The Univ. of Maryland "is seriously considering converting" Cole Field House -- the school's basketball home from '55 until the '02-03 season -- into a facility that "could host indoor football practices and other activities," according to sources cited by Jeff Barker of the Baltimore SUN. The "not-yet-final details would need to be approved by the Board of Regents, who have not yet been briefed." No announcement "is expected until later in the month, and university officials said Friday it would be premature to comment." The idea "would be to repurpose Cole while preserving some of its history." The makeover "is being considered as part of a plan to upgrade athletic facilities that could have implications for the College Park campus." It is possible the project "could expand beyond Cole’s footprint." UM alum and Under Armour Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank "is expected to be a supporter of the project but would be far from the only one." UM President Wallace Loh last year said that the university "would not want to lag behind other Big Ten schools." Loh: "All the Big Ten institutions have indoor facilities -- of course, obviously because of the weather. But we need it, too" (Baltimore SUN, 11/8).
