​Walk through any college campus, and you’ll find a name attached to most buildings. Most are named in the honor of distinguished alumni, generous donors, or legendary athletes and coaches that shaped the school’s athletics.And then there’s one facility at SMU named after the team’s current starting quarterback — the Kevin Jennings Recovery Center.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYes, Kevin Jennings still has one season of eligibility remaining, yet his name already adorns the recovery center which is currently being constructed inside the Weber End Zone Complex at SMU.The recovery center was largely funded by donors Malcolm and Ann Holland. It features a bevy of systems and machines designed to promote muscle relaxation, relieve pain, and reduce stress. These include hydromassage units, RedZone Saunas, infrared light therapies, CryoLounge chairs, PolarWave Dry Cold Plunge, and RelaxSpace Wellness Pods.“One thing we were kind of lacking was a recovery center for our student-athletes, for our 105 to 110 football players,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said in a press conference held Wednesday, July 15. “We have a really good training room, but how do we help them recover before, after, in the offseason, after games? We wanted to have as good as anywhere in the country, so we started saying he needed a recovery center.”Why dedicate the facility to a player that hasn’t even closed the chapter on his college career? Lashlee presented two words that make Jennings the perfect representative of SMU athletics.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“When I think about Kevin, I think of commitment and loyalty. Those two words go with Kevin at a high level,” Lashlee said. “I think about his mom Sherry and dad Michael and what an incredible job they’ve done raising him and instilling a lot of the qualities he has as a leader. But Kevin has been loyal and committed to his city Dallas, to South Oak Cliff his high school, to his teammates, and to SMU from day one. I start thinking about a time where players can move quite a bit. The last two cycles for sure, but the last three cycles, there’s been people trying to get Kevin to come play for them and leave. Not one time did I ever feel like Kevin wanted to be anywhere but here. It’s one thing to say that, another thing to put action behind it and do it.”The idea of naming a building after Jennings floated around Lashlee’s mind last December while SMU prepared for its Holiday Bowl matchup against Arizona. Around that time, the Dallas native quarterback, who has been a common transfer portal target for other programs, committed to remain at his hometown school for the 2026 season.In addition to the loyalty he has demonstrated, Jennings elevated SMU football into a rising power since arriving on campus in fall 2022. In his first career start in 2023, he guided the Mustangs to an American Conference Championship victory over Tulane, marking the program’s first conference tit