iowa football facilities tour

Facilities Management

Hansen Football Performance Center

Stew and LeNore Hansen

• Stew Hansen is the former president and general manager of Stew Hansen Dodge City in Des Moines
• Members of the UI Foundation’s Presidents Club, the Hansens are loyal contributors to the UI and have been season ticket holders for more than 25 years
• In addition to their gift of $8 million to the Iowa Football Legacy Campaign, the Hansens made a gift to the recently-completed Carver-Hawkeye Arena Enhancement Campaign

Building Information

The Hansen Football Performance Center includes the new indoor practice facility and the Richard O. Jacobson Football Operations Building, a 76,000 square foot football operations center which features a strength training area, team locker rooms, team meeting rooms, state-of-the-art technology for all aspects of training, athletic training facilities, staff offices, conference and position meeting rooms, a new equipment room and space dedicated to the history and success of Hawkeye Football. 

Iowa's new football facility is all about development

IOWA CITY, Ia. – For all the modern touches throughout the University of Iowa's new $55 million Stew and LeNore Hansen Football Performance Center – the fingerprint scanners at the locker room entrance and state-of-the-art film rooms – it's still all about sweat and development. (Well, that and the food.)

It's calculated that the centerpiece of the sprawling, innovative facility is Chris Doyle's 23,000-square-foot playground – the weight room, replete with digital technology to measure bar speed for rate of force and enough storage to fit a John Deere six-wheeler.

The other coaches affectionately joke that Doyle, Iowa's strength and conditioning coach for 17 years, was nice enough to let the rest of them share a hallway and a few offices.

The entire facility, including the indoor practice field that replicates the field turf at Kinnick Stadium down to the painted lines, measures 178,000 square feet. Every detail was carefully planned, following staff visits to 12 other facilities nationwide. And while vast, it's not overdone – as a small group of media members discovered during a private tour led by head coach Kirk Ferentz and some of his assistants Tuesday afternoon.

At its core, the center has slashed inefficiencies while emphasizing the identity of the program: development.

"There's schools out there that collect talent out there through recruiting, and there's schools out there that build it," Doyle said. "We don't make any bones about it, we're a school that builds it."

Immediately before, during and after a workout with Doyle, a player might consume 2,000 calories. It's easy for Doyle to manage each calorie with a refueling station that has access to granola and other healthy snacks and beverages within a few strides of the free weights.

The food thing is a big deal beyond players just getting a protein bar between reps. Construction of the facility dovetailed with the NCAA's 2014 deregulation of food service for athletes. Now anyone participating in Division I athletics, walk-ons included, have unlimited access to meals – a seven-figure bill for athletic departments, but a huge boost for a program like Iowa where player development is at the center.

In his opening remarks of Tuesday's tour, Ferentz mentioned how the farthest he might walk in a work day is 250-300 yards to the outdoor practice field. That's true for athletes now, too, aside from classes. They eat breakfast and dinner together daily in the facility's All-American Room. When offensive line coach Brian Ferentz was at Iowa and until recently, the football training table was all the way down by the Iowa River in the Hillcrest dormitory.

"It's changed things so much," Brian Ferentz said while showing a handful of journalists high-tech classrooms and explaining how game film is uploaded to each player's iPad by the time they leave the locker room after games. "We feed them everything here."

Ferentz used offensive tackle Ike Boettger as a poster child for body growth. He's the 300-pound redshirt sophomore starting right tackle that was a 215-pound quarterback at Cedar Falls when Iowa began recruiting him.

"We're a program that really lives and dies on player development," the head coach's son said. "Anytime we can feed the guys and control what goes in their bodies, it's going to be a lot easier to put weight on a player."

Players shuttle around the performance center like at a junior high school, from class to class – in this case, class might mean meals or team meetings or weight training or practice. Every minute is orchestrated, and the goal is that nothing is wasted.

High-definition TVs are all over the building with daily schedules to keep players focused. Others show classic Iowa football victories. As reporters entered the building Tuesday, Iowa's Big Ten Conference-clinching win over Wisconsin in 2004 was being shown.

Assistant coach LeVar Woods said reliving the positive history is a helpful reminder that "this building didn't happen by accident."

The facility that Kirk Ferentz called "one of the best in college football" fueled a record recruiting surge in June, with its Class of 2016 already at 22 commitments. Every month in the first year of occupancy here has even impressed the coaching staff.

"The benefits of the building," Kirk Ferentz said, "just get accentuated at every turn."

Take a look at Iowa's football facility with exclusive tour via the equipment manager

Every so often, Content is King — COISKI on YouTube — gets to tour a football program’s facility.

Recently, it got a behind-the-scenes tour of Iowa’s facility thanks to the equipment team, and in particular, Greg Morris — the Hawkeyes’ equipment manager. He has been with the program for 30 years.

RELATED: CBS Sports goes behind the scenes with Iowa’s strength and conditioning program

The football performance center is four-years-old, and looks absolutely brand new. Morris talked about the upgrades from the previous facility when compared to the new one throughout the tour. He talked about the days dating back to legendary Hawkeye coach Hayden Fry as well.

Take a look at the state-of-the-art tour:

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Iowa's Football Facility Reopens, With Different Rules

• Author: John Bohnenkamp

The test for the COVID-19 coronavirus didn't quite measure up to the concerns of Kirk Ferentz.

"Full disclosure, the tests are not as bad as I let it become in my mind," the Iowa football coach said on Wednesday. "I wasted some energy and sleep on that one. It’s not that bad."

It's all part of the reopening process for the Hawkeyes, who haven't been in their football facility since mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic closed the campus.

Ferentz and some of his staff were able to return on Monday, but not before they were tested for the coronavirus. It's something all staff members and players will have to do when they return.

Returning players can begin voluntary workouts on June 8 — they will be tested beginning Friday. Incoming players will be back June 15.

To get into the facility, everyone's temperature is taken and a medical survey is filled out. Anyone inside will have to wear a mask, as well as a wristband saying they are cleared to be in the facility. And if anyone leaves the building for any reason, they'll have to go through the same procedure when they return.

"We’re trying to encourage people (to) take care of things while you’re here," Ferentz said. "Get their business done."

"It’s going to like a lot of things. It’s not going to be perfect. It’s not going to be like last summer, or the summer before that, in terms of access, freedom to come and go, those type of things."

Ferentz, doing a video conference with media members, was speaking on the same day when it was announced that  three Oklahoma State players tested positive for COVID-19 . Four athletes at Iowa State are quarantining and waiting the results of tests.

"We are trying to play a football season," Ferentz said. "We all want to get to the fall. We all want to be together as a team. So this is one more thing that could cause some setbacks and issues for us, so we have to try to do what we can. All that being said, we can’t live in closets either. We just have to be smart, and do what we can."

Ferentz said given the size of Iowa's indoor facilities, and with three practice fields, social distancing shouldn't be an issue. All of the indoor areas will be regularly cleaned.

That doesn't alleviate the concerns of what could happen when the players aren't in the facility.

"The one thing we can do a really good job of is controlling the controllables," Ferentz said. "When they’re in our facility, at least we know there will be good hygiene practiced. There’s going to be a thorough cleaning. We can kind of instruct them on distancing, those types of things. So you really minimize the risk a little bit, at least you have the opportunity to do that. It’s those others 22 hours a day, 21 hours a day, that I’m concerned about. But that’s true all year around."

"I think all of us are a lot more aware of different things."

Ferentz said the voluntary workouts in June will give an idea on what needs to be done beginning in early July when preparations for the new football season begins.

"A lot of science has shown that at least we're making progress now," Ferentz said. "I really think the key thing, from my vantage point, is what can we do, each of us individually, to help make sure we're not having any major setbacks and incurring any big roadblocks.

"All that being said, everyone will admit, nobody knows for sure what is going to happen. The window looks a little better right now. Hopefully we'll be able to get back to doing some football stuff in late July, that's kind of the plan right now from the NCAA's standpoint, and then we'll just take it day by day, week by week, before we even think about the season."

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Group Visit Optional Tour Opportunities

Please note all tours are available by appointment only, athletic hall of fame- roy g. karro building, campus recreation and wellness center.

Please contact (319) 335-9293 to make an appointment for a tour. Tours are available by appointment only. https://recserv.uiowa.edu/

Main Library

Please contact [email protected] to request a tour/visit of the Main Library. http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/

Museum of Art

The Stanley Visual Classroom is located on the third floor of the Iowa Memorial Union. Regular hours of operation are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; and, Saturday and Sunday, 12–5 p.m. Hours may change during University breaks and holidays--use our website to stay up-to-date on our opening hours.

Guided and self-led tours of current exhibitions and the permanent collection are available to university groups, school groups, community organizations, and the general public. It typically takes two weeks to schedule tours, so please submit your requests in advance. https://stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/visit/tours

Museum of Natural History and the Old Capitol Museum

The UI Pentacrest Museums (UIPM) offers tours of the Museum of Natural History and the Old Capitol Museum.  Many groups combine tours of both museums.  All tours require a reservation and are subject to availability. The UIPM requests you call to schedule yours at least one week in advance.  Be advised that March-May availability fills quickly. Tours are offered on the hour beginning at 10:30 a.m.  The last tour begins at 3:30 p.m. To schedule a group tour, please contact [email protected] or call the tour coordinator at (319) 335-1508 . https://mnh.uiowa.edu/visit/group-visits-tours

Other Places to Visit on our Campus:

Radio Station: http://krui.fm/ Central Microscopy Research Facility: https://cmrf.research.uiowa.edu/ Biology Greenhouse: https://biology.uiowa.edu/facilities/greenhouse College of Engineering: https://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/future-students/tour-college-engineering Mini-Medical School: https://medicine.uiowa.edu/community/what-mini-medical-school STEM Education:  https://uihealthcare.org/education/ui-health-care-stem-education  Hancher Auditorium: https://hancher.uiowa.edu/visit

COMING JANUARY 2021

"We could not be more grateful to all of those who have helped make the Sports Performance Center a reality. As we continue to build a football program all of Cyclone Nation can be proud of, this facility will be integral to our progress. The ability for our student-athletes to study, eat, train, and perfect their craft under one roof will provide a great advantage as we strive to reach our full potential."

Matt Campbell

HEAD FOOTBALL COACH

PERFORMANCE CENTER LAYOUT

The Sports Performance Center is a $90 Million project connecting to the existing Bergstrom Football Complex, creating multiple spaces for use by all student-athletes as well as allowing for the creation of a North Endzone Plaza outside of Jack Trice Stadium for all Cyclones to enjoy. Key features of the project include:

• NEW FOOTBALL LOCKER ROOM
• NEW FOOTBALL PLAYER'S LOUNGE
• NEW FOOTBALL NUTRITION CENTER
• EXPANDED FOOTBALL SPORTS MEDICINE CENTER
• EXPANDED FOOTBALL STAFF OFFICES
• NEW STUDENT-ATHLETE LIFE SKILLS CENTER
• NEW STUDENT-ATHLETE ACADEMIC CENTER
• NEW STUDENT-ATHLETE DINING HALL The project is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2021!

BERGSTROM INDOOR COMPLEX

© Copyright 2019 Iowa State University Athletics - All Rights Reserved

Iowa State's Jamie Pollard: New wrestling facility 'on hold' as college landscape shifts

Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard said Thursday that the standalone wresting facility initially planned for fall of 2025 is now "on hold," with no alternative plan on the table as of now.

Pollard, speaking at the Cyclone Tailgate Tour in West Des Moines, said the decision was made about three weeks ago due to the new college football TV deal set to begin in 2026, as well as the increasingly likely prospect of revenue sharing in college athletics that will impact the budgets of athletic departments across the country.

"There's just no way possible to go forward and convince the state that we can take bonds out to pay for a wrestling facility when the College Football Playoff decided to take all the money and give it to the Big Ten and SEC," Pollard said. " With this (NCAA anti-trust) lawsuit getting ready to be settled, you just can't go forward with projects like that. That's the same reason we didn't go forward with Hilton (Coliseum renovation). You just can't bond for them."

Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser also spoke at the event, expressing his understanding of the situation.

"There's a lot of challenges in college athletics right now financially, so I'm sure Jamie's just pumping the brakes on a lot of things right now," Dresser said. "You don't know what's gonna hit you with these players getting paid in the future, how these conferences are going to shake out, who's going to get what and who's not going to get what."

More: Iowa State's Jamie Pollard says college sports' power players are 'going to eat their own'

The proposed facility was set to be in the current All-Iowa Attack basketball facility, next to the Sukup Basketball Complex a few miles off campus. Plans included purchasing the building, adding six mats in the center of the building, weight rooms, workout rooms, lounges and other modern amenities. It had an estimated price tag of about $20 million, Dresser said in October.

Dresser said then that the building also would serve as a "museum of wrestling" of sorts, with photos of previous team and individual champions displayed throughout the building.

In April of last year, there was also a plan to renovate Lied Recreational Center for the same timetable of fall 2025. The standalone wrestling facility was announced by Pollard in October of 2023.

College athletics appears to be headed for major changes. A report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports suggested that schools could be forced to share upwards of 22% of their annual athletics budget with athletes as revenue sharing nears reality as the House vs. NCAA anti-trust lawsuit and others approach settlement.

Regardless of what the number will eventually look like, any direct distribution of revenue to athletes would dramatically alter athletic budgets across the country.

"It's going to be a drastic change, and that change is not going to happen overnight," Pollard said.

There are other major decisions like the College Football Playoff TV deal with ESPN that have impacted this decision as well. In that distribution, Big Ten and SEC schools are set to receive nearly $22 million per season, while ACC schools would receive approximately $13 million and Big 12 institutions would get roughly $12 million starting in 2026.

As a result, Big 12 schools such as Iowa State could see some financial challenges, and pushing forward with the standalone wrestling facility would be risky. Still, Dresser and Pollard expressed confidence in the current facility at the Lied Recreational Center after a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

At some point, though, Dresser hopes to revisit the project.

"I still think it can happen sooner than later, but maybe I'm too optimistic," Dresser said. "We'll keep chugging along. We got a great facility where we're at right now, but we're looking forward to getting into something like that at some point."

Decisions like this raise the question of what sports like wrestling at the NCAA level will look like when revenue sharing cuts into future budgets. While neither Pollard nor Dresser could give direct answers on that topic, Pollard has confidence that college sports will evolve and survive.

"It's not going to go away," Pollard said. "It's going to look vastly different than what it has in the past. Maybe that's good. To say today exactly what that is going to look like, no one knows that. We're all hypothesizing about how were going to deal with this, but we'll figure it out. We always do. We'll continue to move forward."

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at  @EMcKown23.

University of Illinois Athletics

Baseball May 9, 2024

Illini Set for Final Home Series vs. Iowa

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois baseball concludes its seven-game homestand with its final home games of the season against Big Ten foe Iowa. The Illini enter the series in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten at 13-5.

The Orange and Blue are coming off a weekend series victory over Ohio State, defeating the Buckeyes in a run-rule walk off, 12-2, in eight innings in the series clincher on May 5. It was Illinois' fifth walk-off victory of the season.

RHP Jack Crowder (4-1, 5.07) is set to get the start on Friday. The Illini's Saturday and Sunday arms are to be announced.

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS

Saturday is Senior Day. Before the game, 14 student-athletes will be honored for their contributions to Illinois baseball. Our fourth and final baseball card set will also be given away, featuring this group of seniors. Available while supplies last. Due to commencement on Saturday, the State Farm Center lots will not be available. Parking maps for the weekend can be found in our Gameday Guide .

Sunday is Mother's Day and also our final Bark in the Park game of the season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Record: 135-90-2 (H: 68-37-1, A: 62-51-1, N: 4-0)
• Last: W, 9-5 (4/10/22 at Iowa City, Iowa)
• First series in Champaign since 2018
• Illini have gone 4-1 in last five matchups

WEEKEND ACTION VS. IOWA

Illinois baseball wraps up its seven-game homestand with a weekend series vs. Iowa.

Friday and Saturday's contests can be streamed on B1G+ while Sunday's ballgame will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network.

Scott Beatty will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM/93.9FM). Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com.

Connor Onion and Scott Pose will have the call for Sunday's BTN contest.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Iowa enters the weekend 28-18, coming off of a weekend series sweep of Northwestern. The Hawkeyes have gone 6-10 in true road games this season and they currently have a 13-8 record in Big Ten play.

INF Raider Tello leads Iowa at the plate with a .366 average to go along with 17 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 56 RBI. Among starters, RHP Brody Brecht leads on the mound, going 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA (24 ER/63.0 IP) to go along with 108 strikeouts in 12 games, starts. 

Iowa went 44-16 (15-8) last season, making an appearance in the Big Ten Tournament Championship and the NCAA Terre Haute Regional.

ALL-TIME SERIES INFO

The Illini are 135-90-2 all-time against the Hawkeyes, including 68-37-1 at Illinois Field. The two programs are meeting in Champaign for the first time since 2018.

The Orange and Blue have won four of the last five contests, dating back to 2021.

B1G WEEKEND ROUND-UP

Illinois remained perfect in home series this season by taking two of three games from Ohio State last weekend. By winning the series, the Illini emerged from the weekend in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

Brody Harding led the team in average over the weekend, going 8-for-11 (.727) with six runs scored, a double, home run, seven RBI and two walks. He posted an overall slash of .727/769/1.091 and had at least two hits in each game of the series, including back-to-back three-hit games on May 4 and 5. Vytas Valincius went 4-for-10 (.400) with four runs, a double, a triple, home run, three RBI, two walks and has hit by a pitch.

The Illini posted an overall team slash of .289/.431/.546 against the Buckeyes, scoring 27 runs and homering five times.

Cooper Omans faced just one batter over the minimum over 4.1 innings in his start on May 4, allowing one run on two hits while striking out six. Joe Glassey closed out that game by tossing 2.0 scoreless frames, retiring all six batters he faced. Regan Hall turned in 3.0 shutout innings in relief on May 5 to earn his second save of the season.

HOME SWEET HOME

Illinois improved to 18-2 at Illinois Field after taking two of three games from Ohio State. The Illini have gone 3-1 during its current seven-game homestand.

The Illini also went 8-0 during its season-long homestand from April 9-23.

After sweeping Northwestern from April 19-21, the Illini won 12-straight Big Ten home games dating back to last season, four series sweeps, which was the longest such streak since the Orange and Blue won 18-straight such games from May 2, 2014, to March 26, 2016.

Illinois went 11-8 at home during the 2023 campaign.

The Fighting Illini also won their home opener 12-2 over Eastern Illinois at Illinois Field on Feb. 27. Illinois is now 8-3 in its last 11 home openers and the 12 runs scored are the most since also scoring 12 in the 2021 home opener vs. Northwestern.

HOME RUN HARDING

Brody Harding continued his offensive surge by going 8-for-11 with six runs, a double, home run, seven RBI and two walks vs. Ohio State from May 3-5, posting an overall slash of .727/.769/1.091.

Harding had at least two hits in every game of the series, including back-to-back three-hit performances on May 4 and 5.

The Moline, Ill., native, has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games, raising his season average from .222 to .205 during that span.

The redshirt senior is enjoying his best year at the dish, posting career-best marks in average (.305), runs (37), hits (50), home runs (8), RBI (31), slugging (.488) and OPS (.875).

CALIFORNIA HEJZA

Cal Hejza continues to put together his best season at the plate in his career, after going 2-for-10 with three runs, a triple, three RBI, three walks and was hit by a pitch twice during Illinois' weekend series vs. Ohio State.

He also had the first multi-home run game of the season on April 30 vs. No. 24 Indiana State, which was the second such game of his career. The senior now has five home runs on the campaign, which matches his single-season high, set in 2022.

Hejza also went 4-for-12 (.333) with four runs scored, a double and three walks from April 26-28 at Maryland. Leading off in all three games of the series for the second-straight weekend, Hejza reached base safely at a .467 clip. 

Hejza has hit safely in 23 of his last 28 games overall, which features 10 multi-hit performances. He has also reached base safely in 29-consecutive games, which is the longest active streak on the team.

Hejza has improved his batting average by 85 points from last year, his on-base percentage by 118 points and slugging by 107. The senior has 53 hits this season, which is his best single-season mark.

The Oswego, Ill., native, is ranks second on the team with six three-hit games and ranks third on the team with 15 multi-hit performances overall.

Camden Janik continued his hitting prowess on from May 3-5 vs. Ohio State, going 4-for-13 with a run, double, two RBI, a walk and was hit by a pitch. He also went 2-for-3 with four runs and two walks vs. No. 24 Indiana State on April 30. He had another big weekend at Maryland from April 3-5, going 7-for-12 with three runs, five RBI, a walk and was hit by a pitch twice. Janik posted an overall slash of .583/.667/.583 in College Park, collecting at least two hits in each contest.

The junior extended his hitting streak to 11 games and has gone 20-for-44 (.455) during that span with two doubles, a home run and 13 RBI. He has multi-hit performances in seven of those contests, raising his season average from .356 to .379.

The Wauconda, Ill., native remains the toughest out in the country, striking out just nine times in 177 at-bats. His K AVG. of 19.7 is the second-best in the nation. His nine strikeouts are the fewest among batters that have taken at least 177 at-bats this season. Janik is the highest ranked catcher in that category.

HALL MONITOR

Regan Hall turned in a big relief outing on May 5 vs. Ohio State, firing 3.0 scoreless frames, allowing no hits and striking out four.

His performance allowed the Illini to build off what was then a three-run advantage and eventually run-rule the Buckeyes.

It was the freshman's first scoreless outing since March 22 at Indiana and the third time this season that Hall has amassed at least four strikeouts in a game.

The Albuquerque, N.M., native, has amassed 30 punchouts in 31.2 in his debut campaign, posting a 2-1 record. Hall needs just two more strikeouts to tie Ryan Castellanos (2013) for tenth for most strikeouts in a single season in program history by a freshman.

WALK IT OFF

The Fighting Illini earned their four walk-off win of the season on May 5, when Ryan Moerman ripped a two-run double to right center in the eighth to earn a 12-12 run-rule victory over Ohio State.

Illinois has surpassed their walk-off win total from the 2023 campaign (3).

TWO-OUT RALLY

Illinois scored 18 of its 21 runs on April 30 vs. No. 24 Indiana State with two outs. The Illini went 9-for-15 (.600) with two doubles, six home runs, four walks and one hit by pitch when down to their last out.

Overall, Illinois is batting .316 with 147 RBI with two outs. Connor Milton leads the squad with a .478 average (11-for-23) in those situations. 

LEADERBOARD WATCHING

The Illini as a team, and individually, find themselves among conference leaders in numerous categories through 44 games this season.

As a team, the Illini lead Big Ten teams in home runs (88), slugging (.533), OPS (.943) and total bases (821), while also holding top five rankings in average (.306, 2nd), RBI (324, 3rd), runs (351, 4th) and have the third-fewest fewest strikeouts (316).

On the mound, the Orange and Blue have yielded the second-fewest hits (380 and have posted the fourth-lowest WHIP (1.52).

Individually, Camden Janik ranks fifth in average (.379) and and tied-for-seventh in hits (67). Jacob Schroeder leads in slugging (.708) and is third in OPS (1.157) while ranking tied-for-third in home runs (13). Drake Westcott also ranks tied-for-third in home runs (13) and is tied-for-third in walks (39). Ryan Moerman leads all Big Ten hitters in home runs (15).

Illinois wraps up the regular season with a three-game set at Big Ten foe Purdue. First pitch in Thursday's series opener on May 10 is set for 5 p.m. CT.

Players Mentioned

#39 Jack Crowder

#20 Joe Glassey

#2 Brody Harding

#13 Cal Hejza

#17 Camden Janik

#33 Connor Milton

#43 Ryan Moerman

#8 Jacob Schroeder

#34 Drake Westcott

#9 Regan Hall

#27 Cooper Omans

#28 Vytas Valincius

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