The 2nd Pillar (IPF groundbreaking and funding)

[tboxCUSE92]

Jim Brown was my idol when I was growing up. That said...I don't think you have any idea what "baggage" Go is referring to.

Hint: It has nothing to do with racism.

There is one glaring inaccuracy in your post...Jim Brown was, HANDS DOWN, the greatest FB player that has yet to play this great game.

Domestic violence is unconscionable, no doubt.

 

[LAOrange]

I respectfully disagree. Jim Brown was one of the top ten football players of all time. Period! He paved the wave for not only Ernie Davis, but for all African American football players.. Baggage? Yes, he didn't like racism and carries resentment to this day most likely. Syracuse produced tremendous talent 50 years ago. They deserve to be cherished and given credit for building the program. My dad was friends with Mackey from his days at CUSE. These guys are special!

Jim Brown is Syracuse football.

 

[billsin01]

The notion of not sharing or excess is a component of our society & culture today, and is everywhere, not just in the facilities arms race in college athletics. It wasn't too long ago that one computer in the household shared by all was adequate. Now, every family member needs their own laptop, tablet, etc. How many TV's does the average household now have? Not to mention flat panels of excess size, etc. Here in the Charlotte area relative to home sales, if you do not have three separate baths on the 2nd story of a typical four bedroom dwelling, it's a significant drawback and difficult to overcome, etc., etc. And, it goes on and on...

Agreed. I don't really understand it. I actually have absolutely zero interest in a house that big. But I think I'm alone in that. Of course I won't have to worry about that since a studio apartment will run you $7.8M in DC.

 

[chakka3421]

Awesome post Chakka. I've heard similar things over the last 2 days. This IPF is going to be incredible from what I'm hearing.

I really hope that they spend the money on the "small things" that will be used to furnish the facility. Do not cut corners anywhere. This should be a top 3 IPF in the ACC when all is said and done.

Actually did you hear if a big donor(s) was involved as that also may have been the final piece to the puzzle as well to get things started? That may or may not lead to naming rights.

 

[Orangejet]

T Boone Pickens is flipping and going Orange... Again!

 

[CuseCrew08]

I would have liked the OP, but it already has 44 likes. And that just feels right.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[ImperialOrange]

We should sell the naming rights LOL

I'm fine with it as long as it isn't lifetime naming rights. It'll be a hilarious turn of events if Marrone wrote them a big check for the IPF as soon as he signed with Buffalo.

 

[solvaycuse44]

I had thought that this was already leaked but maybe not in its entirety - I haven't been around due to a new job but am off today. From what I gathered yesterday from my sources, the new Indoor Practice Facility (IPF) groundbreaking will occur in May/June time frame just before summer camps are held just for recruiting purposes. As usual for this climate, the outside will be done first before the snow flies with the inside being completed throughout the winter with a completion date sometime in early 2014.

Sources say the IPF will be the 2nd pillar (think Melo center as other pillar) as described by TGD regarding Manley. Manley was a stop gap measure but its a shared facility - again used against us in recruiting but the Manley upgrades were better than nothing. I am not sure on the layout of the IPF or how it is to be connected to Manley (underground walkway - HVAC issues - green tech - too technical for me to digest), but the medical facility upgrade is supposed to be included bringing all facilities in line with other Universities "in the ACC" so facilities cant be used against us anymore for recruiting purposes. Hooray!

Sources also stated that a lot of behind the scenes things happened when HCDM left - and the reasons he gave for leaving. Funny, but he really was the catalyst in getting what he wanted all along. We need to thank HCDM not only for bringing back the program from the brink of death but now for the new IPF. We also need to thank Melo and the Melo center - recruiting for basketball increased dramatically (think about all the McDonalds All Americans that we get now) and that was used as an argument that "facilities really does matter - just look at what the Melo center has done for basketball recruiting". JB may have been a catalyst too but we will never really know.

For those of you who dont realize how important a "NON-SHARED" IPF really is, just like the Melo center the football players will now be able to "practice" on their own without coaches and without interference in scheduling with the Olympic sports programs. It is really that important to have a dedicated facility for football only!

Funding - I may get killed here by admins but it looks like that the Athletic Dept will be able to borrow from the University and pay it back over an extended time period with the increased $$$ from the ACC. As is common knowledge stated here, normally the SU BOT will not take risks like this but cooler heads prevailed and the rewards of competitive football facilities/recruiting were weighed against the risk of delaying facilities upgrades further. The thought was if SU waited any longer, the risk is basically falling behind further in recruiting and being non-competitive from the start upon entering the ACC. The thought process is that we dont want to end up being a "doormat" for the teams like in the ACC (like I think Rutgers will be the doormat in the B1G). We already have a fan base problem and we dont need to add to it.

Exciting times lies ahead for us - cant wait for official word when construction bids are awarded and that should be soon otherwise it wont be a secret much longer (hopefully my sources are correct in this matter but they havent been wrong up to this point in time). Now we just need to win baby!

Omg i love it,that is beautiful i cant wait for that to be done. That should finally put recruiting where iz should be around here!

 

[GoCuse44]

Heard last night that there will be a presser next week to announce the new football IPF !!!!

 

[chakka3421]

Heard last night that there will be a presser next week to announce the new football IPF !!!!

Glad to hear I wasn't hearing things. I didn't get all of the specifics yesterday, but sources were so excited about it as I was skeptical at first. Rocco says its going to be impressive - I can't wait!

 

[chakka3421]

This issue goes all the way back to the mid-1990s.

It's a crime that nobody at the University - or nobody with power - saw what was slowly happening to our proud football program back then.

Hard to believe that it's taken 18 years for this finally happen. For you Whitman folks, the "opportunity cost" must be substantial.

The issue was and always has been funding - joining the ACC provides the funding to make it happen. One person we forgot to thank in all this is TGD.

 

[Bortukal]

The issue was and always has been funding - joining the ACC provides the funding to make it happen. One person we forgot to thank in all this is TGD.

I've said this before; I'm sure I'll say it several more times:

Syracuse is very fortunate to have Daryl Gross as its athletic director.

 

[Hoov50]

Awesome post, great information. I appreciate it. The only nit I'd pick with it is that a non-shared facility is not actually important in any way, shape, or form. The notion that sports teams can't share practice facilities is insane.

But in today's world of outrageous facilities spending, if you want to play with the big boys then, yes, it's a necessity. I just felt compelled to mention that, realistically, it is absurd that we will have two non-shared practice facilities that cost tens of millions of dollars.

For scheduled practices/workouts you are correct. However, you are ignoring the off season workouts. A football only facility allows our players a space to practice workout year round at any time they wish. A QB or two getting together with a few WRs an have a huge positive impact once the season starts. If we are going to compete at a high level it would be absurd not to have these facilities, especially since success and being in the ACC will pay for them in the long run.

 

[Chip]

The issue was and always has been funding - joining the ACC provides the funding to make it happen. One person we forgot to thank in all this is TGD.

That's the key, the wonderful, magical ACC. Nothing happens without it.

 

[rrlbees]

The issue was and always has been funding - joining the ACC provides the funding to make it happen. One person we forgot to thank in all this is TGD.

Your original post is generally a good post but there are some things that aren't as simple or clear as portrayed by your source or they are just lost in the many moving parts. SU is not paying for the facility. Without the seed money and a capital campaign that was viable, there would be no ground breaking. You will see a large fundraising effort. Marrone also had nothing to do with people stepping up. The problem since the 90's that OPA talks about have been a fundraising issue not an issue of SU spending money.

In the end, I bet SU spends very little of their own money on the IPF. Just like the manley reno, they raised $4m of the $5m cost and are still trying to raise the rest.

Sent using my Commodore 64 on Tapatalk 5.3

 

[chakka3421]

Your original post is generally a good post but there are some things that aren't as simple or clear as portrayed by your source or they are just lost in the many moving parts. SU is not paying for the facility. Without the seed money and a capital campaign that was viable, there would be no ground breaking. You will see a large fundraising effort. Marrone also had nothing to do with people stepping up. The problem since the 90's that OPA talks about have been a fundraising issue not an issue of SU spending money.
In the end, I bet SU spends very little of their own money on the IPF. Just like the manley reno, they raised $4m of the $5m cost and are still trying to raise the rest.
Sent using my Commodore 64 on Tapatalk 5.3

There are many sides to any story Bees (or many moving parts as you put it) - its all a matter of perspective. One point I would totally disagree with you on - Marrone's leaving the program did have a big part to play in this finally moving forward from my sources. Maybe not from your perspective or from what you hear on your end, but again, there are many sides to any story. However, this point about Marrone is now moot - the most important thing is that the IPF is a go.

And yes of course it is just good business on SUs part to have a major fundraising effort to cover costs. Technically you are right, the university eventually wont pay for the facilities upgrades and the IPF but the increase in revenues by joining the ACC will end covering these costs if a fundraising shortfall should occur.

 

[Jaka]

There are many sides to any story Bees (or many moving parts as you put it) - its all a matter of perspective. One point I would totally disagree with you on - Marrone's leaving the program did have a big part to play in this finally moving forward from my sources. Maybe not from your perspective or from what you hear on your end, but again, there are many sides to any story. However, this point about Marrone is now moot - the most important thing is that the IPF is a go.

And yes of course it is just good business on SUs part to have a major fundraising effort to cover costs. Technically you are right, the university eventually wont pay for the facilities upgrades and the IPF but the increase in revenues by joining the ACC will end covering these costs if a fundraising shortfall should occur.

So are you saying this is going to be more than just an indoor field?

 

[Cuseman78]

There are many sides to any story Bees (or many moving parts as you put it) - its all a matter of perspective. One point I would totally disagree with you on - Marrone's leaving the program did have a big part to play in this finally moving forward from my sources. Maybe not from your perspective or from what you hear on your end, but again, there are many sides to any story. However, this point about Marrone is now moot - the most important thing is that the IPF is a go.

And yes of course it is just good business on SUs part to have a major fundraising effort to cover costs. Technically you are right, the university eventually wont pay for the facilities upgrades and the IPF but the increase in revenues by joining the ACC will end covering these costs if a fundraising shortfall should occur.

Agree with you that the Marrone defection sped things up and probably precipitated a more aggressive financial approach by the trustees. None of us have a clue about the nitty-gritty's of the financials, but I would be willing to guess that our normally conservative approach to capital projects was overrode once we lost Marrone.

Would this have been announced this quickly if Marrone was still here? Impossible to know, but I have my doubts. If this is true, I retract my statements from a few weeks ago that our trustees weren't serious about big time college football. If they've loosened the purse strings due to the Marrone loss, I consider that a good thing.

 

[rrlbees]

There are many sides to any story Bees (or many moving parts as you put it) - its all a matter of perspective. One point I would totally disagree with you on - Marrone's leaving the program did have a big part to play in this finally moving forward from my sources. Maybe not from your perspective or from what you hear on your end, but again, there are many sides to any story. However, this point about Marrone is now moot - the most important thing is that the IPF is a go.

And yes of course it is just good business on SUs part to have a major fundraising effort to cover costs. Technically you are right, the university eventually wont pay for the facilities upgrades and the IPF but the increase in revenues by joining the ACC will end covering these costs if a fundraising shortfall should occur.

It's a matter of risk assessment.

The only way Marrone had an effect is if a few donors said "you got rid of Marrone, NOW I'll put up some money".

Sent using my Commodore 64 on Tapatalk 5.3

 

[ElwoodJBlues]

It's a matter of risk assessment.

The only way Marrone had an effect is if a few donors said "you got rid of Marrone, NOW I'll put up some money".

Sent using my Commodore 64 on Tapatalk 5.3

If anything, wouldn't Marrone leaving have an opposite effect? Where a potential donor sees a new coach and thinks "the guy who pulled the program out of the doldrums is leaving, what's the next guy going to do"?

 

[chakka3421]

Jaka - I think/hope so but the only real thing left is the medical facilities to upgrade after the IPF. Maybe Rocco knows more in that it could be a whole new football wing but that would seem overly ambitious but wouldnt that be an even bigger surprise.
Cuseman - Bees is actually technically correct in that the University will not be spending a dime, but the Athletic Dept will be paying for it all through fundraising/ACC revenue/etc. Any shortfall can be covered by the parent (SU) but paid back later with increased revenues.
Bees - now that is just downright funny - "you got rid of Marrone, NOW I'll put up some money" - night night on that note.

 

[kcsu]

I've said this before; I'm sure I'll say it several more times:

Syracuse is very fortunate to have Daryl Gross as its athletic director.

more fortunate than most will ever know

 

[CuseOnly]

I thought the training rooms and such were already upgraded last year with the addition to Manley. I saw on the SU football Facebook page that upgrades to the players lounge, cafeteria, training room and hot tubs etc. were finished.

I watched a whole tour of them with Alec Lemon.

 

[kirbivore]

This issue goes all the way back to the mid-1990s.

It's a crime that nobody at the University - or nobody with power - saw what was slowly happening to our proud football program back then.


Hard to believe that it's taken 18 years for this finally happen. For you Whitman folks, the "opportunity cost" must be substantial.

Buzz did but didn't give a sh#t. Jake and P did but were "company" men and didn't protest loud enough. If my job was being hurt by the facilities and my concerns were falling on deaf ears maybe taking it public would have quickened the pace of improvements.

 

[billsin01]

For scheduled practices/workouts you are correct. However, you are ignoring the off season workouts. A football only facility allows our players a space to practice workout year round at any time they wish. A QB or two getting together with a few WRs an have a huge positive impact once the season starts. If we are going to compete at a high level it would be absurd not to have these facilities, especially since success and being in the ACC will pay for them in the long run.

Oh, I get the benefits of it. And I absolutely agree that in the world of big-time college athletics, facilities are an absolute necessity. What I also believe, however, is that it's complete insanity to believe that dedicated practice facilities are absolutely necessary in a real world way. I mean, a qb and wrs couldn't get together on an outdoor turf/field? Or, in the winter, they couldn't find a way to coordinate and work together in an indoor space when the space was available? Listen, I get that if I were a football prospect, I'd love the idea of going to a school with a swanky new players lounge, a state of the art weight room and a pimped out dedicated practice facility (that's why we need those things). But as an athlete who went to a school with stuffty lockerrooms, no dedicated practice facility, dated astroturf and no actual film room -- we somehow made it work and spent literally, what, $100M less in the process?

It's cool that SU is doing it, but I also get the feeling that all those millions we chase around by moving to a southern dominated conference are already spent between travel, coaching salaries, facilities demands (they will never end. people know that this never ends, right?), and whatever other expenses must be incurred to keep up with the big boys.