Are Facilities Important In Recruiting?

[50's PONY]

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/10786268.htm

[Col. Nathan R. Jessep]

Are Facilities Important In Recruiting?

Damn right, "facilities" are important.

Facilities being workout areas, rehab, locker room, practice fields, film/meeting rooms, etc. In addition to supporting FB, much of the facilities benefit both men & womens teams, too.

The Salvino weight room, though small, may be adequate (for now). And we do have some nice rehab services in the training center. But you can never have too much equipment.

On the other hand, the locker room needs a facelift. IMO, it's cramped (if you been in other DI facilities you might see why some recruits go where they go). If you been in Ford's 'Guest' locker room, you will notice that they are almost the same size. This room is the home-away-from-home for the team-- it could use some updating & some expansion.

And I don't know where we would put it, but an Indoor facility needs to be discussed. TCU just completed one back in August. Of course, it would also benefit M/W Soccer & could be used for Intramurals. He!!, S'Lake Carroll has such a facility for HS (and there are others).

When a recruit comes in for 24-48 hours, he'll spend more time in and around the "facilities" than anywhere else on campus. It should make a statement that mirrors everything else that is SMU.

[Water Pony]

Excuse me for grinning about facilities after we just built a wonderful stadium with great training rooms and first class facilities.

Are facilities important? Hell yes! And I have two candidates which need attention: Historic Moody, which needs renovation, and most importantly, Perkins Natatorium. Our women swimmers are ranked sixth and the men struggle to be ranked at all. Both teams practice, compete and recruit in a small, initimate and historic pool which can't appeal to nationally ranked swimmers and divers.

A commitment to Division 1 includes competitive facilities in all sports, not just football.

[PonyExpress]

Living as far away as I do, I obviously don't get to swing by and tour the facilities as often as I'd like. However, I've made a few trips down to Dallas, and the facilities at SMU our amazing. You're right, they're smaller than some, but so is the school, which is part of its appeal. All I know is that every year when I read the PonyFans.com Recruiting Roundup, there's always someone in the class of new Mustangs who says "the facilities at SMU are as nice as any in the country."

[Col. Nathan R. Jessep]

Glad I made you grin, H20 Pony.

No one would argue that Moody & the Natatorium are long overdue for repair & expansion.

The article, though, which started this thread dealt primarily with recruiting & football. And both of those go hand in hand.

You don't get a shot at the "Herd" players Bus wants without top-shelf facilities. If you want more of those ranked players discussed by Stallion, you better have facilities to go with the storyline presented by the coaches.

Don't misunderstand my point-- Ford is a terrific place to watch a FB game. It's modern & the exterior is a perfect back drop to SMU. But players don't sit in the stands.

Those that are being heavily recruited are seeing workout facilities, locker rooms, weight rooms, etc. that exceed some NFL facilities. Now, I would be the last person to expect SMU to compete ($ for $) to create a "Taj Majal" like the 12th Man Club gave to A&M Athletics.

That said, TCU & Baylor have more to offer in the area of facilities than we do, & they get more **** star recruits. Facilities aren't the only reason why players choose schools, but it is part of the package that recruiters use to close the deal.

Facilities should never be one of the reasons we lose a player. We may still ask for higher academics, but we must be on an even keel with the competition in the area of facilities.

When HS schools like S'Lake Carroll, Galena Park, Katy, etc., have facilities that meet & (may) exceed ours, we need to get the ball rolling.