I got ripped for this on the football message board when I brought up that they were doing this. I hate it when I have insiders at these athletic departments that keep me in the know.....

Some of the other MAC schools have former or current athletes that have made it to the pros giving decent (or huge) chunks of money for various facilities upgrades. They're all moving forward, even if their results aren't readily apparent (EMU & Miami). It's not only that they've got people willing to give large sums, but what impresses me is that they seem quite engaged with the university that gave them the opportunity to showcase their skills. I hope we're fostering relationships so that this may happen a more at Ohio as well.

So they built an IPF (which Ohio already has) and the Miami AD states a new basketball facility is "definitely on the agenda."

I'd highly recommend checking out the master plan released for the Athens campus.
http://www.bobcatattack.com/messageboard/topic.asp?FromPa...
OUr "agenda" shows a multi-use visitor center being constructed at the front walkway to the Convo with a larger renovation for the Convo mentioned as a possibility moving forward. Our annual budget in hoops is over a million dollars higher than Miami's budget. Let's not forget the academic center which will soon be constructed in the North end zone of Peden...

Go Bobcats.

Spent an hour reading the master plan. It's bold and impressive. Been sitting in on discussions on Ball for a couple of years http://s3.amazonaws.com/smithgroupjjr/related_contents/pd...

Ohio's is Forward looking and well thought out.

Still trying to figure out how Men's BBall, Womens BBall and Volleyball practicing at the same time each day are going to figure out who gets the main EDIT to say ONLY gym and who is going to work out in the Visitors Center from 1 to 5? 3 varsity sports juggling one gym. Add in game days and visiting teams needing court time....and the fact that Ping and HPER gyms are off limits. There is some fast dancin and really good co ordination between coaches and athletes going on right now.

It's so last century . . . a library with books!

yeah you guys are right ..... no need for a place on the end of campus where most of the athletes lift, practice, watch film, get therapy....they should be able to fit a trip up to their dorms or off campus housing....and maybe the tutors could head over there with them at their homes. Maybe meet them at Alden after treatment at 7 or 8 pm. Good use of resources and bodies/staff.

Really Short sighted of guys like Dick Enberg to donate a ton of money at CMU to get athletes a central place to study and maximize their time around the athletic schedule. Silly of the tutors and academic advisors to be in a central place where they can co ordinate with athletes heading out so they can consolidate the books, homework, tests and things they will need to continue studying on the road just before they get on the bus...just after they practice and watch film.

Visiting friends in places like EKU, Dayton or even the D2 and D3s, they are more than excited to show the athletic academic areas and the way they staff to co ordinate with the profs of the classes the athletes will be missing to take assignments and proctor tests on the road. Proud to show the computers/laptops/tablets they provide for students to get stuff done in the course of a day around practice, lifting, shooting,treatment and...eating/sleeping... Right after the academic lab they show us the nutrition stations they have to fuel their athletes rather than have them skip meals or go home and eat and not come back to get their studies... Probably a lot or overkill by those universities showing recruits and parents how they intend to balance athletics and academics.

You're Probably right. Get them up to Alden and make them go to the always helpful profs that absolutely love athletes with no intercession or help from the academic staff at athletics...

You guys are right. More drive by comments

How about we say YAY for us. YAY for the foresight to get our kids degrees while playing games on the road and spending a good portion of the day down Richland. YAY for us taking the steps MOST the NCAA is already doing. YAY for us not making up majors for our kids to get meaningless parchment. How about we do a little positive clapping and back slapping? It really is pretty awesome to have a guy like Shaus who grew up with a Pop who was a Coach to see and hear the rigors and things on a daily basis. Even more awesome that his hand is guiding changes that will keep us competitive....

silly zags http://www.gozags.com/sports/student-services/spec-rel/ac... http://www.gozags.com/volkarcenter.html

Silly FLyers http://www.daytonflyers.com/sports/2013/9/20/OASSA_092013...

silly Butler http://butlersports.cstv.com/school-bio/butl-academic-sup...

And A&M really takes care of the athletes. http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/sasso/osu-sasso-b...

Academic services have been part of the situation for a while...well not as long as the guys who trudged uphill both ways to Alden.... Moreso at Bigger and more traditional P5 situations. They all have an equivalent of Alden. They all have athletes who come as recruits looking for a place to play while the coach is talking to Mom and Dad about the degree. They all have the answer to how they are going to do it.....and yes....it sometimes takes folks looking in on classes to ensure attendance...well...not at Butler. For some reason through all those coaching changes not going to class is not acceptable ...even on the day of the National Final 8 miles away...they went to class. Because it is expected of them and is part of the deal. But academic centers are ubiquitous. Go on MOST campuses or google their athletic sites .... and then thank your OHIO edjumications that you have those skills to investigate and formulate an opine and you're not floundering with some worthless skills and an African-American Studies program degree.

OUr academic center is a good thing YAY! Seriously, Look at guys..using their degrees. The athletic alums around here are pretty accomplished dudes. Keep it rolling...

I am like everyone else on this board. I want our student athletes to produce in the classroom. However, even more than that, I would like to see the academic profile of the institution as high as it was 10 or 15 years ago. We appear to be on a slow but steady decline at this point.

Deleted by the Redundant Redundancy Department.

I lived it, albeit many years ago. You have to manage your time to be a student athlete. I guess the trend is to mollycoddle the kids today. I feel I am better off having navigating the system on my own. No judgements. Things change and I probably don't understand it.

Good point. NIU scheduled a 1.6 million payday away game at Florida State for the 2018 season; they said they needed the large pay out to make up for state budgetary cuts. That's why I'm a bit cautious when it comes to Ohio's Master Plan-it's a great roadmap but there's no guarantee financial conditions will be such that the Master Plan can be completed.

What it's going to come down to shortly in athletics is what kind of endowments people create for schools. Costs need to be continuously evaluated and covered in the long term. Hence why I said it's going to come down to funding and endowments created by big donors.

That said, in this day and age, a school needs to have three things to be truly viable moving forward in D-1 athletics:

1. Business School
2. Medical School
3. Law School

I didn't include engineering because although engineers can be significant donors, they tend not to due to their academic rigors during undergrad that limited their exposure to athletics from what I've observed.

This can be countered by having a strong business school with deep pockets and not afraid to show it (Which Miami has). It's why O$U has advantages built in that Cincy, Toledo, and Akron can go toe to toe with if they ever had a stretch of big time moments.

In addition to this, having alums with significant companies or being in or near a Metropolitan area can be a huge benefit, especially to the casual fan. This is another area that becomes interesting for Ohio due to our rural location versus major metroplexes. This company factor also ties back into alums, but nonetheless also need to have the amenities to entertain such clients. Hopefully once the academic center goes in, we can begin converting the tower into some permanent suites that can become revenue generators. That said, some of those are already devoted to the AD's and president. I believe that a suite or two needs to be created with the space becoming available if we are going to continue on the athletics trajectory.

Hate to say it, but it will be zero fun to be in D-1 at this rate of spending, which is why the MVC figured it out many moons ago when they went to basketball full bore. Smartest move those schools could have made in terms of dollars and results.

I think this applies to more than just athletics. I know very little about how fundraising works. But, if I was a university, I'd be pushing every donor possible towards scholarships.