STARKVILLE — As Scott Stricklin sits at his desk in the Bryan Building on an early summer morning, a mockup of the new court for Humphrey Coliseum sits in front of him.
The Mississippi State Director of Athletics is always busy with something, whether it’s fielding a phone call, talking to his staff or answering an email from fans. But facilities are always a big concern with him, mainly because it drives college athletics. That’s why he is always thinking about facilities, no matter the sport.
“You’re constantly evaluating, looking and planning,” Stricklin said. “You kind of do that with every facility you have. If you’re not doing that, then it’s real easy to feel like you’re getting behind, not just behind others, but behind where you need to be to make your program as good as it can be.”
The MSU athletic department has taken on several big facility projects over the last few years and are in the middle of a couple more. Since 2010, MSU has completed nearly $140 million in facility projects. Those include the basketball practice facility Mize Pavilion, the Leo Seal Football Complex, renovations at Davis Wade Stadium, softball’s Nusz Park, updates to the Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex and the new golf center at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point.
Even so, Stricklin and MSU aren’t happy. In his weekly column on April 6, Stricklin said it was conceivable that MSU could invest an additional $150 million into athletic facilities in the next 10 years. That would help with baseball, basketball, football and tennis. Stricklin said updating volleyball’s Newell-Grissom Building is also a future possibility.
As Stricklin pointed out, they aren’t doing facilities just for the sake of doing them.
“We feel like these are legitimate needs that we need to address to give our student-athletes, coaches and fans the best experience possible at those particular venues,” Stricklin said.
Many of the projects were funded by Bulldog Club members.
MSU auctioned off the floor of Humphrey Coliseum. The floor, which served MSU for 15 years, was bought for $30,600 by a man in Ohio. The new floor is expected to be in by September. Stricklin also expects a new sound system in the Hump.
Although it is not needed now, Stricklin said MSU has selected architects to preplan the future of both football’s Davis Wade Stadium and the Hump.
When the north end zone was bowled in at Davis Wade Stadium, the concourse of the west side was updated. Stricklin would like to see the east side updated as well. When there’s a demand for it, the south end zone could be bowled in as well to offer more seating.
As for the Hump, new restrooms, concessions, concourses, exteriors and possibly premium seating are being talked about.
Renovations of baseball’s Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium are expected to being in June 2017. The $55 million project won’t be finished by the start of the 2018 season, but the hope is to have enough finished to where the team can play there.
“You’re constantly in some kind of facility mode,” Stricklin said. “We’ve been blessed because of the resources the Bulldog Club members have provided. Our athletic department have been able to do a lot and we hope to continue doing that.”
The MSU Softball Field was replaced by Nusz Park — a $6 million renovation which has 1,000 chairback seats and an expanded concourse. The facility is attached to A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, allowing fans go back and forth between the two venues with ease.
Nusz Park hosted the Southeastern Conference tournament in May, and the response was overwhelming positive.
“This an awesome venue,” Kentucky softball coach Rachel Lawson said. “We had not been to the new stadium yet, so to be able to see the stadium, first and foremost, really shows a commitment to the sport of softball.”
Stricklin was happy to see the excitement from the MSU softball players when they stepped into Nusz Park for the first time after the renovation. The looks on their face were priceless and made it all worth while for Stricklin.
Both golf programs have had success in the last five seasons and they were rewarded with a $2.2 million project that includes a driving range, short-game area, putting greens, team clubhouse and indoor hitting bays.
Soccer is currently having a $1.8 million clubhouse being built behind the east goal at the MSU soccer field. Although all three sports don’t generate a lot of revenue, it’s important to Stricklin that they show a commitment to the sports.
“Facilities say a lot about what’s important to you,” Stricklin said. “When a sport is neglected from a facility standpoint, it sends the opposite message, maybe that’s not important. We have 16 sports and we want to be good in all of them, so we need to touch all of them from a facility standpoint.”
The SEC is known for some of the best facilities in the country. Whether that’s Kentucky basketball’s Rupp Arena, Alabama football’s Bryant-Denny Stadium or LSU baseball’s Alex Box Stadium, the facilities are top-notch.
Stricklin didn’t want to compare and contrast MSU’s facilities with other facilities, but feels confident they are competitive from that aspect.
“I think for the most part we’re on par,” Stricklin said. “I think we have ‘SEC facilities.’ That right there is kind of a seal of approval, that’s a pretty significant step right there. In some cases, I think we have as good or better than anybody in the SEC, which means you’re good or better than anybody in the country. It’s hard for me to rank them.”
Although there are several other factors that determine the success of a college program, facilities is a very integral piece.
“Facilities are not the end all, be all. There are a lot of teams that have a lot of success that don’t have great facilities, but it’s one of the pieces,” Stricklin said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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