he attended the Bart Connor Gymnastics Academy in Oklahoma, where he and Emily met.

Payne later received his bachelor’s degree in archaeology from the University of Oklahoma and planned to build a career as an archaeologist, but received a call from the U.S. Naval Academy with an offer to join their wrestling program as an assistant coach. During that time, his wife, who had a collegiate gymnastics career in Colorado, moved to Maryland with him and coached junior gymnastics at Thrive Gym.

When Simpson created its programs, the call came with coaching offers for both, Payne said.

“[Now retired athletic director] Marty Bell said he was looking for coaches so the stars just aligned and it was the right move for us,” he said.

Simpson’s gymnastics program has just under 60 athletes between both the men’s and women’s programs. Only the women’s program has any Iowans on its roster, with three. The men’s program hasn’t had any Iowans on its roster, but Payne said he has received his first two in-state verbal commitments.

Payne said he expects those numbers to grow with the new Fiterman Training Center.

“Normally we do our recruiting in the fall but what I can tell you is from having the blueprints and being able to show [recruits] the drawings, it’s been a game changer,” he said. “We beat Navy this year for recruits and we beat William & Mary for recruits this year. Having this facility, in addition to what Simpson offers academically, is definitely a selling point and persuading kids to come here over bigger Division I schools.”

Simpson College’s men’s gymnastics team competes in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. The women’s team competes in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.