Volleyball marks up watershed recruiting class

**HandSanitizer** · 07-12-2008, 06:43 PM

So what are we talking here $50 Million? Would that get a facility that houses locker rooms and practice/ meets for Swimming, Volleyball, Softball, Gymnastics, wrestling
$10 million for a new track, new softball park with the works, and upgrades to the soccer complex? And the Forker Tennis courts are really rough. Probably need something there also. This main facility could have locker rooms for each vasity sport except BB and Football and have a lounge and sports medicine location etc. Big recruiting tool. All this money makes my head hurt.

Here is where it gets tricky. Do you try and raise $60 million for sports that cost millions to run (guessing at 60) or do you throw more money at the big sports? I guess that is a tuff one. If the NCAA doesn't look out there won't be any other sports left, but the TV sports. This is where Boone Pickens exceeds. Give huge money for the BB and Football facilities and then give tons more so they other sports survive. Dang..

**ornryactor** · 07-12-2008, 06:53 PM

Gymnastics- probably won't see any change for a long time, unless we build a new competition venue for Olympic sports. They're getting a Beyer upgrade, and they compete in Hilton.

Swimming- won't get anything while they're at Beyer. As mentioned, the eventual plan is build a natatorium on Lied to house both competition and recreation aquatic facilities. They're not going to waste dollars building two separate facilities.

Wrestling- also set for the moment. They're happy in Lied; they have the whole second floor and compete in Hilton. Again, no change unless an Olympic arena is built.

Softball- won't get any upgrades while they're at the SAC. New field will eventually be built where current IM diamonds are, across from Jack Trice.

Track- same as softball. Lied serves acceptably for now; will eventually get new outdoor track.

**Psyclone** · 07-12-2008, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by CyValley

At cyclones.com a story reports that ISU's incoming volleyball recruiting class is ranked 25th in the nation, the program's first-ever top 30 class. Great job, CJ!

JP's original practice facility concept was to house mbb, wbb, and vb. Now, vb is without a "home" of its own in the wake of yesterday's basketball practice facility announcement. As an ISU fan, I'm concerned that the volleyball program might not be able to continue its upward progress without its own practice facility. And, we want to keep CJ, don't we?

Anyone here know of any solutions for this facility problem? I wonder if something is on the drawing board, maybe converting existing space somewhere into a cool vb practice facility.

So much to do. . . .

Just the fact that WBB and MBB now will have their own facility, frees up any space thiey used to use for the other sports. That can only help. It's not totally about the practice facility itself, but the access to it. Scheduling practice time should be a lot easier with two less teams competing for space.

**ornryactor** · 07-13-2008, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by Psyclone

Just the fact that WBB and MBB now will have their own facility, frees up any space thiey used to use for the other sports. That can only help. It's not totally about the practice facility itself, but the access to it. Scheduling practice time should be a lot easier with two less teams competing for space.

People don't really get this, do they? No, MBB and WBB moving out is not going to help volleyball nearly as much as most folks are guessing. To start with, State Gym is basically useless for the volleyball team. You can't set up nets in there. They already use Forker, and nothing's really changing over there: they still don't have lockers there and they still have to share the facility with classes during the day and clubs at night, and both of those have every right to be in the building. They also already use Beyer and Hilton. I don't see how it's okay to make them shuttle between three different buildings when nobody else has to. It's not like with the BB teams gone, all of sudden there are vacant gymnasiums galore all over campus. What will actually happen is that clubs might actually get the activity space they request, or regular peon students will be able to play pick-up basketball games without waiting over an hour for a court to open up. Everything is still going to be used at full capacity.

**scubapohl1** · 07-13-2008, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

Someone mentioned in another thread that the College of Design is moving their underclassmen out of the Armory. How 'bout we also move the ROTC program and DTS out of there as well, remodel the **** out of it, and have an outstanding "classic-looking" fieldhouse for the volleyball and wrestling programs (among others)?

This scares me a little for a different reason. ROTC programs at most schools are treated very poorly by the "liberal" academic leadership of most universities. ISU isn't much different, visit their current offices if you want some proof. I shudder to think what hell hole they'd find for them if they kicked them from the Armory.

As a 24 year military guy, I might be a bit biased but it does happen. I have to give ISU credit though. I visited the EIU ROTC offices a few years ago and the university leadership over there should be ashamed of themselves for how they treat those poor kids!!

**tigershoops31** · 07-13-2008, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by ornryactor

People don't really get this, do they? No, MBB and WBB moving out is not going to help volleyball nearly as much as most folks are guessing. To start with, State Gym is basically useless for the volleyball team. You can't set up nets in there. They already use Forker, and nothing's really changing over there: they still don't have lockers there and they still have to share the facility with classes during the day and clubs at night, and both of those have every right to be in the building. They also already use Beyer and Hilton. I don't see how it's okay to make them shuttle between three different buildings when nobody else has to. It's not like with the BB teams gone, all of sudden there are vacant gymnasiums galore all over campus. What will actually happen is that clubs might actually get the activity space they request, or regular peon students will be able to play pick-up basketball games without waiting over an hour for a court to open up. Everything is still going to be used at full capacity.

Up until they redid State both the men's and women's basketball teams had to do just this. They would practice at a combination of State, Forker, and Hilton (with some individual workouts in Beyer). Also, I'm pretty sure they play intramural volleyball at State so how can they not be able to set up nets in there?

**ajk4st8** · 07-13-2008, 09:48 AM

Until volleyball, softball, gymnastics start bringing in a ton of money.... they should just be happy with what they get.

Football and basketball HAVE to take care of themselves first... then they can fund other programs. If FB and MBB are bad, the entire athletic department suffers.

It is just reality.

**spanny** · 07-13-2008, 06:45 PM

The biggest thing to me is the lack of their own locker room facilities, some place they can call home. As to the earlier question as to how we can help the volleyball team, we can go to matches, they are cheap, sometimes free, or at least in the past they were, with a same day football ticket. Get a chance to know these girls, they are playing a great brand of volleyball. They are fast and they should be fun to watch, I for one will be there a bunch this fall hopefully taking my high school girls up a bunch!

**ajk4st8** · 07-14-2008, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by spanny

The biggest thing to me is the lack of their own locker room facilities, some place they can call home. As to the earlier question as to how we can help the volleyball team, we can go to matches, they are cheap, sometimes free, or at least in the past they were, with a same day football ticket. Get a chance to know these girls, they are playing a great brand of volleyball. They are fast and they should be fun to watch, I for one will be there a bunch this fall hopefully taking my high school girls up a bunch!

Unfortunatly this really has nothing to do with how good we are in VB or how fun they are to watch, or how hard these girls work. It is all about money. FB and basketball will pay for the VB team to have a nice place to workout in the future.... after it takes care of itself.