this recent blog was written by indy star writer terry hutchens, who covers iu athletics. he talkes about the stadium upgrades going on in bloomington. but in reading it, it also has some relevance to what is being done at indiana state as well.
"As I toured the North End Zone project at Memorial Stadium last week and heard over and over just how much that was going to help recruiting, I couldn't help but wonder if those words were hollow or actually true? After all, Indiana football recruiting has been at or near the bottom in the Big Ten for so long that you just wonder if there's anything that could really change that. But when you look around the conference, every other school has had periods of recent success in football with the exception of IU. Sure, the Hoosiers did make it to the Insight Bowl following the 2007 season but I've said for a long time that it isn't until you have had a consistent level of success that people will believe that you've turned the corner. And following up that one season of success with last year's 3-9 debacle certainly didn't help matters.
So, can enclosing a 50-year old football stadium really make that much difference for IU football moving forward?
While I don't think it will make a dramatic difference, it certainly is the signal to recruits that the university is serious about trying to support its program and help facilitate change. And in many ways the North End Zone project may be exactly what IU football needs. Now it has a little glitz and glitter. It has a massive 25,000-square foot weight room that will be the first thing recruits see when they walk from the field into the building on a recruiting visit. Step out of the door of the weight room and you have the locker room down one hall and meeting rooms down another . Everything is right there. Step out another door and you're in a hallway that leads to the practice fields. There's also the new Hall of Champions that will be another place to take recruits. The trick there will be adding a few more recent accomplishments that will grab their attention when they're in that space.
The big question is what exactly are recruits looking for when they make a decision of whether or not to attend your school? I think it breaks down like this in no particular order:
1. They want to be successful. Recruits want to go to a school where they'll be playing in bowl games, competing for conference and national championships and playing on national television New Year's Day. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, IU hasn't been able to use this as a recruiting tool for many, many years. Instead, IU's big recruiting pitch is to come and be on the ground floor of something special and help get the program turned back around.
2. They want to go somewhere that will give them a chance to go to the next level. There are a lot of schools out there that make their pedigree in that respect a huge part of the recruiting process. If you're as good as you think you are, after you've played here four years, you'll have a good chance to play in the NFL. IU has had its share of NFL players and playing in the Big Ten the top talent is going to get noticed. So this has been a recruiting tool the Hoosiers have been able to use.
3. They want the nicest and most up-to-date facilities from the stadium to the weight room and everything in between. Young men are looking for the glitz and glitter. In some cases, they have it right where they're at in high school and then to go on a recruiting visit and find conditions that are less than they have in high school can be disappointing to say the least. And its facilities in particular where IU has lagged behind. When recruits go home and narrow down their choices, this is where IU always gets eliminated. Having the weight rooms and the meeting rooms and all of that that is new and up to date is something that has to help IU in recruiting. And closing in the North End Zone is going to have a dramatic effect on game day, too. Just standing out there last week during practice, it's just a completely different feel. It just feels like a different place.
So there's several different ingredients that help IU in recruiting. The Hoosiers need to win consistently but in order to do that they need to attract the kinds of players that can help them win. And the one intangible that can help attract those athletes is staying close in the arms race and having the facilities that can keep IU involved with a lot of athletes who want to come in and be part of something special. It's a pitch that Bill Lynch has made countless times I'm sure. It's the same pitch that Tom Crean is making, too.
But I don't think there's any question that the new facilities in the long run will help IU be more competitive again on the gridiron."
i think the plans that dr. bradley and ron prettyman have for the isu football program mirrors what is going on at iu. facilitity upgrades top the list, including new offices on campus and a remodeling project at memorial stadium.
"As I toured the North End Zone project at Memorial Stadium last week and heard over and over just how much that was going to help recruiting, I couldn't help but wonder if those words were hollow or actually true? After all, Indiana football recruiting has been at or near the bottom in the Big Ten for so long that you just wonder if there's anything that could really change that. But when you look around the conference, every other school has had periods of recent success in football with the exception of IU. Sure, the Hoosiers did make it to the Insight Bowl following the 2007 season but I've said for a long time that it isn't until you have had a consistent level of success that people will believe that you've turned the corner. And following up that one season of success with last year's 3-9 debacle certainly didn't help matters.
So, can enclosing a 50-year old football stadium really make that much difference for IU football moving forward?
While I don't think it will make a dramatic difference, it certainly is the signal to recruits that the university is serious about trying to support its program and help facilitate change. And in many ways the North End Zone project may be exactly what IU football needs. Now it has a little glitz and glitter. It has a massive 25,000-square foot weight room that will be the first thing recruits see when they walk from the field into the building on a recruiting visit. Step out of the door of the weight room and you have the locker room down one hall and meeting rooms down another . Everything is right there. Step out another door and you're in a hallway that leads to the practice fields. There's also the new Hall of Champions that will be another place to take recruits. The trick there will be adding a few more recent accomplishments that will grab their attention when they're in that space.
The big question is what exactly are recruits looking for when they make a decision of whether or not to attend your school? I think it breaks down like this in no particular order:
1. They want to be successful. Recruits want to go to a school where they'll be playing in bowl games, competing for conference and national championships and playing on national television New Year's Day. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, IU hasn't been able to use this as a recruiting tool for many, many years. Instead, IU's big recruiting pitch is to come and be on the ground floor of something special and help get the program turned back around.
2. They want to go somewhere that will give them a chance to go to the next level. There are a lot of schools out there that make their pedigree in that respect a huge part of the recruiting process. If you're as good as you think you are, after you've played here four years, you'll have a good chance to play in the NFL. IU has had its share of NFL players and playing in the Big Ten the top talent is going to get noticed. So this has been a recruiting tool the Hoosiers have been able to use.
3. They want the nicest and most up-to-date facilities from the stadium to the weight room and everything in between. Young men are looking for the glitz and glitter. In some cases, they have it right where they're at in high school and then to go on a recruiting visit and find conditions that are less than they have in high school can be disappointing to say the least. And its facilities in particular where IU has lagged behind. When recruits go home and narrow down their choices, this is where IU always gets eliminated. Having the weight rooms and the meeting rooms and all of that that is new and up to date is something that has to help IU in recruiting. And closing in the North End Zone is going to have a dramatic effect on game day, too. Just standing out there last week during practice, it's just a completely different feel. It just feels like a different place.
So there's several different ingredients that help IU in recruiting. The Hoosiers need to win consistently but in order to do that they need to attract the kinds of players that can help them win. And the one intangible that can help attract those athletes is staying close in the arms race and having the facilities that can keep IU involved with a lot of athletes who want to come in and be part of something special. It's a pitch that Bill Lynch has made countless times I'm sure. It's the same pitch that Tom Crean is making, too.
But I don't think there's any question that the new facilities in the long run will help IU be more competitive again on the gridiron."
i think the plans that dr. bradley and ron prettyman have for the isu football program mirrors what is going on at iu. facilitity upgrades top the list, including new offices on campus and a remodeling project at memorial stadium.
