Nebraska and Iowa In An Arms Race?

Michael J. Malone

HuskerHaweye Contributor

East Stadium Expansion

The facilities race in college athletics facinates me. Schools spend millions upon million to upgrade stadiums, renovate arenas and, in some cases, add or totally rebuild practice facilities.

 

Nebraska has done several upgrades and expansions to Memorial Stadium and Iowa has done the same at Kinnick Stadium. Both are loud, both are always full and, most importantly, both provide the bulk of the funding for an entire athletics budget. www.expandtheirexperience.com

 

Without those full stadiums, you may not see national championship-caliber volleyball at Nebraska or an Iowa field hockey team that has been a player on the national stage for several years. Football is the cash cow and the facilities reflect its importance to the entire athletics department.

 

For years, it was widely accepted that Nebraska has the finest weight-training facility in the country. Nebraska has always been on the cutting edge when it comes to lifting and conditioning and its weight-training facility is, and always has been, second to none.

 

Iowa Indoor Facility

Iowa is doing its best to keep up in this athletics arms race. Earlier this month, the school announced it will break ground this fall on new indoor practice facility to replace the aging "bubble" that has been in place since early in the Hayden Fry era. That will be followed by the construction of a new, expanded weight raining facility and new football office building.

 

The pricetag for the project, somewhere between $40 and $50 million. A small price, many Hawkeye fans would say, to keep up with Nebraska and the rest of the Big Ten.  Ready Full Story Here.

 

And the facility wars aren't just limited to football. Next week, we will look at basketball facility upgrades at Iowa and what they will mean to the Hawkeyes going forward.