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lagunasurf
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Sweet
It's an amazing experience to be a Buckeye football player. Now more than ever!
It's an amazing experience to be a Buckeye football player. Now more than ever!
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hawaiianbuckeye
Where's YOUR Gold Pants?
I'll say...wish my parents waited ten or so years to pop me out!
HAYN
HAYN
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Race for recruits gets big buildup
Thursday, September 07, 2006Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- There's the winning, the 103,000 fans at home games, all those NFL draft picks and the legacy of Woody Hayes.
Soon, Ohio State will offer another enticement to recruits: a racquetball court in the football building.
Ohio State is in the midst of a nearly $20 million renovation of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, turning it into an all-purpose, state-of-the-art weight room, meeting facility, lounge and resort. The update is the latest in what has become a race to keep pace in the national neighborhood of big-time college football.
The official goal is the "Wow" factor, which is what coaches and administrators hope recruits and players say when they enter one of these new palaces.
"That building is obviously one of the first places a recruit sees," said Texas associate athletic director Jim Baker, talking about the 90,000-square foot Neuhaus-Moncrief Athletic Complex, the Longhorns' version of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
"And that's where they're going to spend a majority of their time, so that's a huge deal to the coach."
So, the perks matter, like the 7,250-square-foot country club locker room at Texas, with two 35-inch TVs and a lighted 20-foot Longhorn logo on the ceiling.
Ohio State's locker room features 130 new oak lockers, while the Buckeyes' training area will include that racquetball court and a half-court basketball floor.
"Aesthetics are pleasing," Ohio State center Doug Datish said. "If it didn't matter, we'd have no air conditioning. We'd have a pop tent out here."
The Buckeyes are making do while construction, which should be completed in February, transforms a 33,000-square foot building into an 85,000-square foot building.
The money for the Ohio State construction came from outside donations, with football coach Jim Tressel leading the fund-raising drive. Athletic Director Gene Smith said the department would have been willing to pay for the renovation itself, if need be. But NCAA President Myles Brand is among those who believe the one-upmanship in facilities is going too far.
During a news conference in March, Brand expressed concern that too many athletic departments are going into debt to build new stadiums and athletic centers. He said about half of the increase in athletic budgets in recent years has come about because of new facilities.
Said Smith: "I think if you're doing it solely for recruiting, then you might go overboard. So, I think Myles is right. But when you see the Woody Hayes, it'll be pretty, but it won't be over-the-top and audacious. It'll be tasteful, but it's not granite and marble. I do think some schools have gone overboard in that regard."
Smith and Tressel emphasize the practical necessity of renovating the building, originally built in 1986.
"I don't want it to be a palace," Tressel said. "I want it to be a functional learning and living center."
For instance, larger meeting rooms will allow the offense and defense to gather as separate units at the same time. Right now, only one main meeting room is large enough to hold 50 or 60 players. Also, smaller group sessions will have their own rooms, rather than meeting in the offices of the position coaches.
And the weight room is going from a 7,000-square-foot room with a low ceiling to a 14,800-square-foot two-story room with a cardio workout area on the balcony.
The training room will include two hydrotherapy pools and an underwater treadmill.
For the first time, the players will have an area to hang out that has nothing to do with football. The Buckeyes are catching up with that trend by adding a 3,700-square-foot players lounge with video games, pool tables, drink machines and a study room.
Tressel laughs now, thinking of the design for a bigger weight room that he gave then-Athletic Director Andy Geiger when he was hired six years ago.
"I was like, 'Hey, I need this now.' I'm type-A," Tressel said. "It was going to be a $3 million deal. Thank goodness they didn't take my idea, because now what we've got is a $20 million thing that serves every conceivable need we can think of.
"Other than we need a lit practice field. I do have one thing left on my wish list, a lit practice field."
Better start fund-raising now.
Race for recruits gets big buildup
Thursday, September 07, 2006Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- There's the winning, the 103,000 fans at home games, all those NFL draft picks and the legacy of Woody Hayes.
Soon, Ohio State will offer another enticement to recruits: a racquetball court in the football building.
Ohio State is in the midst of a nearly $20 million renovation of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, turning it into an all-purpose, state-of-the-art weight room, meeting facility, lounge and resort. The update is the latest in what has become a race to keep pace in the national neighborhood of big-time college football.
The official goal is the "Wow" factor, which is what coaches and administrators hope recruits and players say when they enter one of these new palaces.
"That building is obviously one of the first places a recruit sees," said Texas associate athletic director Jim Baker, talking about the 90,000-square foot Neuhaus-Moncrief Athletic Complex, the Longhorns' version of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
"And that's where they're going to spend a majority of their time, so that's a huge deal to the coach."
So, the perks matter, like the 7,250-square-foot country club locker room at Texas, with two 35-inch TVs and a lighted 20-foot Longhorn logo on the ceiling.
Ohio State's locker room features 130 new oak lockers, while the Buckeyes' training area will include that racquetball court and a half-court basketball floor.
"Aesthetics are pleasing," Ohio State center Doug Datish said. "If it didn't matter, we'd have no air conditioning. We'd have a pop tent out here."
The Buckeyes are making do while construction, which should be completed in February, transforms a 33,000-square foot building into an 85,000-square foot building.
The money for the Ohio State construction came from outside donations, with football coach Jim Tressel leading the fund-raising drive. Athletic Director Gene Smith said the department would have been willing to pay for the renovation itself, if need be. But NCAA President Myles Brand is among those who believe the one-upmanship in facilities is going too far.
During a news conference in March, Brand expressed concern that too many athletic departments are going into debt to build new stadiums and athletic centers. He said about half of the increase in athletic budgets in recent years has come about because of new facilities.
Said Smith: "I think if you're doing it solely for recruiting, then you might go overboard. So, I think Myles is right. But when you see the Woody Hayes, it'll be pretty, but it won't be over-the-top and audacious. It'll be tasteful, but it's not granite and marble. I do think some schools have gone overboard in that regard."
Smith and Tressel emphasize the practical necessity of renovating the building, originally built in 1986.
"I don't want it to be a palace," Tressel said. "I want it to be a functional learning and living center."
For instance, larger meeting rooms will allow the offense and defense to gather as separate units at the same time. Right now, only one main meeting room is large enough to hold 50 or 60 players. Also, smaller group sessions will have their own rooms, rather than meeting in the offices of the position coaches.
And the weight room is going from a 7,000-square-foot room with a low ceiling to a 14,800-square-foot two-story room with a cardio workout area on the balcony.
The training room will include two hydrotherapy pools and an underwater treadmill.
For the first time, the players will have an area to hang out that has nothing to do with football. The Buckeyes are catching up with that trend by adding a 3,700-square-foot players lounge with video games, pool tables, drink machines and a study room.
Tressel laughs now, thinking of the design for a bigger weight room that he gave then-Athletic Director Andy Geiger when he was hired six years ago.
"I was like, 'Hey, I need this now.' I'm type-A," Tressel said. "It was going to be a $3 million deal. Thank goodness they didn't take my idea, because now what we've got is a $20 million thing that serves every conceivable need we can think of.
"Other than we need a lit practice field. I do have one thing left on my wish list, a lit practice field."
Better start fund-raising now.
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0
DDN
Raising funds for football no problem at Ohio State
Other Buckeye sports programs also are raking in donations.
By Doug Harris
Staff Writer
Friday, October 06, 2006
When Ohio State began its fundraising push to fulfill coach Jim Tressel's longing for a new weight room and football complex, Associate Athletic Director Tom Hof figured the project would cost about $8 million.
But as the money began pouring in ? including $5 million from one anonymous donor and four other seven-figure gifts ? OSU tossed aside its original blueprints and designed a $20-million facility.
"It's a tribute to Coach Tressel and the way he's running his program," Hof said. "They believe he's running it with the right values, and they want to invest in it."
But OSU isn't just cultivating relationships with financial backers solely interested in supporting the immensely popular football team. The athletic department also has one of the top three scholarship endowments in the Big Ten at $38 million, and donor-driven projects are in the works for the softball, tennis and rowing teams.
"We've gone to people who care about this institution, and they've stepped forward," Hof said. "It's people who just have a passion for Ohio State because they were a student themselves or have just derived a lot of enjoyment from being around the university and going to games. It hasn't been a hard sell. Frankly, they turn to us and say, 'How can I help?' "
But there are others who question the emphasis placed on sports facilities. Hof, though, insists that academia isn't being ignored ? at least judging from what he's seen.
"You could look at virtually any building on campus here, and you'd see cranes all over the place, whether it's the medical center or engineering lab," he said. "And most of those are donor-funded projects.
"It's just that (athletic) facilities are more visible to the media, and there's not 100,000 people coming to the chemistry lab."
OSU not alone ? other area colleges spending millions on athletic facilities, too
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton has invested $36.5 million in athletic facilities in the past 10 years, including the UD Arena renovation, the Time Warner baseball stadium, and new track and practice football field. Only about $6 million of that came from school coffers.
"There's a really special relationship between the Flyers and the community," 14th-year Athletic Director Ted Kissell said. "Guys who played here, stayed here. People remember seeing them on the court and now see them on the street, and I think that's powerful.
"And the fact that we carry the name of the city, the University of Dayton, is symbolic in a way that's really helpful to us."
Kissell believes the impeccable reputations of former longtime basketball coach Don Donoher, AD Tom Frericks and school president Brother Raymond Fitz contributed to UD's good name, and others have built on their legacies.
"We have kept an ethical compact with the community," Kissell said, "and we have people tell us all the time that it's important to them."
Miami University
When Miami AD Brad Bates was hired in 2002, he knew one of his primary tasks was to upgrade facilities. And he certainly didn't dawdle.
In his first month on the job, he acquired a $1 million gift to install FieldTurf at Yager Stadium.
"It was the first facility enhancement we had done," Bates said, "and it sent a message that we're just getting started."
Since then, Miami has raised money for the new $34.8 million Goggin Ice Center, a 170,000-square-foot and 3,800-seat hockey arena that rivals the best arenas at the college level. But Bates insisted the motivation for that venture didn't come from trying to keep up with what other schools were doing.
"All of us in athletics are inherently competitive," he said, "but, honestly, we don't philosophically approach it that way. We're trying to create the greatest athletic classrooms for our players ? in the same way we're trying to create the best intellectual classrooms or laboratories for our students. Whatever we do, we want to do it with excellence."
Wright State University
To Wright State Associate Athletic Director Bob Grant, fundraising at a school not quite 40 years old presents a unique challenge.
"We're at a stage in our life cycle that's very different from the folks we compete against (for donors) ? like Bowling Green, Kent State and Dayton. Those schools have had a 50-, 60-, 100-year head start on us," Grant said.
"Not being an older institution, we don't have folks looking to leave a legacy gift."
That meant WSU had to get creative in building the $3.9-million Setzer Pavillion/Mills-Morgan Center, the first privately funded facility on campus that opened last year and houses the men's and women's basketball offices, a practice court, a players' lounge, and a conditioning and weight-training area for all sports.
One contractor, Bob Mills, agreed to build the facility at cost. And the school cast a wide net to reach its financial goal, even finding about three dozen former athletes willing to contribute $1,500 to equip the weight room.
"It's been a five-year labor of love," Grant said. "We can take recruits from all our sports through there and show them our commitment to making them better."
Raising funds for football no problem at Ohio State
Other Buckeye sports programs also are raking in donations.
By Doug Harris
Staff Writer
Friday, October 06, 2006
When Ohio State began its fundraising push to fulfill coach Jim Tressel's longing for a new weight room and football complex, Associate Athletic Director Tom Hof figured the project would cost about $8 million.
But as the money began pouring in ? including $5 million from one anonymous donor and four other seven-figure gifts ? OSU tossed aside its original blueprints and designed a $20-million facility.
"It's a tribute to Coach Tressel and the way he's running his program," Hof said. "They believe he's running it with the right values, and they want to invest in it."
But OSU isn't just cultivating relationships with financial backers solely interested in supporting the immensely popular football team. The athletic department also has one of the top three scholarship endowments in the Big Ten at $38 million, and donor-driven projects are in the works for the softball, tennis and rowing teams.
"We've gone to people who care about this institution, and they've stepped forward," Hof said. "It's people who just have a passion for Ohio State because they were a student themselves or have just derived a lot of enjoyment from being around the university and going to games. It hasn't been a hard sell. Frankly, they turn to us and say, 'How can I help?' "
But there are others who question the emphasis placed on sports facilities. Hof, though, insists that academia isn't being ignored ? at least judging from what he's seen.
"You could look at virtually any building on campus here, and you'd see cranes all over the place, whether it's the medical center or engineering lab," he said. "And most of those are donor-funded projects.
"It's just that (athletic) facilities are more visible to the media, and there's not 100,000 people coming to the chemistry lab."
OSU not alone ? other area colleges spending millions on athletic facilities, too
University of Dayton
The University of Dayton has invested $36.5 million in athletic facilities in the past 10 years, including the UD Arena renovation, the Time Warner baseball stadium, and new track and practice football field. Only about $6 million of that came from school coffers.
"There's a really special relationship between the Flyers and the community," 14th-year Athletic Director Ted Kissell said. "Guys who played here, stayed here. People remember seeing them on the court and now see them on the street, and I think that's powerful.
"And the fact that we carry the name of the city, the University of Dayton, is symbolic in a way that's really helpful to us."
Kissell believes the impeccable reputations of former longtime basketball coach Don Donoher, AD Tom Frericks and school president Brother Raymond Fitz contributed to UD's good name, and others have built on their legacies.
"We have kept an ethical compact with the community," Kissell said, "and we have people tell us all the time that it's important to them."
Miami University
When Miami AD Brad Bates was hired in 2002, he knew one of his primary tasks was to upgrade facilities. And he certainly didn't dawdle.
In his first month on the job, he acquired a $1 million gift to install FieldTurf at Yager Stadium.
"It was the first facility enhancement we had done," Bates said, "and it sent a message that we're just getting started."
Since then, Miami has raised money for the new $34.8 million Goggin Ice Center, a 170,000-square-foot and 3,800-seat hockey arena that rivals the best arenas at the college level. But Bates insisted the motivation for that venture didn't come from trying to keep up with what other schools were doing.
"All of us in athletics are inherently competitive," he said, "but, honestly, we don't philosophically approach it that way. We're trying to create the greatest athletic classrooms for our players ? in the same way we're trying to create the best intellectual classrooms or laboratories for our students. Whatever we do, we want to do it with excellence."
Wright State University
To Wright State Associate Athletic Director Bob Grant, fundraising at a school not quite 40 years old presents a unique challenge.
"We're at a stage in our life cycle that's very different from the folks we compete against (for donors) ? like Bowling Green, Kent State and Dayton. Those schools have had a 50-, 60-, 100-year head start on us," Grant said.
"Not being an older institution, we don't have folks looking to leave a legacy gift."
That meant WSU had to get creative in building the $3.9-million Setzer Pavillion/Mills-Morgan Center, the first privately funded facility on campus that opened last year and houses the men's and women's basketball offices, a practice court, a players' lounge, and a conditioning and weight-training area for all sports.
One contractor, Bob Mills, agreed to build the facility at cost. And the school cast a wide net to reach its financial goal, even finding about three dozen former athletes willing to contribute $1,500 to equip the weight room.
"It's been a five-year labor of love," Grant said. "We can take recruits from all our sports through there and show them our commitment to making them better."
Upvote
0
DDN
OSU football 'front-runner' in facilities
Big-business sports program spends millions in donations on first-class facilities that help the team in recruiting.
By Doug Harris
Staff Writer
Friday, October 06, 2006
Jim Tressel surveyed the football facilities after becoming Ohio State's coach in 2001 and decided the program needed just one more resource to compete for national titles: an upgraded weight room.
"I made a drawing of a little bit bigger weight room. It was going to be a $3 million deal. Thank goodness they didn't take my idea," he said.
Andy Geiger, who was athletic director then, encouraged Tressel to dream bigger. And the coach drew up plans to completely renovate the now 20-year-old Woody Hayes Athletic Center, refurbishing the existing 33,000 square feet next to the indoor practice field and adding 52,700 feet more.
The price tag: $20 million.
"I'm not an architect," Tressel cracked, "but I can spend money."
Much of the work was completed during this past offseason, giving the team more meeting space and a plush practice locker room with Block O carpeting and a dozen mounted flat-screen televisions.
Tressel now has an office that would be the envy of corporate CEOs. At nearly 900 square feet, the doors, walls and the coach's Block O desk are all made of maple with mahogany trim.
When the project is finished in February or March, the Buckeyes will have a lavish, two-story, 14,800-square-foot weight room (more than double its previous size), a players lounge, basketball and racquetball courts, and a secured parking lot with a private entrance that will provide the team with a haven from fans.
The entire project is being funded through private donations, and OSU has already raised about $19 million. The complex could be a boon for recruiting, although other Big Ten schools also are making considerable financial investments in their facilities.
"One thing you don't want to do is get stagnant," said Don Patko, OSU's assistant athletics director for facilities. "We're always looking for new ideas so we can be a front-runner."
OSU football 'front-runner' in facilities
Big-business sports program spends millions in donations on first-class facilities that help the team in recruiting.
By Doug Harris
Staff Writer
Friday, October 06, 2006
Jim Tressel surveyed the football facilities after becoming Ohio State's coach in 2001 and decided the program needed just one more resource to compete for national titles: an upgraded weight room.
"I made a drawing of a little bit bigger weight room. It was going to be a $3 million deal. Thank goodness they didn't take my idea," he said.
Andy Geiger, who was athletic director then, encouraged Tressel to dream bigger. And the coach drew up plans to completely renovate the now 20-year-old Woody Hayes Athletic Center, refurbishing the existing 33,000 square feet next to the indoor practice field and adding 52,700 feet more.
The price tag: $20 million.
"I'm not an architect," Tressel cracked, "but I can spend money."
Much of the work was completed during this past offseason, giving the team more meeting space and a plush practice locker room with Block O carpeting and a dozen mounted flat-screen televisions.
Tressel now has an office that would be the envy of corporate CEOs. At nearly 900 square feet, the doors, walls and the coach's Block O desk are all made of maple with mahogany trim.
When the project is finished in February or March, the Buckeyes will have a lavish, two-story, 14,800-square-foot weight room (more than double its previous size), a players lounge, basketball and racquetball courts, and a secured parking lot with a private entrance that will provide the team with a haven from fans.
The entire project is being funded through private donations, and OSU has already raised about $19 million. The complex could be a boon for recruiting, although other Big Ten schools also are making considerable financial investments in their facilities.
"One thing you don't want to do is get stagnant," said Don Patko, OSU's assistant athletics director for facilities. "We're always looking for new ideas so we can be a front-runner."
Upvote
0
DDN
A building boom is raging in college athletics, and all the big schools are trying to keep up
By Kyle Nagel and Doug Harris
Staff Writers
Friday, October 06, 2006
On the third page of a brown, hardback book titled The Future of Interscholastic Athletics, there's a telling introduction:
"A gymnasium with a seating capacity of 3,000 was recently built in a city having 25,000 inhabitants," it reads. "The board of education had been advised with respect to the need for classroom and laboratory accommodations in the their high school, which was overcrowded.
"It was true that there was need for a gymnasium, but it was only because of the desire for a state championship in basketball that money was wasted in building an arena to accommodate spectators rather than a gymnasium in which boys and girls might play."
The introduction, signed George D. Strayer and N.L. Engelhardt, precedes the remaining 134 pages in the book, printed in 1929. More than 77 years later, the same words could be applied to many cities and collegiate communities.
Particularly in college athletics, as the financial stakes have risen and super-celebrity has been granted to players and coaches in the high-earning sports, the culture of facilities construction is in the middle of a boom. In keeping up with the Joneses, schools frantically raise money to renovate or build facilities to one-up rivals and woo recruits and spectators with fat wallets and a passion for their teams.
Almost everywhere you turn, schools from Division I-A to Division III are building, have planned or have completed new athletics facilities in the past 15 years, even if their expansion isn't a result of success. The University of Illinois, which last weekend won its first Big Ten Conference football game since 2004, will begin construction in November on a $160 million privately financed renovation to its Memorial Stadium.
Many feel that such spending comes at the sacrifice of more important needs to schools, but athletic department personnel say much of the spending is done with privately raised money.
Despite the debate, the building continues.
"We've got the arms race going on," said Lou Holtz, the former Notre Dame coach and current ESPN college football analyst. "When I went to Notre Dame, Father Joyce said, 'There's two things you aren't going to come in here and change. You aren't going to change the schedule. ... And we don't have good facilities and we don't want to improve them.' That was their attitude then.
"But everybody now, it's not just the stadiums, it's the locker rooms, it's the hall of fame, it's the meeting rooms ? it's all about recruiting now. Somewhere, somebody has to say, 'Whoa.' "
Who's building?
In the mid-1990s, Walter A. Haas Jr. and his wife, Evelyn, donated $11 million to the University of California at Berkeley to begin a campaign meant to build a new basketball arena to replace aging Harmon Gym. After spending $57.5 million ? with $41 million from private donations and $16.5 from a combination of avenues including a campus seismic safety fund ? Cal opened Haas Pavilion in 1999.
That investment hasn't turned into profit. During the 2004-05 academic year, according to Cal's Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act report, the athletic department lost $7.9 million, by far the worst for any Division I-A school.
But Cal wasn't the only school in a bad financial position that was building. The University of Washington, which lost $2.2 million as a department, recently renovated its Conibear Shellhouse, home to the crew team, by adding 75 percent of space and making it 47,250 square feet.
As of November 2004, according to a Bloomberg survey, 17 Division I-A schools had at least $45 million in athletics debt, much of it from building or renovating facilities. Ohio State led that group at $202 million, more than double of second-place Wisconsin ($90 million).
Most of the building boom at OSU occurred under previous Athletic Director Andy Geiger. Tom Hof, the department's senior associate athletic director for external relations, said Geiger inspired his staff with plans to erect top-notch facilities for every sport.
The school renovated the football stadium and built a basketball arena, baseball stadium and track facility. A new football complex at a cost of $20 million will be completed by March, and fundraising is under way for a boathouse for the rowing teams, a softball stadium and an indoor tennis complex.
"(Geiger's) philosophy was that if we had a sport, then we owed it to the students and their parents to provide an excellent experience," Hof said, "and the field hockey player should have the same experience as the football player."
Most of the building is done in the name of spending money to make money.
"I tend to think they're chasing fool's gold," said David Ridpath, executive director of the Drake Group, a college athletics watchdog. "How much do you really need huge video boards?"
Building for whom?
As a highly recruited football prospect, La Salle High School defensive end Ben Martin has been hearing from some of the nation's top college football programs. In the past few months, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Martin he has made campus visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida and Tennessee. Each time he hears a similar refrain.
"Everybody likes to brag about what they have and what they're building," Martin said. "They're all talking about putting up the best stuff. But you know wherever you go you're going to have the good stuff."
So what benefits come from that good stuff? Some say interest from students at large, but a 2003 study commissioned by the NCAA concluded, "Expanded athletic programs appear to be neither the road to riches nor the road to financial ruin."
Ted Kissell, the University of Dayton athletic director, said that upgraded facilities are instrumental in retaining coaches, hiring new ones and making sure the school remains attractive to potential suitors in an era of league instability.
But he also knows that the bottom-line business of athletics is winning, and some extravagance is necessary to make statements to recruits.
"The tension you feel ? and we haven't had to face this very often ? is at what point does something become excessive? All of ours have been pretty practical with one exception: the Donoher Center," he said, referring to the $5 million basketball complex at UD Arena.
"It wasn't like we didn't have a place where the kids could shower. That was all about marketing the program. We were looking to make a dramatic statement, to have a recruit come in and said, 'Whoa, these guys can hang with anybody.' "
A building boom is raging in college athletics, and all the big schools are trying to keep up
By Kyle Nagel and Doug Harris
Staff Writers
Friday, October 06, 2006
On the third page of a brown, hardback book titled The Future of Interscholastic Athletics, there's a telling introduction:
"A gymnasium with a seating capacity of 3,000 was recently built in a city having 25,000 inhabitants," it reads. "The board of education had been advised with respect to the need for classroom and laboratory accommodations in the their high school, which was overcrowded.
"It was true that there was need for a gymnasium, but it was only because of the desire for a state championship in basketball that money was wasted in building an arena to accommodate spectators rather than a gymnasium in which boys and girls might play."
The introduction, signed George D. Strayer and N.L. Engelhardt, precedes the remaining 134 pages in the book, printed in 1929. More than 77 years later, the same words could be applied to many cities and collegiate communities.
Particularly in college athletics, as the financial stakes have risen and super-celebrity has been granted to players and coaches in the high-earning sports, the culture of facilities construction is in the middle of a boom. In keeping up with the Joneses, schools frantically raise money to renovate or build facilities to one-up rivals and woo recruits and spectators with fat wallets and a passion for their teams.
Almost everywhere you turn, schools from Division I-A to Division III are building, have planned or have completed new athletics facilities in the past 15 years, even if their expansion isn't a result of success. The University of Illinois, which last weekend won its first Big Ten Conference football game since 2004, will begin construction in November on a $160 million privately financed renovation to its Memorial Stadium.
Many feel that such spending comes at the sacrifice of more important needs to schools, but athletic department personnel say much of the spending is done with privately raised money.
Despite the debate, the building continues.
"We've got the arms race going on," said Lou Holtz, the former Notre Dame coach and current ESPN college football analyst. "When I went to Notre Dame, Father Joyce said, 'There's two things you aren't going to come in here and change. You aren't going to change the schedule. ... And we don't have good facilities and we don't want to improve them.' That was their attitude then.
"But everybody now, it's not just the stadiums, it's the locker rooms, it's the hall of fame, it's the meeting rooms ? it's all about recruiting now. Somewhere, somebody has to say, 'Whoa.' "
Who's building?
In the mid-1990s, Walter A. Haas Jr. and his wife, Evelyn, donated $11 million to the University of California at Berkeley to begin a campaign meant to build a new basketball arena to replace aging Harmon Gym. After spending $57.5 million ? with $41 million from private donations and $16.5 from a combination of avenues including a campus seismic safety fund ? Cal opened Haas Pavilion in 1999.
That investment hasn't turned into profit. During the 2004-05 academic year, according to Cal's Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act report, the athletic department lost $7.9 million, by far the worst for any Division I-A school.
But Cal wasn't the only school in a bad financial position that was building. The University of Washington, which lost $2.2 million as a department, recently renovated its Conibear Shellhouse, home to the crew team, by adding 75 percent of space and making it 47,250 square feet.
As of November 2004, according to a Bloomberg survey, 17 Division I-A schools had at least $45 million in athletics debt, much of it from building or renovating facilities. Ohio State led that group at $202 million, more than double of second-place Wisconsin ($90 million).
Most of the building boom at OSU occurred under previous Athletic Director Andy Geiger. Tom Hof, the department's senior associate athletic director for external relations, said Geiger inspired his staff with plans to erect top-notch facilities for every sport.
The school renovated the football stadium and built a basketball arena, baseball stadium and track facility. A new football complex at a cost of $20 million will be completed by March, and fundraising is under way for a boathouse for the rowing teams, a softball stadium and an indoor tennis complex.
"(Geiger's) philosophy was that if we had a sport, then we owed it to the students and their parents to provide an excellent experience," Hof said, "and the field hockey player should have the same experience as the football player."
Most of the building is done in the name of spending money to make money.
"I tend to think they're chasing fool's gold," said David Ridpath, executive director of the Drake Group, a college athletics watchdog. "How much do you really need huge video boards?"
Building for whom?
As a highly recruited football prospect, La Salle High School defensive end Ben Martin has been hearing from some of the nation's top college football programs. In the past few months, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Martin he has made campus visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida and Tennessee. Each time he hears a similar refrain.
"Everybody likes to brag about what they have and what they're building," Martin said. "They're all talking about putting up the best stuff. But you know wherever you go you're going to have the good stuff."
So what benefits come from that good stuff? Some say interest from students at large, but a 2003 study commissioned by the NCAA concluded, "Expanded athletic programs appear to be neither the road to riches nor the road to financial ruin."
Ted Kissell, the University of Dayton athletic director, said that upgraded facilities are instrumental in retaining coaches, hiring new ones and making sure the school remains attractive to potential suitors in an era of league instability.
But he also knows that the bottom-line business of athletics is winning, and some extravagance is necessary to make statements to recruits.
"The tension you feel ? and we haven't had to face this very often ? is at what point does something become excessive? All of ours have been pretty practical with one exception: the Donoher Center," he said, referring to the $5 million basketball complex at UD Arena.
"It wasn't like we didn't have a place where the kids could shower. That was all about marketing the program. We were looking to make a dramatic statement, to have a recruit come in and said, 'Whoa, these guys can hang with anybody.' "
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DDN
Big Ten schools open their wallets for a variety of projects
By Dayton Daily News
Friday, October 06, 2006
Michigan
After some contentious meetings, the school's board of regents narrowly approved a $226-million renovation of Michigan Stadium. Plans call for 83 luxury suites, 3,200 club seats, a new press box and wider concourses with more restrooms and concession areas.
Capacity at the nation's largest stadium will increase from 107,501 to 108,251. The school will break ground in 2008 and finish in 2010.
About $25 million for the project will come from naming rights to various additions, a sore point among traditionalists.
"With any issue of that magnitude, there's bound to be some people who are either opposed or would do it differently," coach Lloyd Carr said. "I think the whole issue has been vetted, and discussions have gone on. I support what the group did. That's the responsibility the board has, and they've spoken, so let's go."
Wisconsin
A $109-million renovation of Camp Randall Stadium was completed in 2005, adding 72 private suites and expansive football offices and training areas.
"Everyone has new additions, and they're going to say we've got the newest this and newest that," coach Bret Bielema said. "But to me, it's the functional value of it.
"Our stadium houses not only our football field, but also our football offices, our academic center, our strength room and our training room. Our kids walk into the building, and it's all self-contained. That, to me, is the truest value because it helps in time management."
Iowa
A new press box that stretches from goal line to goal line opened this year after a $90 million renovation of Kinnick Stadium. The south end-zone stands were redone, and 46 luxury suites and 1,400 club seats were installed.
"It's the best of both worlds ? a very historic stadium and very modern stadium," coach Kirk Ferentz said. "And the best part about it is, the people enjoying the special seating will be the ones financing it."
Michigan State
A $64-million renovation of Spartan Stadium was completed 2005, adding 830 club seats and 24 luxury suites and increasing capacity by about 3,000 to 75,005. Next up: a $20-million weight room and football complex.
Illinois
Construction on the $160 million project dubbed Illinois Renaissance is scheduled to begin Nov. 26, the day after the state high school football championships at Memorial Stadium.
In addition to 48 luxury suites and 1,075 club seats, permanent stands and new workout space for the football team will replace temporary bleachers at the north end of the field.
Minnesota
After sharing the downtown Metrodome with the Vikings and Twins for years, Minnesota broke ground this week on a $248.7 million, open-air, campus stadium that will seat 50,000, although it could be expanded to 80,000 by enclosing the horseshoe and adding an upper deck.
It will open in 2009, and naming rights have already been purchased by TCF Bank for $35 million. Only four other schools have built stadiums with a capacity of at least 50,000 in the past 50 years: Kentucky, North Carolina State, Stanford and West Virginia.
Purdue
A $70-million renovation of Ross-Ade Stadium that was completed in 2003 included 34 luxury suites, 204 indoor club seats and a new press box.
Indiana
A $3.5-million renovation of Memorial Stadium added eight luxury suites and 300 club seats in 2003. The football locker room was upgraded, and new artificial turf was installed.
Big Ten schools open their wallets for a variety of projects
By Dayton Daily News
Friday, October 06, 2006
Michigan
After some contentious meetings, the school's board of regents narrowly approved a $226-million renovation of Michigan Stadium. Plans call for 83 luxury suites, 3,200 club seats, a new press box and wider concourses with more restrooms and concession areas.
Capacity at the nation's largest stadium will increase from 107,501 to 108,251. The school will break ground in 2008 and finish in 2010.
About $25 million for the project will come from naming rights to various additions, a sore point among traditionalists.
"With any issue of that magnitude, there's bound to be some people who are either opposed or would do it differently," coach Lloyd Carr said. "I think the whole issue has been vetted, and discussions have gone on. I support what the group did. That's the responsibility the board has, and they've spoken, so let's go."
Wisconsin
A $109-million renovation of Camp Randall Stadium was completed in 2005, adding 72 private suites and expansive football offices and training areas.
"Everyone has new additions, and they're going to say we've got the newest this and newest that," coach Bret Bielema said. "But to me, it's the functional value of it.
"Our stadium houses not only our football field, but also our football offices, our academic center, our strength room and our training room. Our kids walk into the building, and it's all self-contained. That, to me, is the truest value because it helps in time management."
Iowa
A new press box that stretches from goal line to goal line opened this year after a $90 million renovation of Kinnick Stadium. The south end-zone stands were redone, and 46 luxury suites and 1,400 club seats were installed.
"It's the best of both worlds ? a very historic stadium and very modern stadium," coach Kirk Ferentz said. "And the best part about it is, the people enjoying the special seating will be the ones financing it."
Michigan State
A $64-million renovation of Spartan Stadium was completed 2005, adding 830 club seats and 24 luxury suites and increasing capacity by about 3,000 to 75,005. Next up: a $20-million weight room and football complex.
Illinois
Construction on the $160 million project dubbed Illinois Renaissance is scheduled to begin Nov. 26, the day after the state high school football championships at Memorial Stadium.
In addition to 48 luxury suites and 1,075 club seats, permanent stands and new workout space for the football team will replace temporary bleachers at the north end of the field.
Minnesota
After sharing the downtown Metrodome with the Vikings and Twins for years, Minnesota broke ground this week on a $248.7 million, open-air, campus stadium that will seat 50,000, although it could be expanded to 80,000 by enclosing the horseshoe and adding an upper deck.
It will open in 2009, and naming rights have already been purchased by TCF Bank for $35 million. Only four other schools have built stadiums with a capacity of at least 50,000 in the past 50 years: Kentucky, North Carolina State, Stanford and West Virginia.
Purdue
A $70-million renovation of Ross-Ade Stadium that was completed in 2003 included 34 luxury suites, 204 indoor club seats and a new press box.
Indiana
A $3.5-million renovation of Memorial Stadium added eight luxury suites and 300 club seats in 2003. The football locker room was upgraded, and new artificial turf was installed.
Upvote
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sammyjenkis
Hall of Fame
I couldn't find the Tressel Office pics thread earlier, but this link has a couple. It's a set of WHAC picks in the DDN:
Link
Link
Upvote
0
Official Site
Diffusion of Innovation
Woody Hayes Athletic Center acquires state-of-the-art facelift
Woody Hayes Athletic Center
Oct. 28, 2006
<i>By Emily Meyer</i>
The body is a work of art always evolving and adapting to its environment. But what happens when the body surpasses the boundaries of its surroundings?
For nearly 20 years, the Woody Hayes Athletic Center (WHAC) gave the Ohio State football program the ability to sculpt and train its team. Yet, with the surge of change in technology and athletic training, the program found it had outgrown its roots. The facility has helped to mold the talent of Buckeye-greats like Eddie George (1992-95), Orlando Pace (1994-96), Will Smith (2000-03) and most recently A.J. Hawk (2002-05) into top physical form served the program well, but it need space to grow.
The OSU football program, under the lead of coach Jim Tressel since 2001, devotes the same time and discipline to its artwork - the development of young men into elite athletes - as Michelangelo did with "David." To stay competitive in the physical Big Ten Conference, Ohio State found it necessary to reclaim the grandeur of the WHAC. At the completion of the $19.5 million makeover in February 2007, the WHAC, which opened in 1987 as one of the best indoor facilities of its kind in collegiate athletics, will be the home of a first-class rehab area, a 14,800-square-foot weight room and a spacious players' lounge.
And that is just the beginning.
The decision to venture into the world of yellow caution tape, "men at work" signs and hard hats was simple for the athletic department. To recruit and train the top athletes, a successful collegiate program must provide young stars with ample space and state-of-the-art equipment to aid their development. Tom Hof, Ohio State senior associate athletics external relations director, believes the WHAC renovation project conveys the athletic department's dedication to its student-athletes and community.
"When the original facility was built, it was the golden standard in the country for an indoor facility," Hof said. "Here at Ohio State, we have always felt we should be a leader. We like to be a national leader and feel we have the ability to do that. In addition, we have an obligation to our student-athletes to provide excellent facilities, coaching and financial resources to give them a great experience."
The administrative team and coaching staff were driven to make sure the football program provided its players a place to succeed and focus on football. That is why the new facility also features an indoor racquetball court, a basketball court, gaming room and study room in the players' lounge. By supplying a gamut of amenities to the design, it eliminates the team's need to find a place to relax. It is all located "on site."
While the WHAC was still a great building, it was showing its age. Plans to update the center started brewing after the 2002 national championship, but plans were not set in motion until a year later in February 2004. Now, a little more than two and a half years later, the project has traversed the long road to development after having to meet university and state codes and regulations. The project broke ground in February 2006 and Don Patko, Ohio State's assistant athletics director for facilities, insists it is possible for the project, which consists of renovating the original 33,000 square-feet and the addition of 52,700 square-feet, to be completed in one calendar year.
"The project is on schedule and on budget," Patko said. "What is nice about this project is the site contractors realize how important their work is. They know their work is important to the football program and have been serious about delivering this project to the athletic department on time."
Already, the building has been turned into a think tank with the latest technology incorporated into team meeting rooms to facilitate the educational side of Tressel's program in the project's first phase completed last July. Phase one of the restoration featured an overhaul of the coaches and players' locker rooms, meeting rooms and coaches' offices.
"Coach Tressel had a lot of input into the start of the project," Patko explained. "Tressel mentioned he would like to expand the WHAC to add offices, meeting rooms and larger weight and athletic training areas because he was concerned he needed more teaching spaces than the old facility allotted for."
And Tressel is perhaps the most excited to see the project continue to meet its deadlines.
"It's amazing the progress the crews have made, so we can open the finest facility in the land in February," Tressel said on his coaches show in early September. "In the end, we will have more than 130,000-square feet of space for our guys to practice, train, rehab, study and relax. Everything is here, so there is no reason to be anywhere else."
Before the renovations, the WHAC only had one large meeting room. When the offensive and defensive units broke into separate sessions to go over film and work with specific coaches, the program found itself limited by the walls of its facility. The new facility features the addition of another large meeting room to compliment the original and multiple breakout rooms to allow the team to hold meetings by positions allowing individual athlete the maximum amount attention in the learning progress.
The original design plans for the WHAC lacked space for offices for assistant coaches because at that time they were still located in St. John Arena. Shortly after the center opened, the coaching staff realized it was impossible to work effectively in two separate buildings. For years, the assistant coaches' offices have played a double role also holding the team's "breakout" rooms. With the completion of the project, the coaches will finally have an area to call their own.
Technology acted as an important catalyst and set the multi-million dollar project into motion. The necessity for a technological update was apparent on all ends of the spectrum. From film review to press conferences to rehabbing injured players, the outdated technological equipment in the existing building caused many headaches.
All meeting rooms feature state-of-the-art projection screens, flat screen TVs and film study equipment. During the WHAC's update, 12 flat screen TVs were mounted in the players' locker room. The locker room maintained its original design, yet everything in it is new from the tiles and fixtures in the shower room to the "Block O" carpet and open-faced, oak lockers.
Top on Tressel's list of favorite technology updates are the numerous flat screen TVs installed to allow his athletes more time to study themselves at work.
"The technology is great," Tressel said. "We have 39 flat screen TVs in this building, so our kids can study - not only their football films - but they can study themselves running on the underwater treadmill as they are working on rehab or they can study their sprinting style and weight lifting motions. We have no excuse not to get better and better everyday."
Moving beyond the necessities Ohio State's program required for mental preparation of the game, Tressel also saw the boundaries of the WHAC restraining the physical advancement of his players. The athletic training and weight rooms were simply not large enough to conduct the team's day-to-day business.
Doug Calland, the head athletic trainer for the football team, is looking forward to the advanced equipment he and his staff will have at their disposal when the project concludes in early 2007.
"The new athletic training area is exciting because it will offer us the opportunity to do more things for the athletes," Calland said. "The old place was outstanding and served us well for a long time, but there was no rehab space. The athletic training area used to be a room with taping tables on one side and treatment tables on the other. There was no room to rehab because there was no floor space to work with a player on a stability ball or even a place to do flexibility work. All you did was tape-up an athlete and hand him an ice bag in the past."
With the larger facility, the athletic training team was able to add a hydrotherapy area featuring two plunge tanks, one polar and one thermal, for hip or upper leg injuries. Patko describes it as a necessary advancement from the standard process at the old WHAC.
"Instead of using Rubbermaid buckets in the shower like before, the athletic trainers can take care of injuries with the polar and thermal plunge tanks and hopefully get our athletes back on the field faster," Patko said.
A third pool will feature an underwater treadmill large enough to have four athletes working out simultaneously. Calland said the underwater treadmill will help maintain the cardiovascular fitness of injured players by jogging against water resistance without the pounding of normal machines. Calland also is partial to the new area's proximity to the players. The athletic training area is near to both the players' locker room and the weight room. Working together with the strength coach staff, Calland looks toward a collaborative effort to help prevent injury. Even with the greatest amount of caution, injuries remain a part of the game, so design plans also made sure to include updated medical areas.
"We have doubled the space of the physician examine room," Calland said. "Now we can have a couple of doctors working on multiple players at one time. In addition, the pharmacy area has been expanded. From the start of the planning progress, the administration asked us what we needed in athletic training to do our job and we were fortunate to receive almost everything we asked for."
The new weight room will cover 13,000 square-feet on the lower level and feature a 1,800-square-foot cardio balcony. Doubling in total size, the weight room will use a combination of old and new equipment to make the updated area competitive among the industry standard.
Other areas of change include the new main lobby at the Northeast corner of the facility. An important part of the new design allows a separate entrance for student-athletes like many facilities the professional leagues tout. The players will have a key-gated parking lot and entry into the WHAC to protect their privacy.
While the top-notch technology and expanded areas within the facility gives the football program a chance to again boast one of the finest in the business, the astounding part of the WHAC renovation is the outpouring support from the Buckeye community.
Hof and his fundraising team have received funding to cover the total cost of the renovation project.
"It is exciting for us to have supporters who have raised nearly $20 million for this project," Hof said. "It shows the administration our community believes in what Ohio State is doing and they want us to have the finest facilities. Coach Tressel runs a wonderful program the community feels good about it not only on the field, but academically and community-wise as well."
Especially exciting for the university is a $5 million anonymous donation, although Hof stresses the importance of every donation.
"Twenty million dollars is a significant amount of money to raise, but the members of this community have stepped up on all levels," Hof said. "The $5 million gift is exceptional, but not the norm. We accept gifts at different levels because it all counts toward making the project happen and we are still offering opportunities for donors to support the project."
Former-student athletes like Mike and Jen Vrabel have contributed to the WHAC renovation project.
"We are always excited to have former-athletes like Mike (football) and Jen (volleyball) support Ohio State football because it goes back to Woody Hayes' `pay-it-forward' attitude. It is refreshing to see the couple help make the facility even better for the next class of athletes."
Recruits entering the halls of the newly revamped facility will see the university and its community's support of Ohio State football. Ushering in a new generation of talent, the football, strength and athletic training staffs anticipate the vast opportunitiesthe refurbished and expanded areas will allow each area of the program to grow in excellence.
Diffusion of Innovation
Woody Hayes Athletic Center acquires state-of-the-art facelift
Woody Hayes Athletic Center
Oct. 28, 2006
<i>By Emily Meyer</i>
The body is a work of art always evolving and adapting to its environment. But what happens when the body surpasses the boundaries of its surroundings?
For nearly 20 years, the Woody Hayes Athletic Center (WHAC) gave the Ohio State football program the ability to sculpt and train its team. Yet, with the surge of change in technology and athletic training, the program found it had outgrown its roots. The facility has helped to mold the talent of Buckeye-greats like Eddie George (1992-95), Orlando Pace (1994-96), Will Smith (2000-03) and most recently A.J. Hawk (2002-05) into top physical form served the program well, but it need space to grow.
The OSU football program, under the lead of coach Jim Tressel since 2001, devotes the same time and discipline to its artwork - the development of young men into elite athletes - as Michelangelo did with "David." To stay competitive in the physical Big Ten Conference, Ohio State found it necessary to reclaim the grandeur of the WHAC. At the completion of the $19.5 million makeover in February 2007, the WHAC, which opened in 1987 as one of the best indoor facilities of its kind in collegiate athletics, will be the home of a first-class rehab area, a 14,800-square-foot weight room and a spacious players' lounge.
And that is just the beginning.
The decision to venture into the world of yellow caution tape, "men at work" signs and hard hats was simple for the athletic department. To recruit and train the top athletes, a successful collegiate program must provide young stars with ample space and state-of-the-art equipment to aid their development. Tom Hof, Ohio State senior associate athletics external relations director, believes the WHAC renovation project conveys the athletic department's dedication to its student-athletes and community.
"When the original facility was built, it was the golden standard in the country for an indoor facility," Hof said. "Here at Ohio State, we have always felt we should be a leader. We like to be a national leader and feel we have the ability to do that. In addition, we have an obligation to our student-athletes to provide excellent facilities, coaching and financial resources to give them a great experience."
The administrative team and coaching staff were driven to make sure the football program provided its players a place to succeed and focus on football. That is why the new facility also features an indoor racquetball court, a basketball court, gaming room and study room in the players' lounge. By supplying a gamut of amenities to the design, it eliminates the team's need to find a place to relax. It is all located "on site."
While the WHAC was still a great building, it was showing its age. Plans to update the center started brewing after the 2002 national championship, but plans were not set in motion until a year later in February 2004. Now, a little more than two and a half years later, the project has traversed the long road to development after having to meet university and state codes and regulations. The project broke ground in February 2006 and Don Patko, Ohio State's assistant athletics director for facilities, insists it is possible for the project, which consists of renovating the original 33,000 square-feet and the addition of 52,700 square-feet, to be completed in one calendar year.
"The project is on schedule and on budget," Patko said. "What is nice about this project is the site contractors realize how important their work is. They know their work is important to the football program and have been serious about delivering this project to the athletic department on time."
Already, the building has been turned into a think tank with the latest technology incorporated into team meeting rooms to facilitate the educational side of Tressel's program in the project's first phase completed last July. Phase one of the restoration featured an overhaul of the coaches and players' locker rooms, meeting rooms and coaches' offices.
"Coach Tressel had a lot of input into the start of the project," Patko explained. "Tressel mentioned he would like to expand the WHAC to add offices, meeting rooms and larger weight and athletic training areas because he was concerned he needed more teaching spaces than the old facility allotted for."
And Tressel is perhaps the most excited to see the project continue to meet its deadlines.
"It's amazing the progress the crews have made, so we can open the finest facility in the land in February," Tressel said on his coaches show in early September. "In the end, we will have more than 130,000-square feet of space for our guys to practice, train, rehab, study and relax. Everything is here, so there is no reason to be anywhere else."
Before the renovations, the WHAC only had one large meeting room. When the offensive and defensive units broke into separate sessions to go over film and work with specific coaches, the program found itself limited by the walls of its facility. The new facility features the addition of another large meeting room to compliment the original and multiple breakout rooms to allow the team to hold meetings by positions allowing individual athlete the maximum amount attention in the learning progress.
The original design plans for the WHAC lacked space for offices for assistant coaches because at that time they were still located in St. John Arena. Shortly after the center opened, the coaching staff realized it was impossible to work effectively in two separate buildings. For years, the assistant coaches' offices have played a double role also holding the team's "breakout" rooms. With the completion of the project, the coaches will finally have an area to call their own.
Technology acted as an important catalyst and set the multi-million dollar project into motion. The necessity for a technological update was apparent on all ends of the spectrum. From film review to press conferences to rehabbing injured players, the outdated technological equipment in the existing building caused many headaches.
All meeting rooms feature state-of-the-art projection screens, flat screen TVs and film study equipment. During the WHAC's update, 12 flat screen TVs were mounted in the players' locker room. The locker room maintained its original design, yet everything in it is new from the tiles and fixtures in the shower room to the "Block O" carpet and open-faced, oak lockers.
Top on Tressel's list of favorite technology updates are the numerous flat screen TVs installed to allow his athletes more time to study themselves at work.
"The technology is great," Tressel said. "We have 39 flat screen TVs in this building, so our kids can study - not only their football films - but they can study themselves running on the underwater treadmill as they are working on rehab or they can study their sprinting style and weight lifting motions. We have no excuse not to get better and better everyday."
Moving beyond the necessities Ohio State's program required for mental preparation of the game, Tressel also saw the boundaries of the WHAC restraining the physical advancement of his players. The athletic training and weight rooms were simply not large enough to conduct the team's day-to-day business.
Doug Calland, the head athletic trainer for the football team, is looking forward to the advanced equipment he and his staff will have at their disposal when the project concludes in early 2007.
"The new athletic training area is exciting because it will offer us the opportunity to do more things for the athletes," Calland said. "The old place was outstanding and served us well for a long time, but there was no rehab space. The athletic training area used to be a room with taping tables on one side and treatment tables on the other. There was no room to rehab because there was no floor space to work with a player on a stability ball or even a place to do flexibility work. All you did was tape-up an athlete and hand him an ice bag in the past."
With the larger facility, the athletic training team was able to add a hydrotherapy area featuring two plunge tanks, one polar and one thermal, for hip or upper leg injuries. Patko describes it as a necessary advancement from the standard process at the old WHAC.
"Instead of using Rubbermaid buckets in the shower like before, the athletic trainers can take care of injuries with the polar and thermal plunge tanks and hopefully get our athletes back on the field faster," Patko said.
A third pool will feature an underwater treadmill large enough to have four athletes working out simultaneously. Calland said the underwater treadmill will help maintain the cardiovascular fitness of injured players by jogging against water resistance without the pounding of normal machines. Calland also is partial to the new area's proximity to the players. The athletic training area is near to both the players' locker room and the weight room. Working together with the strength coach staff, Calland looks toward a collaborative effort to help prevent injury. Even with the greatest amount of caution, injuries remain a part of the game, so design plans also made sure to include updated medical areas.
"We have doubled the space of the physician examine room," Calland said. "Now we can have a couple of doctors working on multiple players at one time. In addition, the pharmacy area has been expanded. From the start of the planning progress, the administration asked us what we needed in athletic training to do our job and we were fortunate to receive almost everything we asked for."
The new weight room will cover 13,000 square-feet on the lower level and feature a 1,800-square-foot cardio balcony. Doubling in total size, the weight room will use a combination of old and new equipment to make the updated area competitive among the industry standard.
Other areas of change include the new main lobby at the Northeast corner of the facility. An important part of the new design allows a separate entrance for student-athletes like many facilities the professional leagues tout. The players will have a key-gated parking lot and entry into the WHAC to protect their privacy.
While the top-notch technology and expanded areas within the facility gives the football program a chance to again boast one of the finest in the business, the astounding part of the WHAC renovation is the outpouring support from the Buckeye community.
Hof and his fundraising team have received funding to cover the total cost of the renovation project.
"It is exciting for us to have supporters who have raised nearly $20 million for this project," Hof said. "It shows the administration our community believes in what Ohio State is doing and they want us to have the finest facilities. Coach Tressel runs a wonderful program the community feels good about it not only on the field, but academically and community-wise as well."
Especially exciting for the university is a $5 million anonymous donation, although Hof stresses the importance of every donation.
"Twenty million dollars is a significant amount of money to raise, but the members of this community have stepped up on all levels," Hof said. "The $5 million gift is exceptional, but not the norm. We accept gifts at different levels because it all counts toward making the project happen and we are still offering opportunities for donors to support the project."
Former-student athletes like Mike and Jen Vrabel have contributed to the WHAC renovation project.
"We are always excited to have former-athletes like Mike (football) and Jen (volleyball) support Ohio State football because it goes back to Woody Hayes' `pay-it-forward' attitude. It is refreshing to see the couple help make the facility even better for the next class of athletes."
Recruits entering the halls of the newly revamped facility will see the university and its community's support of Ohio State football. Ushering in a new generation of talent, the football, strength and athletic training staffs anticipate the vast opportunitiesthe refurbished and expanded areas will allow each area of the program to grow in excellence.
Upvote
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