Exactly.The same could be said for top notch basketball facilities or weight rooms at Nebraska........
Everyone was told the facilities needed upgraded.
We still suck.
Exactly.The same could be said for top notch basketball facilities or weight rooms at Nebraska........
One word - Recruiting. .I don't get having a beautiful view during practice? What is that exactly going to do for your team? It is very nice but just don't get it.
One word - Recruiting. .
So you think a recruit is going to say "mom the view is beutiful, I want to go here"? And its jot like the beach is some famous beach in South Florida or Southern Cali.
This an honest question...why would you dump that kind of $$$ into a practice facility and not put it into your actual football stadium that is in DESPERATE need of an upgrade/facelift? Do they plan on playing their games inside the new facility and calling it a domed stadium maybe?
Mike Riley could inherit the New England Patriots and find a way to lose games
Northwestern has a massive amount of wealth and access to resources, but only in recent years have they shown any inclination to support their Athletics Department at all.
I think they saw the success that their peers Duke and Stanford have had in Athletics and realized that having good Basketball and Football teams can raise the profile of the School with different groups of people, especially in the large, wealthy Chicago market and lead to increased fundraising. Their endowment is massive already though. Actually the Big Ten is loaded with well endowed schools, and I forgot that Michigan actually as a little more $$$ than NW. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment
Mich 10.9B, NW 10.4B, OSU 4.2B PSU 3.9B, Minnesota 3.6B Wisc. 2.7B
As far as that awful football stadium they play in, that is clearly the next problem they will address. The Lakefront facility is the best I have ever seen, and Lake Michigan and the beachfront is as good as it gets in the midwest. The basketball arena is being completely rebuilt from the inside out and they do not need more seats, it will be a good environment.
The AD Jim Phillips is brilliant and they will do something with the stadium. They may demo the whole thing and start over, or they may just destroy all but the more impressive west side and do something new everywhere else, sort of like TCU did. Some would like a new lakefront stadium, somewhat like the Baylor or Minnesota stadiums. Northwestern probably has the budget for whatever they want to do, the bigger issue is regulatory issues with the City of Evanston and the State of Illinois.
The beaches along Lake Michigan and Chicago are among the worlds most famous, picturesque in urban settings. NW won’t be for everyone, but belittling the setting of the facility, Chicago skyline, and a clear water blue lake makes you sound ‘funny’So you think a recruit is going to say "mom the view is beutiful, I want to go here"? And its jot like the beach is some famous beach in South Florida or Southern Cali.
The beaches along Lake Michigan and Chicago are among the worlds most famous, picturesque in urban settings. NW won’t be for everyone, but belittling the setting of the facility, Chicago skyline, and a clear water blue lake makes you sound ‘funny’
It's a cool practice facility for sure but is it going to get them any more recruits or win them any more games? I doubt it.
Looks really nice, and I'm sure it will help their recruiting.
That being said, as someone who goes to our games in Evanston whenever I can (living just outside the Chicagoland area), I'd like to see them invest in the stadium next, or at least the field. The last game I was there, the field was in worse shape than my high school's field many moons ago.
The amount of inferiority complex on this topic is comical. It’s a great looking facility, period.
Northwestern has won 3 of the last 4 in Lincoln. So even with our great home field advantage.......they still win here.
Good for them. It is beautiful, no doubt. My question is will it help get better athletes since the academic qualifications to get into NW are so very high? Not a large pool of players to pick from. I would think out of that pool of players most would probably (not always) choose Stanford, & Notre Dame over NW just because of the tradition and their football is better. JMO
Also who are the people behind the scenes running it? Like the coaches, athletic staff, trainers, strength coaches. Those are the people that make it go. The facilities are just what enhances these peoples strengths. JMO
A shanked punt could be very costly
But they still bus in lights for night football games...