from Mlivehttp://www.mlive.com/wolverines/other/index.ssf/2008/05/michigan_wrestling_coach_thril.html
Michigan wrestling coach thrilled with plans for new facility
by John Heuser The Ann Arbor News
Monday May 12, 2008, 3:24 PM
For more than 40 years, the University of Michigan wrestling team has trained in the bowels of Crisler Arena, in a cramped, windowless space that coach Joe McFarland calls the worst facility in the Big Ten.
Those days appear numbered.
Pending approval Thursday by the school's Board of Regents, plans for a new 18,000 square foot, $5.5 million facility will move forward, with completion scheduled for fall of 2009. The building will be located adjacent to the school's Tisch Tennis Building off South State Street.
"We are real excited about it," McFarland said. "It's been a lot of work, and I've had a lot of help, not only from the administrators, but from some of the alumni that have stepped up."
McFarland, a former Michigan wrestler who's been head coach for nine seasons, said he received his first commitment for a financial donation "probably in 2000 or 2001."
The coach said the program met its fundraising goal of $4 million for the project, which McFarland said will aid the Wolverines in their pursuit of a national title. Michigan has finished in the top 10 of the NCAA championship meet for the last eight years.
"It's going to help recruiting," he said. "It's going to have everything in it that we're gonna to need to help us go after a national championship."
Besides more than doubling the mat space, to 7,500 square feet, the building will feature a strength and conditioning center on the second floor, an athletes' lounge, a hall of fame area, sports medicine facilities, a film and video study area and more.
The location of the proposed facility represents a departure from initial discussions, when athletic department officials envisioned it as part of a new basketball practice building that could be located off Crisler Arena's east side. Michigan executive associate athletic director Mike Stevenson, who's involved in facilities issues, said there were two main reasons for the change.
"We concluded that if we could move it to a stand-alone facility, it would have a bigger 'Wow' factor for recruiting," Stevenson said. "Also there was a cost factor. It will cost less to build a free-standing facility than to tie it into Crisler Arena."
Added McFarland: "If everything goes well, we should only have one year left in Crisler. Not only will this be a state-of-the-art training facility, but it will help in recruiting. I look at this as being one of the best - if not the best - in the country."
Those days appear numbered.
Pending approval Thursday by the school's Board of Regents, plans for a new 18,000 square foot, $5.5 million facility will move forward, with completion scheduled for fall of 2009. The building will be located adjacent to the school's Tisch Tennis Building off South State Street.
"We are real excited about it," McFarland said. "It's been a lot of work, and I've had a lot of help, not only from the administrators, but from some of the alumni that have stepped up."
McFarland, a former Michigan wrestler who's been head coach for nine seasons, said he received his first commitment for a financial donation "probably in 2000 or 2001."
The coach said the program met its fundraising goal of $4 million for the project, which McFarland said will aid the Wolverines in their pursuit of a national title. Michigan has finished in the top 10 of the NCAA championship meet for the last eight years.
"It's going to help recruiting," he said. "It's going to have everything in it that we're gonna to need to help us go after a national championship."
Besides more than doubling the mat space, to 7,500 square feet, the building will feature a strength and conditioning center on the second floor, an athletes' lounge, a hall of fame area, sports medicine facilities, a film and video study area and more.
The location of the proposed facility represents a departure from initial discussions, when athletic department officials envisioned it as part of a new basketball practice building that could be located off Crisler Arena's east side. Michigan executive associate athletic director Mike Stevenson, who's involved in facilities issues, said there were two main reasons for the change.
"We concluded that if we could move it to a stand-alone facility, it would have a bigger 'Wow' factor for recruiting," Stevenson said. "Also there was a cost factor. It will cost less to build a free-standing facility than to tie it into Crisler Arena."
Added McFarland: "If everything goes well, we should only have one year left in Crisler. Not only will this be a state-of-the-art training facility, but it will help in recruiting. I look at this as being one of the best - if not the best - in the country."
No comments:
Post a Comment