A 2002 challenge gift of $4 million from Cleveland, Tennessee, businessman Allan Jones and his wife, Janie, ensured that the $24.3 million new intercollegiate aquatic center would be built. More than 50 former swimmers, divers, and their families made significant contributions in excess of $450,000, and more than eight hundred additional donors contributed to the project.
The general architectural firm for the building was HTNB of Kansas City, with Lindsey and Maples of Knoxville consulting. The building was dedicated August 16, 2008 (although it had been used for Olympic trials in the spring). At the dedication, former UT Swim Coach Ray Bussard handed Jones a crystal flask of water from the Student Aquatic Center’s Ray Bussard Pool. Jones poured it into the pool, thereby maintaining the tradition of home water. Jones also poured some water into the pool from Mouse Creek, where he had swum as a youngster. Jones then stripped off his black-tie suit to reveal a Speedo-style Tennessee swimsuit and jumped off the five-meter platform, fulfilling a promise to “do a cannonball in the diving pool” for the UT Swim Team.
The project was originally scheduled to begin in May 2005, with a budget of $20 million. But when bids were opened in December 2004, the low bid was $27.4 million, which caused the project to be delayed until design changes for cost reduction were made and additional funding sources were found. Among the design changes were a reduction in the depth of the pool from ten feet to eight feet and a reduction in seating capacity. A weight room, training room, and the Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame were also included in the facility.
A 50-meter by 25-yard-competition pool, with a depth of eight feet from end to end, is the centerpiece of the facility. A separate competition diving well is also included.
The facility was the site of training for the US Olympic men’s and women’s swimming teams in July 2012. The open practice, on July 12, drew more than two thousand spectators. The first twelve hundred were in line (which formed at 4:00 a.m.) and could watch the indoor practice from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., while the outdoor pool was open from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. UT had previously hosted the 1972 Olympic women’s swimming team’s training in 1972 and hosted training for both women’s and men’s teams in the Student Aquatic Center in 1996.