“Last year, the MAC was sort of ... unusable,” says Eric J. Powell ’04. “The weights were cracking. The benches were splitting. Everything was old and rusty. It was miserable.”

But after extensive renovations to the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC) this summer, the MAC’s popularity has greatly increased since students’ return to school.

The impetus behind the change has come from the Boston Sports Club, a for-profit company that has been managing the MAC since last spring.

“They have expertise in an area that we did not,” said John Wentzell, the assistant athletic director. Before they were hired to help with the gym, “we didn’t have eyes and ears in there, but they really had their finger on the pulse, and have been able to push for what needs to be done. Just their professional presence is going to start paying great dividends.”

The renovation included the replacement of all of the equipment in the weight and nautilus rooms, most of which was more than 20 years old. The “glut of stair masters,” as Wentzell puts it, were replaced by elliptical trainers, which people were “clamoring for.”

“Everyone is coming back so enthusiastic about their workouts,” says Stefan C.. Kenel-Pierre ’03, a receptionist at the MAC.

Students like Kenel-Pierre, who once avoided the old facilities are now flooding back, won over by the improvements.

“We have seen a tremendous increase from last semester,” says Wendy Brown, who works for Boston Sports Clubs at the MAC. “Word travels fast. As soon as people heard about the new machines, it was a free for all.”