Bowling Green State University Athletics
Ask The AD -- July 18, 2007
July 17, 2007 | General
July 17, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Each week, Bowling Green State University Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Greg Christopher answers questions that have been submitted to BGSUFalcons.com. Here is the latest installment ...
Q: Is there any immediate plan to tear out the drainage and add FieldTurf to the baseball field to prevent rain outs we have each year at the beginning of spring?
Scott in Bowling Green
At this time, FieldTurf at baseball or softball is not at the top of the priority list. We have other facility deficiencies that are higher priorities to the coaches - lights, larger dugouts and locker facilities top the list.
Q: A lot of facility work is happening at one time - Sebo, the new track and tennis courts, plus the football field. Where did all the money come from?
Ben in Sandusky
Each project is a little different and the fact that they are all happening at once is coincidence more than anything.
The Sebo Center is funded largely through private gifts. More than $7.7 million was donated for the building, with Bob Sebo providing the lead gift of $3.5 million.
The new FieldTurf will cost almost $1 million and will be paid for by Athletics. Fundraising for the field is ongoing, with Van and Tracey Wright kicking off the campaign by making a gift of $150,000.
The Whittaker Track replacement and Keefe Tennis Courts are funded with a combination of University funds and insurance money from when the track and bleachers were damaged in a storm four years ago. Funding and plans were developed more than two years ago, but project queuing led to construction this summer. Both projects total a combined $1.3 million.
Q: There was an article in The Blade about a month ago about the new turf going into The Doyt and other stadiums. Why is it costing more for the turf in BG than OSU? Are we also getting turf on a practice field, or was the price for fixing the drainage system also?
Bill in Sylvania
The pricing for the actual FieldTurf portion of the BGSU project is very similar to the pricing other Ohio institutions received - Ohio State, Kent State, Miami and Cincinnati. We benchmarked before moving forward to be sure. The difference comes from the square footage and our drainage system replacement.
Q: As an alumni fan and former Falcon student, I have always wondered why BG always seems to have only five home football games? Even with the addition of a 12th game, it seems like BG only has/gets five home games.
David in Texas
Playing five home football games is fairly common in the MAC and for many of the other non-BCS schools, mostly because of economics. Similarly, BCS schools almost always play seven home games. From a pure money standpoint, BGSU can bring in more revenue by playing a guarantee road game than a home game at The Doyt. That said, as we try to balance competitiveness, we are working toward a goal of six home games in the future. As it stands today, we have five home games in 2007 and 2008, with six home games planned in both 2009 and 2010. Historically, BGSU has played six regular-season home games in a year only three times in The Doyt's history.
