High-tech locker rooms set standard for NU as it u

[HuskerBob]

i dont agree with this bs

 

 

High-tech locker rooms set standard for NU as it upgrades

 

BY BILL HORD

 

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN - Forget padlocks. No more musty, steamy locker-room odor. No need to tape notes to a locker room door.

 

Technology is coming to the locker room of the future for Nebraska football.

 

Locker luster

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Oregon's extras

• The locker room is almost four times the size of the previous facility.

 

• Three 60-inch plasma screens; individual screens at each locker that are equipped to run PlayStation 2 games.

 

• Lighting system mimics weather conditions so players don't have to squint when going outside.

 

In UNL's plans

• 9,000-square-foot locker room and lounge.

 

• 10-inch individual screens in lockers for instant messaging.

 

• Fingerprint reader to unlock locker doors.

 

 

In its plans for north stadium expansion, the University of Nebraska athletic department is including high-tech upgrades that are certain to wow student-athletes and recruits.

 

Each locker will have its own 10-inch individual screen for instant messaging. ("Bruno! Coach Callahan wants you in his office - pronto!")

 

In addition, each locker will have a fingerprint reader to unlock the door when the right player presses his hand against it. Lockers will have integrated venting systems to remove moisture and keep the air fresh.

 

These details and others were gleaned from the documentation that NU officials gave contractors interested in bidding on the expansion of Memorial Stadium announced in November.

 

The project, which NU has estimated will cost $50 million, is to include the makeover of Schulte Fieldhouse to bring together the Huskers' football offices, locker rooms, training facilities and strength complex.

 

NU officials declined to talk about details of the north stadium renovation and expansion while the final contract is being negotiated with the Weitz Co., a Des Moines-based construction company with an office in Omaha.

 

Former Husker Football Coach Frank Solich had long pressed for improved locker rooms, saying the existing facilities were well below the standard set by other major football programs. Solich was fired in November after a 9-3 season.

 

Among the anticipated features of the expansion are things that matter to young athletes deciding where they are going to spend four or five years.

 

"The bells and whistles are definitely important," said national recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree. "The University of Oregon is a great example."

 

Oregon spent $3.2 million last year to have the nation's most extravagant locker room and lounge, with three 60-inch plasma screens for $15,000 each. Plasma screens at each locker are equipped for playing PlayStation 2 games.

 

"Oregon, no question, is the ultimate," Crabtree said.

 

Oregon has a 2004 football recruiting class ranked 12th in the nation by Rivals.com. Previously, its recruiting classes were consistently ranked out of the top 25.

 

NU's minimum requirements call for a 42-inch screen in the locker room. What NU gets beyond the "minimum" won't be known until the final designs are completed by the construction team.

 

The new Nebraska locker room - as well as the entire athletic complex - will have wireless technology for accessing the Internet with laptop computers.

 

Original plans envisioned 140 lockers and a locker room lounge to overlook the strength training facility. The lockers are expected to be of the latest design with a silent motorized door.

 

The room would feature a recovery pool, where overheated players could cool off quickly.

 

In all, the new football locker room, with its players' lounge and showers, would take up 9,000 square feet, more than twice the size of a basketball court and more than three times bigger than the existing locker room.

 

Audiovisual screens with the latest technology will be installed in all multipurpose rooms, with connections available at each player's locker. The strength training room will have a large custom curved screen in one corner.

 

In the training room, an adjustable underwater treadmill will allow injured players to work out (run) in various depths of water without putting stress on strained joints.

 

Other "polar" and "thermal" plunge pools will offer water therapy that is on the cutting edge of sports training.

 

Strength training will be as high-tech as it gets.

 

Each weight machine will send workout data to a main computer, logging the name of the player, the amount of weight and the number of repetitions.

 

An updated workout routine from coaches will then be ready the next time the player reports to the weight machine. No need to write it down.

 

When it comes to testing players for speed and quickness, stop watches are antiques.

 

With NU's system, players will wear a small transponder on an ankle or leg. When a player crosses a special mat, the transponder will feed to a central computer his name and his time to one-thousandth of a second.

 

The information can be collected at several points in an athlete's test. Numerous athletes can be timed simultaneously. This equipment is portable for inside or outside use.

 

Crabtree said the technology will make a difference in attracting the best players.

 

"Kids want to play with the best equipment," he said.