Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Kansas Athletics Director Lew Perkins recently stopped by the Anderson Family Football Complex.
Perkins has made periodic visits to the $33 million facility for the last year, watching it grow from a hole in the ground to a football player’s paradise.
But on this specific day, a group of recruits were touring the complex. They had just seen every inch of the 80,000 square-foot building and were walking up the spiral staircase near the main entrance. Perkins couldn’t help but overhear one of their conversations.
Video
A walking tour of the new football facility.
“They said, ‘whoa, what a place this is,’” Perkins said.
Exactly what Perkins wanted to hear. The facility possesses a certain whoa-factor because of its state-of-the-art technology and top-notch furnishings.
Brad Nachtigal, associate athletics director, said Kansas had lagged behind in the race for better football facilities for years in the Big 12 Conference. Not anymore. Nachtigal said the Anderson Family Football Complex was one of the five best collegiate football complexes in the country.
The smell of fresh paint still lingers in the building and the front desk is still hidden under a blue tarp. But it’s ready for its inhabitants. The coaches move in this week. The players are coming two weeks later – just in time for the August 2nd start of practice. The currently quiet rooms will transform into the Kansas football headquarters.
MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
It might be called the ‘multi-purpose room,’ but this apartment-sized room is all about the recruits.
It’s located about 15 steps on the brown, red and blue carpeted floor, away from the entrance and equipped with a small kitchen area to prepare food for the targeted high school stars.
The blue walls are painted with pictures of Kansas football legends such as John Riggins and Gale Sayers. On the west wall, 11 plaques hang commemorating all of the Jayhawks’ First-Team All American selections – including cornerback Aqib Talib and offensive lineman Anthony Collins from last year’s team.
Doors open to a balcony outside that provides a view of Kivisto Field.
“Recruits will be able to come in here and enjoy their experience,” said Chris Howard, associate athletics director.
COACH MARK MANGINO’S OFFICE
Photo Gallery
Football Complex
The office adjacent to the multi-purpose room might seem like it’s out of a science-fiction movie, but it’s just Mangino’s new quarters.
Mangino won’t have to move much if he doesn’t want to in his office. From his desk, he can control everything in the room from the window blinds to the lights.
Other luxuries include a 60-inch flat-screen HG television – the biggest of the 58 TVs dispersed around the facility – and a full-sized bathroom with a toilet and a shower.
Outside the window, Mangino can see almost all of Mount Oread.
“He has one of the best offices of anyone on campus as far as views,” Howard said.
VIDEO ROOM
Down the hall south of Mangino’s office is a room filled with a desk and stacks of video-recording equipment.
If the staff wants to film practice on any given day, the video can stream straight into the room and be seen on one of two flat screen TVs. The video technician can also make copies of the practice on DVD or VHS fast enough to be ready by the time the coaches leave the field.
The room can also control the complex’s 58 TVs. From here, messages can be set that will be seen on all the televisions.
“Gone are the days where we have to run a player down with a note,” Nachtigal said. “Now, we can put it on the TV screen and players can see it throughout.”
MRKONIC AUDITORIUM
Hadl Auditorium in the Wagnon Student-Athlete Center just didn’t work for the football team.
It wasn’t big enough to accommodate the whole team when Mangino spoke and couldn’t be split up so the offense and defense could meet at the same time.
Mrkonic Auditorium fixes both problems. It can seat 136 people at once and dividers can come down to split the room into two. The big boys on the team won’t have trouble with the chairs either as they are designed to hold up to 500 pounds.
LOCKER ROOM
The Athletics Department’s main objective with the new locker room was to make it as convenient as possible for the players.
Instead of having to scamper around the facility on game days to get to everywhere they needed to go, players can enjoy a centralized location for all their needs. Treatment and medical stations as well as the laundry room are all connected to the new locker room.
“They’ll never have to leave the comfort of the locker room,” Nachtigal said.
There are 115 lockers in the room and each is large enough to fit a full-sized refrigerator with space to spare. The doors that lead out to Memorial Stadium are only a few steps away as well.
“They’ll come out through these double doors to 50,000 wonderful screaming fans,” Howard said. “And ready for three hours of combat.”
PLAYERS’ LOUNGE
The lounge is equipped with everything the athletes could ever want – well, except maybe one thing.
“No Wiis,” Howard said. “We don’t want anyone to get injured trying to hit something hard.”
The Jayhawks will have to settle for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles instead. Game systems will be hooked up to each of the three 35-inch flat-screen TVs.
A microwave and refrigerator finish off the list of amenities included in the room, which could comfortably seat about 30 people.
But there’s a catch. Mangino requested that the room could be locked from the outside so if the Jayhawks aren’t performing as well as their coach expects on the field, the lounge could be off limits.
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ROOM
Located 24 feet underground, the weight room can get a little chilly – perfect for a place where the whole team will come to sweat.
In addition to weight stations that stretch the entire back wall, there is also a conditioning room, nutrition area and 30 yards of field turf.
Howard said the weight room was just as nice as any college team’s in the nation. It’s the final piece of the newest football facility in the country.
“You’re always in the facilities arms race,” Howard said. “We’re sending a message to the rest of the Big 12.”
— Edited by Mandy Earles
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Comments
em1 (anonymous) says...
This is obscene. I can't for a minute read about the multi-million dollar improvements being made to our athletics facilities, and at the same time see that the campus is "bracing for cuts"
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jul...>
Unbelievable. I just wish this article would have come out in September when all the students were back. Given the timing of this article, this very blatent example of fiscal irresponsibility we've come to know and love at KU will largely go unnoticed.
Here's something to think about. In 2007 $48.7 million dollars went to the athletics department, while $25.6 million went to student services, and $20 million went to scholarships. Go to the comptrollers website and verify this. So, while the university asks its academic departments to cut back every area possible and puts the quality of education at risk, Mangino gets some nice TVs to look behind the scenes at the stadium. Way to go Lew!
July 24, 2008 at 10:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )