B1G Facilities Arms Race

[Mavric]

DiNardo said Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan have the best overall setups in the league because all have stand-alone football complexes that function as a one-stop spot for players to practice, get dressed and meet. Michigan’s Schembechler Hall, DiNardo said, “needs to be freshened up.” UM regents in May approved a $14.8 million sports performance center project to update the facility that will be finished in winter 2018.

 

DiNardo said Nebraska’s facilities are “great” and similar to Wisconsin’s. NU’s only problem, DiNardo said, is that much of the football-centric stuff is housed inside the “pre-existing building” of Memorial Stadium. Wisconsin has the same setup.

 

“It doesn’t hurt them in recruiting,” DiNardo said. “If I’m a recruit and I walk into this beautiful weight room and I walk into this beautiful indoor facility, I don’t really understand that, when I come to school, I’ve got to go here, here and here. So it doesn’t hurt them getting 25. It hurts them with the 85. That’s the difference.”

 

OWH

[Landlord]

What? That doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense.

[Huskers44]

What? That doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense.

Dinardo=dumb

[Herbie95]

I was going to post on this same topic. It's as if Dinardo has never been in Nebraska's facilities and physically walked from the locker rooms to the weight room or indoor practice facility. If you didn't look out the window going over the bridge back to Memorial stadium it isn't any different than everything being in one building because it essentially is. I think he's confused and thinks he's still coaching at Colorado and it's still 1989.

[B.B. Hemingway]

 

DiNardo said Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan have the best overall setups in the league because all have stand-alone football complexes that function as a one-stop spot for players to practice, get dressed and meet. Michigan’s Schembechler Hall, DiNardo said, “needs to be freshened up.” UM regents in May approved a $14.8 million sports performance center project to update the facility that will be finished in winter 2018.

 

DiNardo said Nebraska’s facilities are “great” and similar to Wisconsin’s. NU’s only problem, DiNardo said, is that much of the football-centric stuff is housed inside the “pre-existing building” of Memorial Stadium. Wisconsin has the same setup.

 

“It doesn’t hurt them in recruiting,” DiNardo said. “If I’m a recruit and I walk into this beautiful weight room and I walk into this beautiful indoor facility, I don’t really understand that, when I come to school, I’ve got to go here, here and here. So it doesn’t hurt them getting 25. It hurts them with the 85. That’s the difference.”

 

OWH

 

 

 

[gorp512]

Penn State doesn't even have the nicest facilities in a Pennsylvania

[I am I]

I've been coaching my sons youth tackle football the last 4 yrs out here in Denver. Some of them (going into 7th grade) and many of their older brothers who are getting recruited have been touring the new facilities at Colorado St, K-State, Ok St, Ariz St, and the plans they have at CU amongst others.

 

The reports back from their fathers and mothers is that these new facitlties and what lies inside are nothing short of spectacular. It is an arms race and it's one that we better be using that $45M from the B1G on keeping up with. The pics I've seen, the stories of grandeur, and the emphasis of EVERYONE who is in the race means that just because ours is good doesn't mean it stacks up to anyone else's.

 

Gone are the days where we just outclass everyone because, ya know, we are Nebraska are OVER. We need to revamp our sh#t every 3-5 yrs. Bank that. I've been seen smaller schools with less trophies, less space, less pedigree, and less $$ do what we are doing and it's awesome. We need to be more awesome.

 

(Disclaimer: I've been in the bowels of Memorial and seen everything there is to see, I know what we have. Plus...we have 90k+ in those stands every week which those others don't. But that doesn't mean other schools don't have better sh#t than we)

[skersfan]

The last time I was there was the Texas game and snow. Do not remember the year. We looked around and the place was nice. But from what you hear on Siris/XM we really are not on a level with the top programs.

 

Good friend is a big time Dallas Cowboys fan, he goes to Jerry's world at least once a year. I told him to stop in at Oregon on his vacation last year, all he could say is that it is incredible. My guess is Maryland will be the same shortly and their recruiting is on the rise. As stated above, we need to keep up or lead, as we need every advantage we can get.

 

I am headed to Oregon in September, want to see the Ducks nest. Also going by Oregon State to see how it compares to Nebraska in regards to hard to recruit to.

 

Clemson/Alabama have both just recently upgraded, Texas A&M spending big bucks. Other schools in the B1G are spending their money on facilities. Are we?

[jaws]

It would be interesting to see what happens to all these facilities once some of the media money dries up. You have to think the bubble will pop sooner or later.

[seaofred92]

It would be interesting to see what happens to all these facilities once some of the media money dries up. You have to think the bubble will pop sooner or later.

all the more reason for us to go nuts and build a Taj Mahal type building before the money is gone

[BigRedBuster]

Spending 10s of millions of dollars to do nothing but impress 18 year old kids. Spending this money, doesn't make them better football players. It only impresses them.

 

It's sad this is where college sports is at....but, we have to play the game.

 

Having more cool video games or fancier locker rooms has never made someone stronger, faster or a better tackler.

 

There is something about this that turns me off to the sport some.

[VectorVictor]

Playing devil's advocate here...what DiNardo is saying actually strikes to the heart of what some of the complaints are re: spending 10s of millions of dollars to impress 18 year olds.

 

Instead of spending money just to impress, schools are spending to help streamline organization of the football team, from practice, study, coaching, to training. That's where his 25 vs. 85 comment comes into play--Nebraska has great facilities to impress the 25 kids you want to sign with the program, but our facilities don't contribute to streamlining the process of coaching/preparation and doesn't create efficiency at the team level (the 85 that Gary is referring to). Our facilities are disjointed, cumbersome, and potentially create inefficiencies in the coaching process.

 

There is a finite number of on-the-field coaches and a finite amount of time these coaches can spend with the kids on the field. It makes sense that programs have all of this in one self-contained unit to help maximize efficiency and work with the kids.

 

People can crap on Gary, but at the end of the day, he's been to all of these schools and seen their facilities and programs, and most of us haven't. He's not putting Nebraska down--he's putting our AD (and our fans) on notice that there's a better way to do things, and that we (and other B1G programs) should take note.

[Swiv3D]

Nebraska has great facilities to impress the 25 kids you want to sign with the program, but our facilities don't contribute to streamlining the process of coaching/preparation and doesn't create efficiency at the team level (the 85 that Gary is referring to). Our facilities are disjointed, cumbersome, and potentially create inefficiencies in the coaching process.

100% don't agree with this

[Swiv3D]

Double post

[jaws]

 

It would be interesting to see what happens to all these facilities once some of the media money dries up. You have to think the bubble will pop sooner or later.

all the more reason for us to go nuts and build a Taj Mahal type building before the money is gone

 

 

You want to build mausoleum for the football program? Some might say that sums up Nebraska football.