‘History’

>"They Got Like A High School Stadium"

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>That title my friends, was an actual quote of a Big Ten player in reference to Ryan Field. In one of the only polls of its kind I’ve ever seen, [...]

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>That title my friends, was an actual quote of a Big Ten player in reference to Ryan Field. In one of the only polls of its kind I’ve ever seen, AnnArbor.com’s Dave Birkett polled actual Big Ten players for both positive and controversial questions. Of course, he granted anonymity to all eleven players he polled which is good, because a)I can’t ever pronounce the word anonymity so I’m glad this is written and b)I don’t want to know which player’s grammar makes mine look good. As you can see in the poll, Ryan Field received nine votes as the worst atmosphere. With the exception of Terrelle Pryor as the most exciting player, this slam on us was the most one-sided, consensus among the league. Only Indiana even received another vote and based on the fact you couldn’t vote for your own team, stadium or coach, one would assume that vote was from an NU player.

I actually love this kind of poll as it gives you as much as a pulse of what player’s really think as you’ll see. Granted, the sample size isn’t quite up to muster, but it is fun nonetheless. I was surprised that Kirk Ferentz was the winner of the answer to “Which Big Ten coach would you most like to play for?” Fitz only received one vote which shocked me. Although, he is in pretty heady company. Here are the results:

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa – 4
Comment: “They just always have such a well-coached team.”
Joe Paterno, Penn State – 3
Jim Tressel, Ohio State – 3
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern – 1

Now would be a good time to revisit the stadium series I guess. Let’s book it for tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some thoughts on the Big Ten from a conference wide perspective. We’ll call it a poll of one – LTP. I’ll try my best to invoke the same rules – I can’t vote for NU in any category.

Best Home Schedule

Minnesota – USC, Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa all trek to TCF Stadium. Oh yeah, and Northwestern. For the record, Tim Brewster referenced this fact at the Big Ten luncheon and noticably omitted Northwestern’s name from his home schedule that he was bragging about. I didn’t forget Tim and it’s payback time after the egg we laid against the Gophers.

There are two other non-conference games (South Dakota and Middle Tennessee State) but those names will be sure to keep ticket scalpers very busy in the Twin Cities.

Schedule Best Set-up For Success

Northwestern – There. I broke the voting rules. And – I jinxed us. However, NU needs to learn how to put teams away and throttle the jugular. Overcoming and LTP jinx is third in line. The ‘Cats will likely be favored in at least six of their first eight games and potentially all eight- @Vanderbilt, vs ISU, @Rice, vs Central Michigan, @Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan State, @Indiana. With Mavre at Purdue, and Cousins and his WRs back in Spartyland and my surprise pick of the year with Indiana, it won’t be easy. However, big picture, when you look at our talent and the schedule, I can’t remember it setup better for success. Ever.

Surprise Team Of The Year – Good Version

Indiana – As you’ve read here, I’m high on the Hoosiers in 2010. Yes, the defense has more question marks than players, but I’m likening this team to the 2005 ‘Cats. A high-octane offense with a proven QB (Chappell is our “Baz”), a money wideout (Tandon Doss) and an electrifying RB – Darrius Willis (the Hoosiers’ Tyrell Sutton). Throw in a non-conference schedule that makes NU’s seem tough (IU has Towson, Western Kentucky, Akron and Arkansas State) and there is reason for bowl expectations in Bloomington.

Surprise Team of the Year – Bad Version

Penn State
It is all relative, but “bad” in Happy Valley is when you don’t reach a BCS bowl. I expect an 8-4 season, but the Nittany Lions are looking at a likely 3-2 start with a road game at defending national champ Alabama and a road Big Ten opener against their nemesis Iowa. They also play at Ohio State in November so the season finale in the Land Grant could be there make or break game.

Favorite Non-NU Player
Tie – Darrius Willis (Indiana), Terry Hawthorne (Illinois)
Darrius Willis might not be a name most ‘Cats fans remember. The reason? He had blitzed the ‘Cats for an 80-yard TD before most of you were in your seats last year. The electrifying RB for the Hoosiers was dinged up last year and still was a human highlight film. The theme in Bloomington this year is “finish” and with Willis they will. Separately, the Illini’s Terry Hawthorne earned my love for this amazing run down last year in the “never give up” category.

Sexy Opening Weekend Upset Pick
Michigan
This is as in “gets upset” not, pull the upset. Purdue over Notre Dame is another, but the Wolverines pulled a Northwestern in scheduling by scheduling UCONN. The Huskies are still a team that gets no respect nationally, although a lot of sympathy based on last season’s tragedy, yet are consistently competitive every season. This is akin to scheduling Nevada. You win, the average fan “expects” it, but to those who know, UCONN will be a tough out. The game is in the Big(ger) House and if there is a team that has cornered the season-opening news making loss, it is Michigan.

Most Feared Defense
Michigan State
This is through a Northwestern fans eyes. Greg Jones and his fellow LBs just stuck it to NU last year. It was as if they were getting to Kafka and our RBs as we handed off the ball. I’m still having nightmares about the way the controlled our line last year and the Spartans return the bulk of the business on D.

Most Feared Big Strike Play
Tie – Iowa, Michigan State
The combo of seasoned QB and wily veteran WRs is a dangerous combo. When you throw in our less than proven secondary and solid front seven, you know we’ll be tested deep often. The Stanzi to DJK threat is one that we’ll be talking about all the way up to the November 13 game against the Hawkeyes. Similarly, Kirk Cousins has his pick between Dell and Cunningham both of whom, I fear, will add to the long list of Spartan ‘Cat killers.

Quickest Hot Seat
Tie – Ron Zook, RichRod
If RichRod loses to UCONN it is all but over for him. The Irish are the week two opponent and playing at Indiana who will be the equivalent of Iowa waiting for NU in terms of payback (hey, what do you think gum sales will be at that game?) setup for a potential disaster if he doesn’t take care of business. The Illini face Mizzou (loss) in the opener and then after wins over Illinois directionals open with the gauntlet of Ohio State at home and then @Penn State and @Michigan State. That’s 2-4 to open the season and Zook will be trying to hang his team together in hopes that they can rebound against middle-to-lower of the pack teams.

We’ll have much more or these types of Big Ten overview posts coming in the next few weeks. Have at it…

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>Stadium Profiles: Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium

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> Bobby Dodd Stadium – Home to Georgia Tech and a stunning backdrop Mr. Dodd meet Mr. Ryan. Thanks to a tip from Tim, I think Georgia Tech may offer [...]

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> Bobby Dodd Stadium – Home to Georgia Tech and a stunning backdrop

Mr. Dodd meet Mr. Ryan. Thanks to a tip from Tim, I think Georgia Tech may offer one of the most relevant examples of what can be done to take a “historic” (read: dump) field and without a complete rebuild, turn relatively modest dollars in to a brand new stadium. Like Ryan Field, Bobby Dodd Stadium had a precursor name tied to original financing (Mr. Grant meet Mr. Dyche). OK, so the analogy fails as Bobby Dodd was a famous coach for whom the new name was added while Pat Ryan is the most generous donor who funded the 1996 renovation, but you get the point.

Bobby Dodd is squarely in the middle of Atlanta, so the Evanston-to-Georgia Tech comparison from a geography standpoint is not as compelling as BC. However, when you look at the series of transformations the stadium has undergone it may offer a better blueprint for renovation.

“Historic” Grant Field in 1983 – very similar to Dyche Stadium

As you can see by this 1983 photo, Grant Field shares the horseshoe configuration that had seats far away thanks to the outdoor track. Newcomers to Wildcat Nation may not remember, but prior to the 1996-97 renovation from Dyche to Ryan, we too had a track going around the perimeter of the stadium. Both Ryan Field and Bobby Dodd made a much-needed renovation step, however in 2003 Georgia Tech took it several steps further – for not a ton of money ($75million). According to the official Georgia Tech school website “The focal point of the project was the new North end zone structure, which seats 15,678 in two levels and also includes 10 luxury suites as well as the Howard Ector Letterwinners Lounge. The complex also features the 7,000-square foot Kim King Football Locker Room, a 3,300-square foot players’ lounge, the Jones Media Room, and football coaches’ offices that overlook Grant Field.”

You see a trend in the stadium profiles. Georgia Tech completely upgraded the endzones with a multi-level endzone seating upgrade on one side and then a two-tiered endzone with seating and luxury boxes on the other side. You can start to visualize what Ryan Field would look like by eliminating the south end zone circular shape (remnants from the track layout) and connect the east-west sections.

From a capacity standpoint, Georgia Tech and Ryan Field are in the same ballpark – 55,000 for the Yellow Jackets and 47,130 for the ‘Cats. In 2008, Georgia Tech averaged 83% capacity at 47,489 and last season they posted a double-digit per game average increase to 94% and an average of 51,584. The most recent bumps can be attributed to one of the nation’s best coaches – Paul Johnson- coming on board in 2009 after Chan Gailey consistently putting the Yellow Jackets in bowl games on an annual basis. In fact, the ‘Cats are about 4-5 years away from actually posting the consistency of Georgia Tech who have not had a losing season since 1996. Johnson has gone 9-4 and 11-3 in his first two seasons in Atlanta.


So, there you go, another stadium to put on the renovation tour for NU. I’ve never been to a game there but am willing to bet some of you have. Bring on the first person accounts!! Below is a YouTube video that offers you a great perspective of the stadium from the student section perspective and offers you views of the entire stadium, albeit a tad shaky.

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>Stadium Stat-O-Rama

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>To the naked eye, LTP believes IU’s Memorial Stadium renovation got the most bang-for-the-buck and could be a good blueprint for PART of the much-needed Ryan Field overhaul. The occasional [...]

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>To the naked eye, LTP believes IU’s Memorial Stadium renovation got the most bang-for-the-buck and could be a good blueprint for PART of the much-needed Ryan Field overhaul.

The occasional feature series profiling relevant stadiums (Oregon State, BC so far) has been very well received by LTP readers. Thanks to a tip from Tim, next up will be Bobby Dodd Stadium on Monday which may very well be the model case study for future Ryan Field stadium makeovers. Before we dive in to downtown Atlanta, let’s first offer up some Big Ten context on fellow stadium spends and lay the continual groundwork that is convincing me more each day that we do need to invest some significant dollars in to Ryan Field.

Northwestern spent approximately $20 million thanks to the Ryan family in 1996 which enabled NU to lower the field to improve sight-lines, add a brand new press box with limited luxury boxes, a new lockerroom facility and added a new scoreboard. Also, concession stand areas were widened and -drumroll please – seating capacity was REDUCED to 47,130 from just over 49,000. Construction was completed in 1997. Let’s take a spin around the Big Ten and see what others have done:

Illinois – $100M – Completed for ’09 season
The Illini recently completed a massive multi-year renovation that, like most renovations, addressed endzone seating adding 14,000 seats total to the north and south end zones while reducing large seating areas on the west side for a 3-story luxury box/press box addition. Ancillary adds like a weight room that overlooks the field were part of the “Illinois Renaissance” project.

Indiana -$55M – Completed summer ’09
There has been quite a bit of speculation that part of NU’s plans may involve a football-only building and weight room facility that anchors, perhaps the south part of the end zone. If this is indeed part of the plan than Indiana’s Memorial Stadium offers the blueprint of “how-to”. Check out these photos from 2009 of the before and after and how fantastic the Hoosiers end zone now looks and how awesome it looks from the outside as well. It includes football offices, a weight room and of course added and upgraded endzone seating. It is essential to note that the exact north end zone renovation was a portion of the $55 million and that the other portion was for a basketball-only practice facility. I’ve yet to see the exact number for the football upgrade.

Iowa – $86.8 Million – Completed 2006
The Hawkeyes similarly overhauled one endzone in ’06 adding a beautiful plaza area and upgrading the endzone significantly. A lot of the overhaul, however, was in infrastructure that including nipping and tucking seating in several areas to widen concourses, and triple restrooms and concession stands while of course, adding luxury boxes and premium seating. You can check out the photo gallery here. With our success in Kinnick, I feel as though we own a piece of this place.

Michigan – $226 Million – Nearing completion (Summer 2010)
This is the head-scratcher of all head-scratchers. The Big House is barely getting any bigger, but they’ve spent nearly four years to add a completely new press box and a stunning wrap-around the entire stadium luxury box ring that is absolutely incredible in person. Still, the fact that 83 luxury boxes, 3200 club seats and widening of aisles and individual seats net less than 2,000 new “seats” is nearly inexplicable to me when you consider Minnesota was able to build a brand-new 49,000-seat stadium for about the same price.

Michigan State – $64 Million Completed 2005
Spartan Stadium, to me, wins the award for the second most bang-for-the-buck (behind Indiana) for what they did. They added 24 luxury boxes, 800 premium seats and 3,000 regular seats while creating an Iowa/Indiana-like entry plaza that is the welcoming site to the stadium. They renovated the lockerrooms, widened concourses and touched up other infrastructure elements as well.

Minnesota – $288.5 Million – TCF Bank Stadium – Opened in 2009
The Gophers made by far the most significant change – a brand spanking new stadium. What more do you say other than the fact capacity (50,000) is the closest to Ryan Field (47,130),. The stadium was designed with future expansion very much in mind and the add-ons would enable this infrastructure to build in to an 80,000-seat stadium. Check it out here.

Ohio State – $194 Million – Completed 2000
The Horseshoe’s major facelift rivals Michigan’s in terms of cost and least visible changes on a bang for the buck-o-meter. Ohio Stadium was overhauled in 1999 as thousands of additional seats were added to the upper deck. They completely overhauled the press box and added 81 luxury boxes, 2500 club seats and a nifty new scoreboard. The change was actually very noticeable to Buckeyes fans as the capacity rose by more than 10,000. You can get a good sense for how significant the upper deck extension was when you look at old and new photos of the panaromic variety.

Penn State – $93 Million – Completed 2001
Beaver Stadium’s facelift catapulted Penn State to the forefront of the total capacity arms race as they added 12,000 seats to a new capacity of 107,282, second only to the Big House in terms of largest stadium capacity in the nation. Like many Big Ten upgrades, the endzone seating was a key visual upgrade.
Purdue – $70 Million – Completed 2003, Yet Two More Phases To Go.
The Boilermakers’ Ross-Ade Stadium renovation took more than three years to complete and actually reduced capacity from over 66,000 to the present day 62,500. Purdue’s “phase I” was completed in 2003, but there are two more planned phases which will have a dramatic change to the stadium. Phase one was similar to Ryan Field’s makeover and included a completely new press box, the addition of 34 luxury suites and a 200-seat indoor club level. However, the phases to come include an upper deck on the east side of the stadium and an upper deck in the north endzone that will connect the two sides.
Wisconsin – $109.5 Million – Completed 2005
Camp Randall’s overhaul was an epic 4-year journey to complete. In addition to adding more than 4,000 new seats to bring the stadium to a present-day capacity of 80,321, a new press box was added, as well as 72 luxury boxes and nearly 1,000 premium seats. Additionally a ton of concourse expansion was completed. The Badgers also built a 5-story administrative building, new football-only offices, a new ticket office, new lockerrooms and more. Click here for all the details.

So there you have it. Every single team has had a major stadium renovation since 2000 with all but two having the major renovations since 2005. Northwestern as you know has not had a renovation since 1997. And, the renovation in 1997 pales in comparison to even the smallest renovation in the Big Ten. Add Nebraska, which had a massive overhaul in 2006, and you get the point. Our facilities are lagging way behind our competition. While the attendance does not justify it, from a recruiting standpoint – the lifeline of future success – it is a big deal. Imagine being a 17-year-old kid and that all-important moment when you walk in to a stadium on your recruiting visit. Pick any of the other 10/11 schools and try and measure the “awe factor” and we come in dead last. Also, not even noted on here are the “modest” $3-$4million upgrades for the likes of brand new scoreboards (which we desperately need) and new fields and the like.

I’ve been a staunch proponent of NOT going in to stadium renovation until we fix the attendance issue. However, when looking at it from a recruiting standpoint, it is clear we are further handicapping Fitz and company. Based on AOL Fanhouse’s numbers the $8 million in net profit that football brings in per year, it is time to invest in the growth area of the program. Clearly the capital investment of a $100Million plus renovation will take some time to recoup, but looking at it from a strictly business perspective, that type of investment, when calculating the increased talent level and ability to sustain on-field success, increase attendance via our marketing department overhaul should make the ROI a realistic 8-10 year goal (assuming a $100 million investment). One caveat – from the time we decide to renovate, it will be a several year initiative. I’m talking myself in to getting antsy and wanting to get going now. I’ve sold myself and am now a proponent that indeed a major renovation is necessary and the time is now.

Telander’s Tome
Rick Telander’s sixth installment of what football did to and for his teammates takes a lighter turn today featuring seemingly wealthy investor Jerry Combs. Perhaps he is a key target for renovation dollars, or perhaps he would like to invest in LTP!

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>Romance by Reser

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> I’m heading back to the epicenter of Wildcat Nation today, but yesterday I had a nice vacation diversion and while I was at it – conference alignment distraction. The [...]

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I’m heading back to the epicenter of Wildcat Nation today, but yesterday I had a nice vacation diversion and while I was at it – conference alignment distraction. The distraction? Reser Stadium – home of the Oregon State Beavers. As a kid I was allured by the magic of baseball stadiums. My RI roots led me to look to Fenway Park as sports mecca and the Field of Dreams factor to this day has me rubberneck when I pass any minor league stadium. However, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with college football stadiums.

Yesterday was one of those lucky days when you get to the stadium and the gates are wide open. I was able to walk right on to the field with family members and I was just shocked that the same raucous home I’ve seen on TV for the ’06 USC upset and several Civil Wars was smaller capacity (45,000+) than Ryan Field (47,130). It seemed so much larger than Ryan Field I literally kept checking my Iphone for various sources to confirm. After a quick mental diversion of wondering what other BCS conference schools not named Duke, BC or Wake Forest have smaller stadiums, I was standing at midfield looking around thinking “why does it feel so much bigger”.

As I sat there it hit me like a ton of bricks. Seatbacks baby. OK, that and the fact the stadium seems to be one of the more vertical you’ll ever see. Oh yeah, and the Pac-10 trademark dramatic acoustic and rain protection overhang (like Oregon and Washington). I did marvel at the tight end zone seating and immediately pictured how, as many of you suggested, the Ryan Field south end zone could be pulled waaaay in to help with sightlines and acoustics. Right above this could be the mega jumbotron like Reser has above its tight end zone seating. The stadium was so intimate you could feel the fans breathing on you as you envisioned how loud it must get.

The word on the street is that the south end zone of the renovated Ryan Field will inclue a state of the art football-only facilities building that will hold offices, a weight room and a handy-dandy good looking visual for TV purposes. I envision something similar to Indiana’s Memorial Stadium, however I’d be thrilled to even get something like this:

Reser Stadium Endzone – a blueprint for Ryan Field’s South Endzone?

Obviously I pulled an A-Train or perhaps John Clay and fumbled big time by not having a Northwestern “N” flag handy to add to the stadium total that is now nearly 1/6th of all DI stadiums (what a joke by me!). I really began fantasizing about the imminent capital campaign and how Northwestern has so much upside for stadium enhancements. I started getting giddy thinking about a packed purple stadium that is truly the crowned jewel of intimate stadiums. When you sit in another stadium and soak it in objectively it really underscores the need for improvements on your own home turf. The seat backs in orange and black just made a huuuge difference in terms of intimate setting (the endzones were bleachers). I was bummed it wasn’t a gameday as the juices started flowing. My thoughts wandered to how we can EXPAND our stadium to accommodate the likes of Nebraska coming to town and also ADAPT for the likes of Rice playing in Evanston.

The attendance culprit. This side of Reser Stadium is clearly smaller than either side of Ryan Field.

Man, I’d love to be part of the Jim Phillips stadium renovation team and be able to go on visits like this across the country to sample the best practices and cool features of the nation’s best stadiums. For what it is worth, the surrounding parking lot made the east and west lots seem like Texas. The lone layout blunder I saw was a lack of tailgating area in close proximity to the stadium. Reser was on the outskirts of the campus and right next to the 10,000-seat Gill Arena (hoops), but I was envious of the walking distance to the quad and the essential parts of campus.
Perhaps I should do a special feature for LTP on every stadium we visit to feed my insatiable and inexplicable want to become an expert on football stadiums. It really made me as giddy as a kid walking up a ramp to Fenway Park.
Hail to Hail
You’ve likely been ingesting conference alignment and Big Ten division splits like brats at a 4th of July party. However, I highly recommend you check out J-Hodges – an LTP regular – whose HailtoPurple post feasting on Jim Delany’s requirements of competitive balance, rivalries and geography – is second to none.
Red Carpet
The Big Ten Bloggers who have been more dormant than NU in the hoops postseason have offered entrance to the first Nebraska blog – Corn Nation. Be sure to check it out as you know the hype surrounding how dedicated and football smart Huskers fans are will make you think your football IQ will skyrocket by simply bookmarking this blog.
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>Purple Mafia Profile – "Draz"

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> Bill Draznik in action – note the hightop sneakers! The string of former NU players continues on this Purple Mafia Friday as today we reconnect with Bill Draznik, aka [...]

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Bill Draznik in action – note the hightop sneakers!

The string of former NU players continues on this Purple Mafia Friday as today we reconnect with Bill Draznik, aka “Draz”, who was a 4-year letterman from 1977-1980 for our beloved purple. Draz came to NU from Joliet Catholic where he played on the first two state championship teams under the legendary coach Gordie Gillespie. After playing OT as a freshman, he started at offensive guard in his sophomore year through part of his senior year.

Draz earned the Tommy Airth Award his senior year. After NU, Bill began a career in health insurance that has lasted 29 years – currently an executive with Humana in Chicago. He and his wife Barb (an Oregon Duck) live in Naperville and Galena, and have a daughter who is a sophomore at Columbia College in Chicago. An LTP mailbag regular, Draz has become one of LTP’s secret weapons in terms of historical context, great stories and staunch support of all things NU football. He is a long-time season ticketholder (with former teammates Dr.Steve Pals and Tom McGlade) and participates as a mentor in NU’s football mentorship program. Bill’s mentee is Chuck Porcelli – #74.

Before we dive in, I want to share a sentiment with you that I’ve shared with Bill. I tend to make light and even go to some lengths to avoid lamenting the “Dark Ages” of NU football. I do so as I feel it feeds in to the still lingering perception issues that NU faces when people still smart from losing to (SHRIEK!) “Northwestern”???!!! In so doing, I feel bad at times as all of those incredibly talented players who worked tirelessly in the hopes they would be the ones who turned it around. I remember sitting in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1996 looking at the sea of purple and getting emotional just thinking about the pride that was hovering above the purple-clad stadium and how many players like Bill who gave it their everyday all were seeing the unthinkable become a reality. With that, let’s get in to it…

LTP: You know that none of us like to dredge up Dark Ages stories, but you just have too many good stories to ignore. How do you personally deal with the knowledge you and your teammates busted your butts for years on end but had such little on-field success?

BD: I doubt whether any of my 1977-80 teammates lose sleep at night over the issue, but personally, I know I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that I gave all I had during those four years, and what happened, happened. Reminding myself of the priorities that every NU player knows intuitively helps as well – earning a degree from NU is job #1, has helped me ‘deal with it’.

LTP: Who knew that NU had a female mascot. Do tell.

Dear God. Winnie The Wildcat with a boa.

BD: Ugggh. In 1978, some marketing genius thought it wise that Willie the Wildcat have a female mascot partner –and so, at least during 1978 – “Winnie” was patrolling the field with Willie. I recall that ‘Winnie’ was the name because the person beneath the mask was a popular student named Winifred Friedman. Michael Spound, who was a very funny guy and who went on to some Hollywood career was Willie at least during that year. Part of the act was Winnie wearing a boa and doing a burlesque-ish dance! I hope the NU archivists can confirm that this was a one year experiment gone bad!

LTP: High-tops. Really? Explain.

BD: In the late ‘70’s, only two teams in the Big 10 had natural grass, Purdue and Minnesota (in their old ‘Brickyard’). Everyone else had some form of artificial turf which ranged from thick bladed and sharp, like Michigan State, to NU’s (and Michigan’s)‘tartan’ turf – short and truly carpet-like. Whichever type, they were all brutal, primarily due to turf burns on elbows
and knees which were serious bad business, primarily in that they took forever to heal. Now, regarding shoes, for some reason, in 1979, perhaps due to the aged, compressed and slick turf of Dyche (talk about lack of resources), a theory evolved that, yes, hoops shoes (with no cleats) worked better that shoes with rubber cleats. I can say for certain they didn’t work better. I’m jealous of the surfaces they have today.

LTP: Give us some “you won’t believe” the program was so shorthanded against the Michigans of the day insights. Facilities comparisons, athletic talent – whatever it takes to underscore how far we’ve come.

BD: Why is the Don Adams ‘Get Smart’ audio running through my head….”would you
believe……..?”

OK, first facilities – night and day. We did everything on the Dyche Stadium turf. As mentioned previously, because only two schools had grass, there was little purpose in practicing on the practice fields where NU practices today – that was a rare event. No such thing as an indoor facility – when it got late in the year, they turned on those little lights that are basically emergency lights.

Locker Rooms – our locker room was a cave tucked under the Northwest stands guarded by a seasoned citizen we named ‘Old Johnny’. There was a separate cave room for the freshman (or the seniors) – whichever group earned the right to have a separate room. Tiny training
room attached. Think of a dark, damp basement – that was the locker room and training facilities.

Today, the guys come off the practice field into Nicollet with position rooms and they are watching film literally minutes after practice. We used to use rooms at Norris (where training table was), Tech (during doubles), or even the visitors locker room for position film sessions.

Weight room facilities? It was called the basement at Patten Gymnasium (at first), then
a tiny room in the southwest corner of the stadium (second) and finally, the building where it is today – which many people don’t know was originally part of a ice skating facility! Coaches offices were basically non-existent (there might have been one or two in Anderson Hall).

Now, regarding athletic talent, I’m going to be somewhat contrarian to conventional wisdom. If by ‘talent’ you use the objective measurement of ‘professional football years of NU players during any four year period’ I’d argue that between Chris Hinton, Rob Taylor, John Kidd and Mike Kerrigan, those four years might have produced some of the greatest individual
‘talent’ in any stretch of NU football in any period. Now having said all that, in the skill positions, especially running back and wide receiver, we didn’t have anybody near the likes of Darnell Autry, Damian Anderson, Jason Wright, Noah Herron or any of the greats you’ve profiled previously, or anybody near the likes of D’Wayne Bates (for my money the best NU player of
all-time). The biggest differential between then and now is depth. We had some very good individual players – those mentioned previously and other fellow o-linemen like the late/great Jim Ford, and earlier – Tony Ardizzone and Don Herzog, were prime examples, but never the right talent in the skill positions to make a difference, and if #1 went down, there was some major ‘separation’.

LTP: Ahhh, depth. This is the most common answer I get from pre 1995 players to know that is the most striking difference in the program as it relates to players. Give us your one shining moment. Favorite all-time positive NU moment. Details please.

BD:When your record over a four-year period is 2 wins, 1 tie (which was 0-0!) and the rest losses, you tend to fondly remember other things – lifelong friendships (to this day), relationships with some coaches (Jon Eickstead was a real pro) and stories too funny to mention here involving pre-game rituals and nerves.

Individual moments though included the 1977 win against Illinois – John Pont’s (a true gentleman) last game, the win in 1979 against Wyoming (after which ‘The Streak’ began), and almost beating Michigan at Michigan in 1980 (against Anthony Carter). Individual battles against name players were also memorable – Tom Cousineau of Ohio State, Ron Simpkins (who
gave me a forearm shiver to kingdom come)and Mel Owens of Michigan, Al Harris of Arizona State to name a couple. The biggest highlights though are usually taken for granted – at the front end – simply earning a scholarship to, and then at the back end, graduating from, NU.

LTP: Well played. Clearly you follow the ‘Cats. Offer up your unique perspective of
former player turned fan who has seen the entire gamut. What’s next for the program to attain upper-tier perma-status?

BD: I think we’ve already reached ‘upper tier’ but staying there permanently is the question mark. Bottom line, unlike other programs, there’s a lot less room for error, and without constant vigilance, it can slide back, easily. Everything has to fall into place on the field and in the preparation. Fitz is the right man for the job, and I think with continued university support
– which it appears he has, we can reach ‘perma-status’. To tie this back to the ‘lean years’, this (to me) is the obvious difference between then and now. Morton Shapiro appears to be the polar opposite of Robert Strotz, thankfully.

LTP: You clearly have marketing insights. Winning has not cured all. What’s it going to take to get the average back up to the 40,000s?

BD: Hmmm,

1.) I’d rather fill 35,000 in a reconfigured Ryan Field (ed note: whoo! whoo! hot button topic alert!!!) than have empty seats as it is today, so I’m in favor of ‘less is more’. I CRINGE to see the empty-seat TV shots – they MUST go. With the risk of being accused of heresy, I’d also raise ticket prices. Expert marketers will argue that a higher price can raise the product’s value (whether real or perceived) in the minds of the consumer. Today, it’s easy for someone to ‘not show up’ even though they’ve purchased NU tickets, and that’s easy to do when the tickets are (in their minds)“cheap”.

2.) Scheduling smarts – NEVER schedule any home game on Labor Day weekend –
it’s an attendance killer – especially when played against the likes of Towson. Limit number of home games to 5 or 6.

3.) Continued use of ‘leverage’ (i.e. Wrigley) and tough love, including overt shaming of people into putting their butts in seats. Any NU alumnus, who lives in the Chicago area should be at every home game – no excuses. Give new alumni an incentive to become season ticket holders forever – get them hooked and used to the idea that this MUST be a lifetime tradition.

4.) Better outreach to far suburbs – my pet peeve is marketing laziness – if you want to get attendance back in the 40,000, it’s only going to happen by attracting new fans to become NU fans – and they will be from the far suburbs where the dads are. Focusing on marketing to a thin sliver along Lake Michigan is both lazy and won’t work – a bad combination. Has there ever been any outreach to Naperville?

LTP: OK Bill, final question. Do you have other 70′s era stories the fans will appreciate?

BD:

• In 1977, at Arizona State and John Jefferson, when asked why, as he ran a 4.4, he couldn’t catch John Jefferson, Willie Sydnor responded ‘because he runs a 4.3 coach!’

• 1977: Homecoming, a very intoxicated and over-the-top homecoming marshal – actor Paul Lynde visiting the team locker room at halftime in a fur coat.

• The last JV (junior varsity) game in NU history at Purdue, where arrived one hour late due to JV coaches forgetting about the infamous Indiana daylight saving time quirk.

-JV game at Wisconsin with classic pep talk “well, we’re all here so we might as well go out and play”.
• 1978 – future actor Clancy Brown walking onto NU football team.

• Rick Venturi in full sprint chasing Tim Rooney off the practice field for some attitude.

• How bad that huge buffalo smelled at Colorado as they ran him by our
locker room.

• 4 different helmet designs in four years – has to be a record.

• Steve Boboski challenging the referee at Ohio State that Woody Hayes couldn’t come onto field. You can imagine the response to that one.

LTP: Great stuff! Thanks for sharing all of the memories and keep on keeping on! Be sure to keep Mr. Porcelli on the right track.

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>The Arms Race Goes Public

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>Over the Memorial Day weekend many of us fell “behind” on the news. LTP was no exception and in my usual sweep of all things Northwestern, I realized this Teddy [...]

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>Over the Memorial Day weekend many of us fell “behind” on the news. LTP was no exception and in my usual sweep of all things Northwestern, I realized this Teddy Greenstein piece had slipped past me. In the article, Greenstein actually was able to get quotes from AD Jim Phillips, Bill Carmody and even Fitz. Carmody was the most outspoken about the need to “update the whole place” meaning Welsh-Ryan Arena. As you read, his top priorities are a new scoreboard and creating purple-back seats at least in the lower arena. More on this in a minute.

The note that really caught my eye was Phillips’ acknowledgement of being in the middle of a master plan for facilities that would address most athletes’ needs. That is the plan I want to get my hands on. Most of you at some point have speculated on upgrades to Ryan Field and Teddy writes that Fitz and the football program have indeed made inquiries for a new weight room, offices and then TG put his own personal hot-button topic of LTP – knocking out some stands to reduce capacity. While I’m with Teddy in spirit on ensuring there are no eyesores on TV, I’m not about long-term reduction of capacity. As recently as 12 years ago we were averaging in the 40,000+ per game. While I’m certain that renovations to the stadium won’t hurt, I’m not sure that is the solution to boosting attendance and in Teddy’s defense he didn’t make that claim.

The bigger picture dialogue here is the arms race in college athletics. You’d be surprised how many times recruits will pick one seemingly obscure nuance at a place that makes the difference. “They have a fruit smoothie bar in their weight room!”. “They have Wiis at every locker!” Don’t think NU recruit are immune to being swayed by seemingly minor details. I believe it was Hudaifa Ismaeli, arguably the ‘Cats most athletic DB ever, who chose NU in part because he liked the black uniforms.

Michigan’s ill-timed renovation (plans were started well in advance of the economic collapse of 2008) is near completion. The Big House just got bigger – and much more plush – with the installation of luxury boxes around the entire stadium. To see this in person is absolutely mind-boggling as it relates to the size of the renovation. The cost? Oh, just a quarter of a BILLION dollars. That’s right, the addition of luxury boxes cost almost as much as Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium ($288 million), but nonetheless, the Gophers have brand-spanking new digs. What is the part of the stadium that gets the most pub? You got it, the nation’s largest locker rooms. Even the proletariat programs like Indiana have got in to the act. Many of you have expressed a desire to see NU borrow design improvements from the Hoosiers, who last year completed a north end zone enclosure that has an enormous weight room facility, classrooms and looks pretty darn slick as part of a $55 million athletics renovation. The Illini also recently completed a $100 million renovation which added 14,000 seats, enclosed the horseshoe, added a new scoreboard and added luxury boxes. Come to think of it, name a school that hasn’t had a major renovation or upgrade in recent years?

Northwestern’s $4.5 million Welsh-Ryan lockerroom renovation barely qualifies as it was 15-years overdue and that money spent barely gets us in the 11th spot as far as hoops facilities go. The “major” renovation of Dyche Stadium to Ryan Field was 15 years ago (“opened” in 1997)which in the athletics facilities arms race is considered a generation. The total cost for the largest football renovation in our lifetime? $30 million. Granted, I haven’t adjusted the dollar amount for inflation, but that doesn’t even hit the radar screen in Big Ten renovation parlance.

Heck, and I’d settle for a P.A. system that worked. Seriously though, there is a part of me that likes the charm of doing so much with so little. I have a hard time in these economic times to justify a 9-figure athletic facilities upgrade, but considering NU is the lone wolf in the Big Ten that wouldn’t be siphoning tax dollars from unwanting folks (see TCF Bank Stadium) it is hard for me to say “don’t do it.” I’d love to tap in to Darren Rovell to see what studies exist that equate collegiate national championships – in ANY sport – to increased value of the organization. What’s the value of five lacrosse national championships (which by the way, Northwestern is the home to what many believe is the best women’s lacrosse facility in the nation) to a school? What’s the value of a national champion softball team? We can actually calculate the value of a national championship using other school’s data.

I always feel as though facilities are the chicken-egg debate of collegiate athletics. You want the best facilities to ensure you compete on an even playing field recruiting-wise. If you get the best talent, you’ll win and “the fans will come (or keep coming if you’re established).” The flip side is show me you can draw fan interest presumably by winning and we’ll upgrade your facilities. Let’s face it. When it comes to revenue sports, NU is not on an even playing field. You can eliminate more than half of the potential recruits by simply getting their report cards emailed to you. The question is are the kids we’re recruiting – and as WildcatReport.com noted this week they are indeed of higher athletic caliber (4 recruiting targets we’re in the mix for are among the top 100 in the country) – going to nix NU because of facilities? To a point I would argue “no” – at least in football. We’ve got a dynamic coaching staff and a proven track record. We’ve got character kids who make recruits feel at home. A new scoreboard? Absolutely. Better game day experience? No question. However, I’d rather – in football – we add a “zero” to the marketing budget and spend considerably to raise the purple factor on the conscience of Chicagoland. I’m all for master planning and ensuring facilities make progress, but I think our sequencing is off. Perhaps this all being parallel pathed, but I know the University has not supported a realistic marketing budget for NU Athletics to make any kind of marketplace spend.

Hoops is a slightly different story. When you’re fighting history, everything needs to reek of progress. I absolutely love the “charm” of Welsh-Ryan, but it needs a massive overhaul. The scoreboard is indeed a joke. It reminds me of a dot matrix printer, you know the kind you could hear scanning each line from a different area code. I love the acoustics in that gym as it is a very tough place to play when the students actually decide to show up. If you’ve ever been to Cameron Indoor Stadium then you know that winning tradition trumps everything, because aside from some mahogany wood around the interior, the gyms really aren’t that much different. Duke has prestige from being the best program in America over the past 25 years, Northwestern’s facility is considered rinky-dink because of lack of success. No, it isn’t fair, but neither is life, right?

Let the favorite off-season topic get really started…have fun.

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>Ultimate Did (N)U Know?

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> During the past three years of LTP we’ve discovered some what I consider amazing “did you knows?” about Northwestern athletics. I’d say the two that top the charts in [...]

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>

During the past three years of LTP we’ve discovered some what I consider amazing “did you knows?” about Northwestern athletics. I’d say the two that top the charts in my mind are learning how close we were to having Wilt Chamberlain as a Wildcat at one point and the other being how close we were to landing Archie Griffin. Then I received an email from Shane, our intrepid resident LTP historian.

The short version was that he had been alerted to some correspondence that seemed to indicate Knute Rockne had committed to coming to Northwestern from Notre Dame. I thought “with my antenna for NU athletics how the heck had I never heard about this?” It wasn’t even in the urban legend discussions. Well, it’s true. And today, Shane is going to take the helm and fill you in on this true gem of a find. With all of the Big Ten expansion talk in full bloom and Notre Dame a hot-button topic team, I figured it would be fun to reveal how one of the most iconic coaches in sports history was THIS close to being lured to Evanston for one dominating reason – the want to compete in the Big Ten conference. Shane….all yours:

Big Ten “Big Lure” for Rockne
by Shane

Coming off a highly successful 10-1 campaign in 1921, Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne decided that Notre Dame wasn’t paying him adequately. He was also intrigued about the challenge of competing in a conference like the Big Ten. Either he approached Northwestern
University or Northwestern approached him, and the two sides began negotiating a contract.

When the press got wind of Rockne’s flirtation, the New York Herald confronted Rockne about it in New York, December 1921. E.J. Ridgway of the Herald wrote a letter dated December 30th to Northwestern University President Walter Dill Scott to share what his reporter gleaned from the conversation. Rockne told the Herald that Notre Dame “would not let him go” and had offered him $15,000 to stay in South Bend. Rockne also expressed concerns about coaching at a co-ed school but that otherwise Northwestern was attractive because he wanted, as
Ridgway put it, “a chance to show what he could do in the Conference.”

On January 6, 1922 President Scott responded to Ridgway’s letter to explain Northwestern’s side of the story. According to Scott, Rockne was set to sign a contract with Northwestern but had to visit New York first. Scott said Rockne “appeared to take up the matter of finding a
house in Evanston” and had started working on the 1922 football schedule. On January 4th, Rockne made an appointment to meet with Scott and others. A day later, however, Rockne wired that he had re-signed with Notre Dame. Rockne’s behavior seemed to puzzle Scott.

This story about Rockne and Northwestern is reminiscent of the 20-year-old “will they or won’t they” saga of the Big Ten wooing Notre Dame. While Rockne viewed being the Conference as attractive, Notre Dame values its independence. Twice or three times in 1990s, Notre
Dame said no to Big Ten overtures. The most recent “no” wasn’t a hard refusal; Notre Dame said it would study the offer. In the end, Notre Dame, like Rockne, left the bride at the altar. Nonetheless, it seems money was at the heart of Rockne’s final decision. If the same holds
true for Notre Dame in 2010 when the Big Ten opens its wallet, the school might say “I do.”

Special thanks to Richard Topp for the idea and to Kevin Leonard of
Northwestern Archives for locating and scanning the letters.

LTP Ticket Counter
So, since I failed to meet the $50K goal in new ticket sales last year, I’m keeping the ticker up until we get there this year. Re-setting the counter seemed to be empty, as $50K in new ticket sales is well, $50K better than none regardless of how long it takes. So, be sure to email me once you’ve convinced someone NEW to purchase season tickets. Renewals don’t count. If you want I can start a separate one for Wrigley, but since the goal is to pack Ryan Field, that’s the way I’m keeping it. You know the drill – send me the info and you get a shout-out. Here is the first one of the year – let’s get it going.

Shout Out
Jessica S. convinced her co-worker and the co-worker’s boyfriend to pony up for a pair of season tickets. Well done Jessica!

Wootton Draft Back(or Neck)story
I’m not sure if you caught this, but Chicago Sun-Times Bears’ columnist Mike Mulligan offered up this insight in to the reason Corey Wootton fell in the NFL Draft. According to Mulligan’s sources,Wootton’s status was affected not by the knee, but rather a neck injury he suffered his freshman year.

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