DMN blurb..TCU get $7 million for indoor FB

OldTimer · June 30, 2006

$7 million donated for TCU indoor facility

03:22 AM CDT on Friday, June 30, 2006

By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News

A $3 million lead gift from the Jane and John Justin Foundation and a $4 million gift from an anonymous donor have been committed toward an indoor practice facility. The 70,000-square-foot facility will be constructed over an existing artificial turf field southwest of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. All sports, including football, will use the facility.

SilverEagle · June 30, 2006

I saw that in the ST yesterday. Is Jim McInvale's 1 million donation the largest single donation that our athletic department has ever received?

OldTimer · June 30, 2006

I saw that in the ST yesterday. Is Jim McInvale's 1 million donation the largest single donation that our athletic department has ever received?
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Didn't someone in California donate $1 million for the tennis complex?

PlummMeanGreen · June 30, 2006

An advantage of being a public-assisted (Dr. Hurley kindly corrected me years ago to not say "state supported" ); anyway, one advantage a school like UNT might have is putting its creative planning skills to work and getting state approval to build such a facility but to show it will be a mult-purpose facility and be used by other groups other than just our varsity football team. Such groups as the NT Green Brigade, morning & early afternoon PE classes, etc, etc, etc.

UNT was about 10 years behind most other similar sized Texas schools in getting artificial turf for our on-campus football stadium; hopefully, we won't be as long in gettting an indoor practice facility since we seem to be in this weather-related greenhouse effect of (seemedly) hotter Texas summers leading almost into October. Still have never understood why the Texas Rangers didn't build their own stadium to have a sliding dome a la Minute Maid Park down in H-Town. You like sitting out in 100 plus degree heat index watching MLB? Well, if so, you probably won't once you hit your 50's and up age bracket.

Edited June 30, 2006 by PlummMeanGreen

DallasGreen · June 30, 2006

An advantage of being a public-assisted (Dr. Hurley kindly corrected me years ago to not say "state supported" ); anyway, one advantage a school like UNT might have is putting its creative planning skills to work and getting state approval to build such a facility but to show it will be a mult-purpose facility and be used by other groups other than just our varsity football team. Such groups as the NT Green Brigade, morning & early afternoon PE classes, etc, etc, etc.
UNT was about 10 years behind most other similar sized Texas schools in getting artificial turf for our on-campus football stadium; hopefully, we won't be as long in gettting an indoor practice facility since we seem to be in this weather-related greenhouse effect of (seemedly) hotter Texas summers leading almost into October. Still have never understood why the Texas Rangers didn't build their own stadium to have a sliding dome a la Minute Maid Park down in H-Town. You like sitting out in 100 plus degree heat index watching MLB? Well, if so, you probably won't once you hit your 50's and up age bracket.
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Personnally I feel it's a real advantage when playing northern based teams. I find Texas no hotter now than it was in the 50's, and I work in the heat on the ranch every week. I'll always remember Matt Simon watering down the turf and playing Montana in the early September afternoon. Even though we did not win, it gave us a very decided advantage on our home field. I'd rather watch day baseball anytime over night games with all the rush hour traffic hassles to get there.

It is sort of like the argument that the defense stays on the field too long-----solution ----either get more depth or else see that your starters are in shape to play 40 minutes if need be.

PlummMeanGreen · June 30, 2006

Personnally I feel it's a real advantage when playing northern based teams. I find Texas no hotter now than it was in the 50's, and I work in the heat on the ranch every week. I'll always remember Matt Simon watering down the turf and playing Montana in the early September afternoon. Even though we did not win, it gave us a very decided advantage on our home field. I'd rather watch day baseball anytime over night games with all the rush hour traffic hassles to get there.
It is sort of like the argument that the defense stays on the field too long-----solution ----either get more depth or else see that your starters are in shape to play 40 minutes if need be.
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Agree to some extent, Jim, but we still might have more in our recruiting arsenal (which compared to most Texas D1-A schools is all but an empty arsenal) if you can add an indoor practice facility to it. Hellsbells, some of these Texas HS potential recruits we try to recruit for UNT had indoor practice facilities at their respective Texas high schools.

Even at my home-base of Parker County (where the deer and the antelope play) the Kangaroos of Weatherford HS have a small version of an indoor practice facility and I believe Aledo HS has plans for a very nice indoor facility to go right along with their upcoming new state of the art football stadium. (BTW, several of the Aledo HS football players I've met were duly impressed with Denton ISD's football stadium which they played in in a play-off game).

Of course, its still a matter of funding which for UNT is still our main bugaboo and has been forever. TCU had almost 100 years in the SWC to build a fund-raising base and also has big money people who don't mind letting go of some of that big money for TCU athletics. UNT has more big money alums than we know about (or have addresses for) but they are still total strangers as far as giving some of their big money to UNT and that whether its for academic or athletics. FWIW and facing some cold harsh facts, UNT athletics (or academics) is not going to get where most on this board want it to go with the same people/same donors mailing lists its had for the last several decades or so.

HE WHO SCHNOOZES LOSES? It really seeemed our dear ol' alma mater was really beginnning to make impressive inroads with Houstonian and NT Ex Robert Randall Onstead (who almost outbid McClane for ownership of the Astros), but he suddenly passed away about 2 summers ago while on vacation. That NT Ex could have very well been our Tom Hicks or T. Boone Pickens if he'd only been developed years before. Oh well......

Edited June 30, 2006 by PlummMeanGreen