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So practice is only a few weeks away so I was just wondering what other FCS school's practice facilities look like? Where are other teams going to be practicing for 4 weeks before the season starts?

To start off with, ODU's Powhatan Sports Complex...

Main Entrance




Players Locker Room


Team Meeting Room


Weight Room


Training Room


Practice Fields


Players Lounge


Equipment Room


The practice facility is also home to the ODU Women's Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams who play on a seperate field.

The EZC, which opened in 2002
Also in 2002, the End Zone Complex was completed and dedicated. The facility, located in the south end zone of Bobcat Stadium, houses the athletic program's football as well as track and field operations. The complex includes several state-of-the-art amentities donated by faithful Bobcat fans.
· Wallace & Lyla Dockall Football Meeting Room
· Dan Brown Football Meeting Room
· Chuck Nash Strength & Conditioning Room
· CenturyTel Track & Field Locker Room
· The Wiley Family Track Office Suite
· Walter & Eleanor Pulver Student Athlete Study Room
· Sac-N-Pac Room (Donated by the Warren Family)
. Wells Fargo Stadium Terrace
· Subway Head Football Coach's Office
· North Carolina Furniture Football Lounge
· Albert Gonzalez & Susan Angell Football War Room
· Tal & Leslie Milan Defensive Coordinator's Office
· Greg & Teresa Hagan Offensive Coordinator's Office
The End Zone Complex also has a full service training center, meeting room and coaching staff offices


The Lobby

Student Lounge

Coach Wright's Office

Meeting Room

Teaching Theater

Training Room

Weight Room


Actual Practice will be on Jim Wacker Field, with the new turf.
Upgrades to the EZC will happen in the next year or 2.

Best facilities in FCS.


Indoor Practice Facility


Locker Room:




Weight Room:






Meeting Rooms:

These are all pretty sweet. I haven't seen anything like this anywhere, particularly the stone work in the Appy locker room. I really liked the Olympic platforms in the ODU, TX St, and Appy weight rooms. The classroom-style seat/desks in the meeting rooms are OK, though I'd prefer tables in rows.

Do you guys have individual position meeting rooms? That would be about the only improvements I could think of. Again, this is the best I've ever seen. (And, no, I haven't been inside the new Sac facility yet. It could be as nice as what you guys have, but all I know are the portables and the old field house that have been removed. Well, at least the ugly portables have. SD or Kadeezy would probably have better info.)

EDIT: I just looked at the Broad Fieldhouse on the Sac site. The pix aren't as extensive as what you guys provide, but the facade is nice (which I knew already having seen it after the "Mattos March"). There are nice position meeting rooms with dropdown video screens and curvy desks. The weight room looks really nice. But there are no pix of the locker room or training room. Perhaps that's appropriate, however, given that those places are generally held to be player sanctuaries.

ASU has seven individual position meeting rooms in addition to the large one. In addition ASU has a large student lounge and a separate computer/tutoring room in the 110 sq. ft. tower behind the west side stands. Recruits the past two years have no idea that ASU has something like this, something that many FBS schools don't have.

The facilities are for all sports.

I'm sure every school such as ODU, Texas State and Appy with facilities such as these have their own position meeting rooms. Personally, I've been out on the practice fields, the locker room, and the equipment room. They don't provide pics of Coach Wilder's office unfortunately as well as the other coaches. Also these pics from Powhatan Sports Complex were posted a few years back when the facility was completed so as you can imagine since then a lot more pictures were mounted on walls in places such as the players lounge.

In particular, I gotta say App. State's facilities are pretty sweet...the locker room with the stone work, metting room, etc.

Field Turf Practice Field



Staff Meeting Room



Coaches Offices



Team Meeting Room



Locker Room


The team also has grass practice fields and the school will start a major renovation that will significantly upgrade the sports medicine, strength training, as well student athlete academic and common areas.

The Gallery for the EZC doesn't have pics of the locker room, so no idea what that entails.

Athletes will now have the Harris Underground Athletic Academic Center but it (Harris Underground) is currently undergoing major renovations so the only pics I can find are of the renovations/construction going on in various areas of the complex.

In addition to housing Texas State's soccer facilities, Harris Underground will also serve as the new home of the Athletic Academic Center. Renovations to the vast space began in February and the move should be complete in fall of 2010. The space at Harris Underground more than doubles the current space of the Academic Center and will be easily accessible to student-athletes since it is located near Blanco Hall and San Marcos Hall, dorms primarily used by our freshman student-athletes.

Student-athletes will enjoy a new computer lab, individual and group tutoring and study rooms as well as an open study room with numerous desks. The new site will house the office of the Academic Staff and the NCAA Certification Staff, which will continue to provide a multitude of academic and life skills services.

TXST is upgrading and renovating every aspect of the athletic programs so all the money is not going to one sport; although the majority, inevitibly, will be spent on the football stadium/field.

Ok, fine facilities. Except for App St, how have they helped their teams win conference or national championships? Isn't that what all this is supposed to achieve? Montana, a perennial contender, doesn't have near these facilities, and frankly most Montanans don't go for this costly, unnecessary, window dressing, altho WaGriz stadium is impressive. Yes, UM does have some facility issues when it comes to a possible move up to the FBS. But, Lord God Almighty! Stonework in the LOCKER room?

Weight Room

Football Lounge and Meeting Room around the corner

Strength and Conditioning Center

Locker Room

GrizMadman wrote:Ok, fine facilities. Except for App St, how have they helped their teams win conference or national championships? Isn't that what all this is supposed to achieve? Montana, a perennial contender, doesn't have near these facilities, and frankly most Montanans don't go for this costly, unnecessary, window dressing, altho WaGriz stadium is impressive. Yes, UM does have some facility issues when it comes to a possible move up to the FBS. But, Lord God Almighty! Stonework in the LOCKER room?

Oh, Oh....I can answer that

TXST, when it was SWT, was known as a party school, not an athletics hotbed. Only in the past 5-7 years has that perception started to change. From 1991 until 2005 the football program was a joke, seriously. While baseball, and a few others, were successful, no one fucking cared. The culture is changing and, therefore, we are beginning to get that 'winning attitude' and are looking to move to FBS. With that 'comes the spoils', I guess. If you want to be looked at, if you want to recruit the best and get the best coaches you can, you do what it takes.
Since the new baseball stadium we have won both SLC titles, not that they haven't co-championed or won the tourney before, but now have won 2 SLC's in a row and are getting top recruits and transfers that Big XII teams are also looking at/recruiting.
We are now fighting for those athletes in other sports also. 10 in-state FBS teams alone.
We'll never be, or have, what a UT does but upgrading and having state-of-the-art facilities helps in recruiting and maintaining the best and, hopefully, continue to improve all the athletics programs across the board.
FBS conferences don't just look at athletics (including facilities) when considering inviting someone, but it sure helps.

GrizMadman wrote:Ok, fine facilities. Except for App St, how have they helped their teams win conference or national championships? Isn't that what all this is supposed to achieve? Montana, a perennial contender, doesn't have near these facilities, and frankly most Montanans don't go for this costly, unnecessary, window dressing, altho WaGriz stadium is impressive. Yes, UM does have some facility issues when it comes to a possible move up to the FBS. But, Lord God Almighty! Stonework in the LOCKER room?

I think for ODU being a 2nd year program and having the facilities they have is exactly what they need. The Football team also shares their practice facility with the women's lacrosse team and field hockey team. So not only does the football team have a great facility, it also saves the school space. ODU doesn't have the luxury of having a lot of open land since it is in an urban area and actually it's been questioned where ODU will put the softball team we're getting in a couple years. In my opinion, if it brings National Championships then schools have a reason to have state-of-the-art facilities like Appy State. If not, then maybe some schools should just concentrate on the field performance.

W&M's practice facilities are as a good as any, save those that have indoor capabilities. 30,000 sq. ft. Laycock Center is state of the art, and the bermuda Montgomery Practice Fields are right outside. Both are adjacent to Zable Stadium, so when it's wet practice moves to the FieldTurf. The Montgomery Strength Training Center and the John Sauer Speed and Conditioning Room measure 8,500 sq. ft.

One of the big advantages for teams with facilities like those shown above is having extensive hydro-therapy capabilities. The therapy pools in the Laycock Center have treadmills, and all sorts of therapeutic options. Another big advantage is meeting facilities that can bring the whole team together, and house full position meetings at the same time, as well as the video capabilities.

Tribe4SF wrote:W&M's practice facilities are as a good as any, save those that have indoor capabilities. 30,000 sq. ft. Laycock Center is state of the art, and the bermuda Montgomery Practice Fields are right outside. Both are adjacent to Zable Stadium, so when it's wet practice moves to the FieldTurf. The Montgomery Strength Training Center and the John Sauer Speed and Conditioning Room measure 8,500 sq. ft.

One of the big advantages for teams with facilities like those shown above is having extensive hydro-therapy capabilities. The therapy pools in the Laycock Center have treadmills, and all sorts of therapeutic options. Another big advantage is meeting facilities that can bring the whole team together, and house full position meetings at the same time, as well as the video capabilities.

I'm not sure if ODU has them but I want to assume they do because do you really build a new facility without them?

Anyone building/upgrading any athletic facility would naturally make them state-of-the-art, wouldn't they?
TXST just happens to be doing things now....finally. The baseball fields have been a project set aside for more than a decade. If you saw what they looked like before last season, you'd understand that need. Just happens the monies became available the same time as the football upgrades began.
The FBS move study recommended particular changes/needs to be met and TXST is now taking those steps.
BTW - things like the Baseball locker room upgrade were done with private donations. The team actually chose to not build a new locker room at the field itself, rather, they wanted it kept where it was, just renovated/upgraded. (They have this thing about wanting to walk to the field, together)

Old Baseball Facility

CatMom: All I'm saying is go easy on the practice facilities. Give your athletes the best you can, but don't think that luxurious practice facilities necessarily win you championships. Edit: After reading more posts, I see "state of the art." To me, it sounds like keeping up with the Joneses. That's fine if you can afford it. I'm a bit dismayed that college athletes and athletic departments think they have to have pro-level facilities. But, I guess that's what TV has brought us.

Still, stonework in a locker room?

CatMom wrote:Anyone building/upgrading any athletic facility would naturally make them state-of-the-art, wouldn't they?
TXST just happens to be doing things now....finally. The baseball fields have been a project set aside for more than a decade. If you saw what they looked like before last season, you'd understand that need. Just happens the monies became available the same time as the football upgrades began.
The FBS move study recommended particular changes/needs to be met and TXST is now taking those steps.
BTW - things like the Baseball locker room upgrade were done with private donations. The team actually chose to not build a new locker room at the field itself, rather, they wanted it kept where it was, just renovated/upgraded. (They have this thing about wanting to walk to the field, together)

Old Baseball Facility

ODU has a pretty lousy baseball facility as well compared to all the other athletic facilities we have on campus. The Ted, which is where the ODU men's and women's basketball teams has its games is roughly a 8,600 seat arena plus a practice gym in the Athletic Adminstration building. Recently the wrestling program got new offices and practice space added onto the AA building, the football team...obviously. Then there is the men's and women's soccer teams which got new offices recently as well as the field hockey and lacrosse teams who practice/compete at the Powhatan Sports Complex. And then the sailing team is getting a new sailing center which construction just started and the golf teams compete/practice at a relatively new golf course on campus called Lambert's Point. Lastly the Tennis Teams also has a relatively new facility as well which is considered one of the best in the Hampton Roads area.

I think the stonework fits in the App st. Locker room,it doesnt seem out of place.

what does seem out of place is having giant wooden silhouettes of football players in your football teams meeting room. NDSU has a good looking facility and then they put that in. Surely in 2010 we can move away from 1984 concept clip art

GrizMadman wrote:Still, stonework in a locker room?

You'll get over it.

Mountaineer wrote:

GrizMadman wrote:Still, stonework in a locker room?

You'll get over it.

Stonework in a liberal arts classroom would be nice.

GrizMadman wrote:Ok, fine facilities. Except for App St, how have they helped their teams win conference or national championships? Isn't that what all this is supposed to achieve? Montana, a perennial contender, doesn't have near these facilities, and frankly most Montanans don't go for this costly, unnecessary, window dressing, altho WaGriz stadium is impressive. Yes, UM does have some facility issues when it comes to a possible move up to the FBS. But, Lord God Almighty! Stonework in the LOCKER room?

Although Washington-Grizzly is amazing, Montana really, really really needs to upgrade the support facilities. It was too bad that the students voted it down, and I think that was mainly out of spite because of how the situation went down. The locker room for the Griz is tiny and needs to be expanded, along with the weight room. There was a video that someone posted that followed App St. last season, when it showed them in the visitors locker room in Washington-Grizzly stadium I was a little embarassed. The Griz need and upgrade bad, although we have had success getting athletes to come to Montana, better facilities could probably help us get a kid who might be on the fence with their decision.

Grizzle Bear wrote:

GrizMadman wrote:Ok, fine facilities. Except for App St, how have they helped their teams win conference or national championships? Isn't that what all this is supposed to achieve? Montana, a perennial contender, doesn't have near these facilities, and frankly most Montanans don't go for this costly, unnecessary, window dressing, altho WaGriz stadium is impressive. Yes, UM does have some facility issues when it comes to a possible move up to the FBS. But, Lord God Almighty! Stonework in the LOCKER room?

Although Washington-Grizzly is amazing, Montana really, really really needs to upgrade the support facilities. It was too bad that the students voted it down, and I think that was mainly out of spite because of how the situation went down. The locker room for the Griz is tiny and needs to be expanded, along with the weight room. There was a video that someone posted that followed App St. last season, when it showed them in the visitors locker room in Washington-Grizzly stadium I was a little embarassed. The Griz need and upgrade bad, although we have had success getting athletes to come to Montana, better facilities could probably help us get a kid who might be on the fence with their decision.

I agree with that, I posted an article in the Robins Stadium (Richmond) thread where it said that Richmond coaches would barely ever show the stadium they play at they were that ashamed but now since they got a beautiful new facility that is on campus it should only help.

Grizzle Bear wrote:

GrizMadman wrote:Ok, fine facilities. Except for App St, how have they helped their teams win conference or national championships? Isn't that what all this is supposed to achieve? Montana, a perennial contender, doesn't have near these facilities, and frankly most Montanans don't go for this costly, unnecessary, window dressing, altho WaGriz stadium is impressive. Yes, UM does have some facility issues when it comes to a possible move up to the FBS. But, Lord God Almighty! Stonework in the LOCKER room?

Although Washington-Grizzly is amazing, Montana really, really really needs to upgrade the support facilities. It was too bad that the students voted it down, and I think that was mainly out of spite because of how the situation went down. The locker room for the Griz is tiny and needs to be expanded, along with the weight room. There was a video that someone posted that followed App St. last season, when it showed them in the visitors locker room in Washington-Grizzly stadium I was a little embarassed. The Griz need and upgrade bad, although we have had success getting athletes to come to Montana, better facilities could probably help us get a kid who might be on the fence with their decision.

I agree with you that UM needs to upgrade its athletic facilities, probably not just for football. In fact, UM could well use a multi-purpose indoor facility for football practices due to August smoke, etc. But, such a facility could be used for indoor track & field & soccer sports, as well. Right there, you could add the indoor men's & women's track & field as two sports for UM to get to the 16 sport minimum for the WAC. Ok, ok, I'm referring to practice for indoor soccer.
I'm sorry, but weather is a hugh factor for UM sports. I don't know if the money is there for all this. Pres. Dennison, from posts I've read has been bleeding off revenues from football for non-athletic programs.

It's time for UM to start investing in its athletic programs. And, I agree with you that the reputation of UM football may not overcome a prospective recruit's evaluation of the facilities he may have to put up with. Not when he could go to a school with stonework in its locker room!

Missouri State's are nothing to write home about, but....
MO State's locker room:





Lounge:


Computer Lab:


Equipment Room:


Plaster Weight Center:



Two outdoor practice fields (ignore the helicopter):

Grizzle Bear wrote:There was a video that someone posted that followed App St. last season, when it showed them in the visitors locker room in Washington-Grizzly stadium I was a little embarassed.