Posted by bambi2godzilla on 9/14/2007, 10:56 am But the University of Oregon, with Phil Knight and others as benefactors, sure has the glitz to sell kids as you'll read in the following. Show me the money Fresno State's next big challenge is improving its facilities, and no one knows this better than Pat Hill. Oregon, the Bulldogs' opponent Saturday, and other Pacific-10 Conference schools have facilities to die for, the Bulldogs' football coach says. "When you go to a car dealership, the ones in the showroom aren't the stripped models," Hill says. "The ones on the showroom floor got all the goodies on them. [Pac-10 members] are the showroom-floor schools." Fresno State officials say they must improve their facilities to showroom-floor quality or risk losing the ability to compete with the best. No one at Fresno State suggests the facilities are less than serviceable, and in some areas they're excellent. But university officials say Oregon's facilities are a worthy yardstick by which to measure Fresno State's big-time ambitions even as they fret about the dangers of an "arms race." For example, Hill's Bulldogs generally practice on the same outdoor field regardless of the weather. When the weather turns sour in Eugene, coach Mike Bellotti's Ducks can head to the Moshofsky Center with its indoor artificial-surface field. High-quality facilities -- stadiums, arenas, practice fields, locker and training rooms, academic centers -- tend to attract the best athletes. This produces winning teams, which generate more money from ticket sales, TV and corporate sponsorships. Money renews the cycle. Athletes "have come to expect a high level of facilities that are contemporary and state of the art," Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh says. "They look at a university that has made that commitment as a place where they can be a success." The tough question is how Fresno State can hold its own in the facilities arms race when it doesn't have a Phil Knight. Oregon does, and in August the Nike co-founder and his wife, Penny, spotlighted the big facilities hurdle facing Fresno State when they pledged $100 million as seed money for the Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund. The fund will support all Ducks athletic programs, and could help pay for a new basketball arena. The Knights' pledge comes on top of millions of dollars they've already donated over the years to Oregon athletics. What separates facilities at Oregon from those at Fresno State isn't type but scale. Autzen Stadium, where the Bulldogs play Saturday, isn't that much bigger than 41,031-seat Bulldog Stadium. Built in the mid-1960s, Autzen has been expanded several times and now has a capacity of 54,000, although the average home attendance last year was 58,378. But, oh, those showroom-floor goodies elsewhere. There's Oregon's two-level football locker room in the Casanova Center, with its Internet connections and three 60-inch plasma panels for video or X-Box. The $15 million, 117,000-square-foot Moshofsky Center includes a synthetic four-lane, 120-meter running track, automated nets that can be lowered to provide a golf driving range and an athletes lounge. On football game days, the center is turned over to tailgaters. And, as Fresno State officials note, it's not just a university's athlete-only facilities that impress young recruits. Oregon's remodeled Student Recreation Center includes a rock wall, suspended running track and indoor tennis complex. All new Oregon athletes must live on campus, and one dormitory provides room service. Facilities are pivotal to helping athletes maximize their potential, Bellotti says. "There are schools with bigger facilities," he says. "We try to have the best." Add such facilities to Oregon's membership in the high-profile Pac-10 and it explains why Hill says, "We never beat Oregon on a recruit." Maybe not consistently, but it happens. Bulldogs wide receiver Jamel Hamler, then a senior at San Leandro High, took in Oregon on a recruiting visit in December 2005 after making an oral commitment to Fresno State. He returned home vowing to play for the Ducks. "The locker room is crazy," Hamler says. "It's like walking into a Hilton hotel." Hamler describes Fresno State's facilities as "cozy and comfy," while Oregon's are "high class. It makes you feel like a superstar when you're in those facilities." Hamler admits he departed Eugene "sort of punch-drunk" on Oregon's glitz and glamor. That, along with the advice of family and friends to pursue a Pac-10 career path, convinced him to orally commit to Oregon. But a week before signing day, Hamler reversed field again and picked Fresno State. "I had to sit back and re-evaluate the whole situation -- where I wanted to be, who was going to prepare me not just as a football player but as a man for life," he says. "I decided [Fresno State] was probably the best place to go." Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson says a facilities arms race by WAC schools with schools in richer conferences such as the Pac-10 and Big 12 "is not winnable." Instead, Benson says, WAC schools should focus on maintaining facilities comparable to those of Mountain West Conference members. "And we can't afford to have some schools fall behind their own WAC colleagues," he says. Fresno State's conference rivals aren't standing still. Nevada, for example, expects to complete the $8.3 million Marguerite Wattis Petersen Foundation Athletic Academic Center next spring. Utah State is building a three-story facility at the north end of Romney Stadium that will include new locker rooms and an exhibition area for the university's athletic heritage. And Fresno State could be busy, as well. Boeh says the athletic department's strategic plan, to be unveiled perhaps this fall, will include a broad vision for improved facilities. Among the expected proposals: -- A landscaped pedestrian mall from Bulldog Stadium to the North Gym, designed to unify athletic venues on both sides of Cedar Avenue. -- A soccer stadium and parking north of Beiden Field. -- The Bulldog Center on the southwest corner of Cedar and Barstow avenues, a building housing the Bulldog Foundation, ticket offices and a proposed Hall of Fame. -- Transformation of the strength/conditioning center and the Ricchiuti Academic Center into what Boeh calls "the student-athlete village." -- A remodeling of Bulldog Stadium's south end, batting cages at Bulldog Diamond, new coaches offices and training rooms in the North Gym. Boeh says the plan will emphasize Title IX equity; the cost could run into tens of millions of dollars and take a decade to complete. Says Boeh: "We're not looking to get into an arms race with the major [Division I-A schools]. ... We will be more modest in our approach and stay within our means."
63.249.102.18
Not too long ago, I used to wonder why kids wanted to head to Oregon to play ball and get rained on 300 days a year. Okay, so I am exaggerating.
George Hostetter
The Fresno Bee
9/14/07
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