In L.A., Zach Helfand reported construction on UCLA's new basketball training facility "will begin this fall and will be called the Mo Ostin Basketball Center." Ostin, a UCLA alumnus and Warner Bros. Records Chair Emeritus, donated $10M to the facility, which "will be privately funded." The school has raised $15M in cash and "pledges out of a total cost" of between $30-40M (LATIMES.com, 3/10).
DID YOU SAY UTE? In Salt Lake City, Matthew Piper reported the Univ. of Utah BOT signed off Tuesday on a $3.3M upgrade to Rice-Eccles Stadium that "will come as a big relief to those hoping to relieve themselves on gamedays." Utah AD Chris Hill said that the 88 new men's toilets and 45 new sinks "are expected to be in place for Utah's season opener against Michigan." In addition to 5,000 square feet of new restroom space, the project "will add 7,350 square feet of walking space on the north concourse and is also expected to improve congestion around concessions" (SLTRIB.com, 3/10).
WHAT A HOOT: Rice AD Joel Karlgaard on Tuesday said that plans for a complete makeover of Rice Stadium "could be in place by the end of the year." He said, "We’re still in the planning stages. I expect in the near future we’ll hear more about fully restoring Rice Stadium.” In Houston, Joseph Duarte noted Rice held a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for the $31.5M Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center, which "will be located on the north side of Rice Stadium" and is "set for completion" in time for the '16 season (CHRON.com, 3/11).
RULING THE ROOST: In Columbia, Josh Kendall noted the South Carolina football team for spring practice Tuesday "will work out mostly at its newly completed outdoor practice fields on the west end of Gamecock Park." The new natural-grass fields, the pair of which came at a $3M price tag, are the "first phase of South Carolina’s most recent football facilities upgrade." The fields sit "adjacent to an under-construction indoor facility." The $14.5M indoor facility is "expected to be completed in time for practices this fall." South Carolina "will become one of the SEC’s last teams to build an indoor facility" (THESTATE.com, 3/12).
