Rutgers AD Julie Hermann said she is "very focused" on a new basketball and softball indoor practice facility. She added that she is "in the midst of a feasibility study to address" the future of the Louis Brown Athletic Center, the school's basketball venue. Hermann said the hope is "in the next couple of months we will be able to announce" a groundbreaking on what would be the first new facility of her tenure. Hermann: "We're going out right now and ... talking with our top supporters and top donors and sharing a loose concept about what we think is critical to do as the next step" (NJ.com, 11/10).
SACRED GROUNDS: The AP's Dan Gelston reports Villanova is "actively engaged in a fundraising drive for renovations to the Pavilion, adding everything from a video screen to more bathrooms, concession stands, souvenir stands, and premium suites." But the "key questions of when the project would start, how long the process would take, what the final project would include -- and the total bill -- are all still undecided." Villanova AD Vince Nicastro said, ''Most of our buildings are named after Augustinian priests. There is some sensitivity to corporate naming rights on something so visible. I think the university has been open to it, we just haven't found the right partner" (AP, 11/6).
GUNS UP, FUNDS UP: In Lubbock, Don Williams reported it "might be 2016 before" the upgraded north end zone club seating area at Texas Tech's Jones AT&T Stadium "is completed and fully available for ticket sales." Since the school announced the "Campaign for Fearless Champions" fundraising effort in August, the amount raised of the $185M needed for the stadium upgrades "has grown" from $75M to more than $80M. Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt said that the school's new indoor football practice facility and indoor track facility "must be fully funded before construction begins" (LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, 11/9).
