MAC "Arms" Race?

[johnnyzip84]

Here is a Crain's Cleveland Business article summarizing the fairly recent upgrades to MAC football facilities and the expected impact on recruiting.

Colleges in an athletic 'arms race'

MAC schools see posh new, upgraded facilities as ticket to growth

By JOEL HAMMOND

4:30 am, August 16, 2010

Whether it was before the crippling recession hit or during the worst of it, well-heeled alumni have continued donating to their alma maters' athletic departments — and those schools are taking advantage.

Sparkling new athletic facilities and multimillion-dollar renovations have popped up across the country, including on the campuses of several members of the Cleveland-based Mid-American Conference, Akron and Can't State among them.

Akron opened InfoCision Stadium last September, while Can't State two years ago completed a $10 million renovation to Dix Stadium that included a new scoreboard and aesthetic improvements throughout the 41-year-old stadium.

And it appears, despite calls for reducing often-outlandish spending in college athletics, that a majority of these projects are being paid for without dipping into general funds or asking students to bear more of the cost.

Can't's upgrades were paid for by private support and did not impact the university's budget, while Akron benefited from a combined $15 million from Akron-based InfoCision and Summa Health System and has no immediate plans to charge students an additional fee.

“Our members are being financially prudent in doing these upgrades. They're raising dollars and investing them back into programs,” said MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher. “There's no doubt they're coming to the realization that you have to make your program attractive to prospective student athletes, to the fans.”

Other MAC schools have joined or are joining the parade:

Toledo in February opened its new Fetterman Training Center, a $9 million indoor facility used by its football, track, basketball and golf teams;

Bowling Green's $36 million Stroh Center, a new home for its basketball and volleyball teams and other general uses, will open next fall, four years after the school opened its Sebo Center, an $11.6 million facility in its football stadium's north end zone that serves strength and conditioning, treatment and rehab, and academic training needs; and

Ball State, in Muncie, Ind., and Northern Illinois, in De Kalb, Ill., in 2007 completed $13 million and $14 million projects, respectively.

Toledo paid for its new facility through private donations and kicked in some money from its capital projects budget; BG's Sebo Center was funded fully through private donations, though the Stroh Center — after $14 million in private donations — will need $16 million in student fees once it opens.

One thing leads to another

Coaches polled July 30 at the MAC's annual media day at Ford Field in Detroit sang the facilities' praises. Rob Ianello, Akron's first-year head coach, and Tim Beckman, in his second year at Toledo after a spell on Ohio State's staff, each said the respective universities' plans played major roles in their decisions to accept positions at those schools.

“I talk to friends in college football and they tell me you can drop (InfoCision Stadium) in a (Southeastern Conference) city and it would fit right in,” said Mr. Ianello, a former assistant at Notre Dame. “It's a lot different than the Rubber Bowl, for sure.”

Many of the schools with new digs have seen jumps in recruiting. According to leading evaluator Rivals, Can't has ranked third, first and third in MAC recruiting over the last three years; Akron was second in 2009, and Toledo has ranked first, fourth and second.

“It's an arms race,” said Rick Chryst, the former commissioner of the MAC and now of counsel in Walter & Haverfield's sports law practice group. “(Recruits) can tell pretty quickly if something is tired or fresh.”

Better facilities mean better recruits, and better recruits often lead to a better team, more exposure for the school and more enthusiasm from alumni — and potentially more donations, which got this whole thing started.

Mark Rosentraub, who chairs the sport management department at the University of Michigan said athletic revenues are tertiary when it comes to projects such as these; instead, it's philanthropic commitments, and student attraction and retention that truly make investments worthwhile.

Can't State coach Doug Martin, entering his seventh year at the helm, said he's already seen the former affected by Dix Stadium's facelift.

“We notice a difference in recruiting, but we have to catch up to others still,” Mr. Martin said. “But it's been very obvious to the administration the effects the upgrades have had, and former players and other alumni see what's there now and are pleased.”

And though those athletic revenues aren't always goal No. 1, those better players attracted by updated facilities every so often can lead the little guy to the promised land. Look no further than Boise State, which reportedly took home about $3.5 million — after splitting with five other nonautomatic-qualifying conferences and its own conference members — by advancing to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

The Broncos, after another solid season last year in which they again played in the Fiesta Bowl, likely will be in the top five in preseason polls, setting them up for another big-money run.

By comparison, Northern Illinois reportedly lost $740,000 total on its last three bowl trips, to San Diego; Shreveport, La.; and Toronto, respectively. The losses stem from travel costs and ticket guarantees; the latter is required by bowls, as schools must buy a certain amount of tickets, then take a loss on whatever portion of them they don't sell.

“That's speculative, but certainly plays a part in the decisions,” Mr. Rosentraub said. “But generally, these facility decisions are made in the school's best interest; these institutions are not run by people who got there by making huge mistakes.”

[Captain Kangaroo]

“That's speculative, but certainly plays a part in the decisions,” Mr. Rosentraub said. “But generally, these facility decisions are made in the school's best interest; these institutions are not run by people who got there by making huge mistakes.”

I dunno about that being a universal truth...