B1G Facilities Arms Race

It all started with "show me the money". These kids really don't care about Nebraska, Bama, Oregon or any other school. It is about can I play soon, do I have a chance to win a NC. Will they get me ready for the NFL, the only important thing they are interested in. Kids are not like we were, living for Nebraska, the chance to play or be part of it. And those days are not coming back.

To be competitive with the top, we have to spend like we want to be.

I don't like it either, but it is the situation we are in.

I am losing some interest in it due to this, but it will take a lot more to drive me away.

 
skersfan said:
It all started with "show me the money". These kids really don't care about Nebraska, Bama, Oregon or any other school. It is about can I play soon, do I have a chance to win a NC. Will they get me ready for the NFL, the only important thing they are interested in. Kids are not like we were, living for Nebraska, the chance to play or be part of it. And those days are not coming back.

To be competitive with the top, we have to spend like we want to be.

I don't like it either, but it is the situation we are in.

I am losing some interest in it due to this, but it will take a lot more to drive me away.
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Not all kids...some grow up wanting to play for a certain school but isn't college there to prepare people for a profession and life in general? It is the same reason why people want to get an education at Stanford and MIT.

 
I agree not all, but nothing like it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago when Nebraska was relevant in college football. Our kids grew up wanting to be big linemen for the Big Red. I think you still see it in Wisconsin. Kids turned down scholarships to other places to walk on at Nebraska. I am sure the cost of education has a lot to do with that though.

But most are not at Nebraska or Bama because they grew up wanting to play there. It is more about ME today than ever before it seems. And it is not going to change back. The school, the program is just a stepping stone to the NFL, and nearly everyone at a Power 5 program thinks they have the ability to be an NFL player.

The top kids not playing in bowl games is going to increase, and then it will begin to effect their senior years or junior years. We need to recruit kids ready to play as freshmen, because in another few years most will be gone at the end of their junior year I think. I hate it, but really think it is wrong. Nebraska, Bama, Iowa gave them the stage to sell their talents, they owe it to the program to finish. I know that is old way of thinking, you finish what you start, but that is not the way things are done anymore. Use them as much as possible and move on seems to be todays moto, not only in sports.

Again there are exceptions, and those are the kids we love and remember.

I do realize it is hard to turn down money for a lot of people, but loyalty is something we have grown short on as a nation it seems to me. No I did not vote for Trump. lol

 
Here is a different perspective I was thinking about. Maybe we should build facilities that also or maybe primarily impress the Mothers of these athletes and also the Dads(secondarily). I think it is the Mom's that have the biggest influence on the son when it comes to picking a school. Have great facilities but also tie it to great education- that is what the mom wants that and a secure environment where they feel (operative word) their son is going to be cared for, nurtured, and raised to be a man. Us Dads, yes we care about education, but we can get really excited about raw facilities, weight rooms in which we envision our sons as the next NFL 1st draft choice. As the old saying goes - The man may be the head of the house but it is the wife,( mother, female )who is the shoulders that turn the head of the man. If you want to hook the young man, hook his mother first. You do that by showing you care for the things she cares about and you can do that with facilities as well.

 
skersfan said:
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?
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2006, curse you Terrance Nunn.

 
TGHusker said:
Here is a different perspective I was thinking about. Maybe we should build facilities that also or maybe primarily impress the Mothers of these athletes and also the Dads(secondarily). I think it is the Mom's that have the biggest influence on the son when it comes to picking a school. Have great facilities but also tie it to great education- that is what the mom wants that and a secure environment where they feel (operative word) their son is going to be cared for, nurtured, and raised to be a man. Us Dads, yes we care about education, but we can get really excited about raw facilities, weight rooms in which we envision our sons as the next NFL 1st draft choice. As the old saying goes - The man may be the head of the house but it is the wife,( mother, female )who is the shoulders that turn the head of the man. If you want to hook the young man, hook his mother first. You do that by showing you care for the things she cares about and you can do that with facilities as well.
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Nebraska does a really good job of this with their academic report staff. You hear recruit after recruit refer to this when asked what impressed them most. Now I have no idea if its in the same building as the rest of the football stuff but Nebraska does go above and beyond on the academic side of things.

 
wiuhusker said:
TGHusker said:
Here is a different perspective I was thinking about. Maybe we should build facilities that also or maybe primarily impress the Mothers of these athletes and also the Dads(secondarily). I think it is the Mom's that have the biggest influence on the son when it comes to picking a school. Have great facilities but also tie it to great education- that is what the mom wants that and a secure environment where they feel (operative word) their son is going to be cared for, nurtured, and raised to be a man. Us Dads, yes we care about education, but we can get really excited about raw facilities, weight rooms in which we envision our sons as the next NFL 1st draft choice. As the old saying goes - The man may be the head of the house but it is the wife,( mother, female )who is the shoulders that turn the head of the man. If you want to hook the young man, hook his mother first. You do that by showing you care for the things she cares about and you can do that with facilities as well.
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Nebraska does a really good job of this with their academic report staff. You hear recruit after recruit refer to this when asked what impressed them most. Now I have no idea if its in the same building as the rest of the football stuff but Nebraska does go above and beyond on the academic side of things.
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Yes I've heard that too. Which is great and I've heard recruit's parents comment on it. I too don't know where it is housed

 
I don't think ours are bad but don't think they're in the top 15/20 range currently. Wouldn't be surprised to see some of the BIG money go towards renovations

 
TGHusker said:
wiuhusker said:
TGHusker said:
Here is a different perspective I was thinking about. Maybe we should build facilities that also or maybe primarily impress the Mothers of these athletes and also the Dads(secondarily). I think it is the Mom's that have the biggest influence on the son when it comes to picking a school. Have great facilities but also tie it to great education- that is what the mom wants that and a secure environment where they feel (operative word) their son is going to be cared for, nurtured, and raised to be a man. Us Dads, yes we care about education, but we can get really excited about raw facilities, weight rooms in which we envision our sons as the next NFL 1st draft choice. As the old saying goes - The man may be the head of the house but it is the wife,( mother, female )who is the shoulders that turn the head of the man. If you want to hook the young man, hook his mother first. You do that by showing you care for the things she cares about and you can do that with facilities as well.
Click to expand...
Nebraska does a really good job of this with their academic report staff. You hear recruit after recruit refer to this when asked what impressed them most. Now I have no idea if its in the same building as the rest of the football stuff but Nebraska does go above and beyond on the academic side of things.
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Yes I've heard that too. Which is great and I've heard recruit's parents comment on it. I too don't know where it is housed
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The academic stuff is under west stadium. It's near where they eat. The lifting area is at north stadium. The athletic performance lab is at east stadium. The practice fields are right near the stadium (as someone mentioned you can walk to the indoor field without even going outside). The stadium is not far from lots of classroom buildings. Everything they have is all in the same area, which, again, makes DiNardo's comment weird. Why does it matter if they're housed in the stadium? Everything they need is within less than a block's walk, and they get to see the stadium up close every day.

 
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Going back to this.

UCLA just opened a brand new football facility - 75,000 sq ft, $50 million. Anyone want to tell me that it's any bit nicer than ours, except for lockers that look a little more futuristic because they don't look like wood?


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I was just on Ohio State's campus stayed a stone throw away from the shoe. I'm assuming they probably practice in the woody Hayes athletic center. It's like a mile from the shoe and over a river. Also not close to any of the academic buildings. I didn't go inside and I'm sure it's nice but it doesn't seem very convenient

 
nobody is saying Nebraska's facilities aren't nice. I toured them last year and they're great.

But why not modernize/update them? Why not build them to be the best they can be? Put in a barber shop and hire a team barber. Put in rooms with the large glass windows with views of the city or of the practice fields. Put in lounges with areas for the media to work and specific media/interview rooms. From Oregon's facility: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/08/01/outrageously-unique-amenities-in-oregons-new-football-facility-hatfield-dowlin-complex/2606223/

The Hatfield-Dowlin Complex has many, many lounges. It even has one for the media. Like an amazingly high percentage of rooms in the building, this one on the third level has a pantry, Italian furnishings, and lots of walnut. It also is attached to the press conference room, which has "wallpaper" made of Nike football leather, and chairs upholstered with the same leather found in a Ferrari. One note about the walnut: Interior designer Randy Stegmeier of Portland's Firm151 said the rejection rate for the walnut was 96 percent, meaning that out of every 100 boards available, only an average of four were deemed to be of high enough quality for this project. The remainder was kept by the provider for other work.

Recruiting and film rooms:

The "War Room", in the center of a restricted section of the fourth floor called "Area 51", is accessible by less than 40 people within the program. The room, primarily used for recruiting analysis and final game preparations, is surrounded by black-backed glass that is writable and magnetic, is embedded with televisions and touchscreens, and all equipment can be hidden in barely visible cabinets. Its centerpiece is a 35-foot-long table with 22 chairs, each positioned directly under a light. This was one of the rooms that was built more than once.

The above will continue to grow more and more important as Nebraska continues to add more support staff and more "consultants" to the program.

Nebraska is set to make over $50m in revenue this year. I don't know what portion of that is profit but I would guess you would be able to build a hell of a facility and have it paid off rather quickly, especially if you can garner a large donation or two. Quite frankly if we aren't making updates/upgrades every couple of years I'd be worried since it seems every other year someone is building a new facility. Always strive to improve in every aspect of the program.

 
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