Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
Oh boy....this is probably NOT going to be a popular sentiment, BUT...........
Somewhere along the line, we have to assign credit --or at least tip our hat-- to the much lambasted "T-MAC" --former Tech AD Tommy McClelland-- for many of these "plant upgrades" and improvements to our athletic facilities. Dr Wood appears to be a good AD, with a lot of promise. But let's face it, Wood came on board just in time to cut the ribbons for our new baseball stadium, the new soccer stadium, the new softball stadium, the new floor upgrades to the TAC, the recently recovered parking lot to the Joe, etc..... Furthermore, IIRC, the new Press Box project and other upgrades at the Joe belonged to T-Mac, too.
Yes, I know many of these "upgrades" were forced upon us by the tornado of 2018. But the fact remains that T-MAC got it done. He jumped in to it aggressively and got it all done on time. I still have a hard time forgiving him for hiring former 23-yr old Lady Techster coach Tyler Summit, but that's a different discussion for a different day.
I agree that the SEZ Project was already teed up for success by the time McClelland was hired. I guess you can thank Bruce Van De Velde for that one. But, just so we're clear about the timeline of these projects:
March 4, 2010 - Van De Velde Named Louisiana Tech Athletic Director
https://latechsports.com/news/2010/3..._Director.aspx
July 16, 2013 - Louisiana Tech hires Tommy McClelland
https://www.si.com/nfl/2013/07/16/lo...mmy-mcclelland
Oct 29, 2013 - LA Tech unveils the SEZ Project
https://www.ksla.com/story/23812716/...-zone-project/
April 12, 2014 - Ground Broken on SEZ Project
https://latechsports.com/news/2014/4..._Facility.aspx
August 9, 2016 - Tech Unveils Plans for New Suites, Press Box
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/stor...-box/88474436/
July 26, 2017 - First Look Inside Tech's New Press Box. Executive Suites
https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sp...tes/513613001/
So, the Press box project --which was introduced 3 yrs and 1month after T-Mac was hired-- certainly belonged to T-Mac.
The reason I have to be snarky with you Mikey is you must've forgotten . . . I don't WORK IN THE PRESSBOX going on 49 years now.
Tommy had his attributes. Yes. Thank you, Tommy. He's gone. No need to pile on.
And thank you, to Dr. Guice's triumvirate of Adam McGuirt, Lincoln Builders and TBA Studios. The only group I know of who can complete major quality projects at warp speed.
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
Interesting chatter last night on the first "Inside Bulldog Football" show at the Dawg House, re: Indoor Practice Facility question. Dr Wood said that a master athletics plan was coming out soon that includes a new "Athletic Village" (whatever that means, but my impression was that it was going to be impressive...at least by G5 standards) and that it would include more STUFF for kids to oo-and-ahhh over when they visit. When the question came up, Dr Wood was asked a follow up of "timeline" and he said, we could start next week if we had the money..."so all you donors out there..." But seemed to think 5-10 years was a good target #welp
It will be interesting to see what all is included in this 'Village'.
Here is last night's show.
Inside Bulldog Football 8/30/2021 (.mp3)
What's the expected return on investment?
For every $1MM of capital investment, how many additional wins per year can Tech reasonably expect?
And then what are the opportunity costs? Could the same $1MM realize more wins if it were invested instead in Coach salaries, cost of attendance stipends, library books, free beer, etc?
Are we really basing our capital investment decisions solely on the anecdotal "oo-and-ahh" response of perhaps a few dozen teenage boys? Or is their any additional research to corroborate that such investment will actually result in more winning?
I'll wait ....
I just did a quick scan here: https://athleticdirectoru.com/articl...er-recruiting/
They find little evidence that improved facilities improve recruiting...of course, they didn't address the effect of being the only school without new facilities (at least not at my cursory glance).
I wonder if an argument could be made that capital projects COULD be an opportunity to gather new donors for the programs who stick around once the project is complete.
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
Have they explored the effect of pumping that money into a baseball program on the rise instead of essentially burying it in the back yard(football)?
The "oo-an-ahhh" remark was MINE, not their's. MY opinion only. What 18-year-old High School football player considers ROI on anything? I'll wait.
Of course, those of us who contribute and support expect to see that return, in whatever criteria you wish to measure...just as you said.
From Les Guice Facebook