Track & Field

TheRock90 · Track & Field

Any word when construction will start on the new T & F facility at Metzgar? I've heard that football used some of the money allocated for the new facility for the Field House and that the T & F facility has been scaled back. Anyone know about that?

Pard4Life · Re: Track & Field

Lafalum

I don't know what could be scaled back its a track and Birms to protect it from the winds. It couldn't be any less...could it??

TheRock90

I've heard the seating has been reduced to less than 500, therby making it likely that we can not host the league tournament as there will not be enough seating for the athletes let alone spectators. Also heard the track will be less than the preferred 300 meters. Both supposedly changes from the original plan proposed in conjunction with the football upgrades. I've also heard that it will be another two months until construction begins.

I really don't understand why there is a delay. They should have started as soon as last years football season ended. This will be the third year that T & F has to find a high school to practice. I believe that this is the second biggest sport, as far as participants, and they certainly aren't having a good "Lafayette Experience". I'd just like to know what the problem is.

TheTruth

I agree with Rock. This issue is pretty sad and also raises questions about what the true intention of the school is with the T & F team. I've also heard teh cost overrun for the football field is the reason for the delay but also something about problems with Forks??? Maybe some of the locals can look into this.

Lafalum

I have heard the Forks rumour...somethng to do with water runoff

TheRock90

I understand that Jack Bougher just ponied up another quarter million dollars to change the facade of the pressbox before the first game with Marist. I guess we know why there's no money left for the new track.

Andy

90, I really like what you bring to the board, but I can't agree with you here. Just whom was the college bidding against when they purchased that $600k basically worthless building and other properties in the 3rd Street flood plain? Instead of telling Jack where to spend HIS money, how about taking the college to task. God forbid the college might pay for the facility. Unless Jack had agreed to pay for the track and has renegged to get the stadium just right, I don't see how he can in any way be faulted. I'm personally thrilled that there isn't an eight lane track between the stands and Fisher Field, however, I enjoy our track program and those kids deserve a home of their own. The college is letting them down.

God bless Jack Bourger.

Lafalum

Couldn't agree more Andy. At reunion week end Weis told us the endowment was now at 800 mio dollars. The track team should not be punished for the college's incompetence. The football stadium,the redoing of McCracken was largely done 100 % with generous alumni donations, if they screwed up take a 1/2 mio and finish the track if that what it cost.
Agreed the money was thrown away on third street but I repeat myself...10 mio for what again??? And who is it benefiting???

However, the dispute with Forks IS stopping construction.

TheRock90

I guess you haven't been to the campus in some time as work has begun on two of the Third Street properties - the former Jac & Co. and the former Club Mohican. If my memory serves me, the appearance of the Third Street corridor was a major turnoff to potential students in a study the college undertook 8-10 years ago.

Lafalum, you have more contacts than I do but what I'm hearing is that during the planning of the Fisher Field renovation, the T & F people were promissed certain things in return for them giving up the facility at Fisher. Now, in addition to the permit issue (which I understand the State has now signed off on), they are being told there is not enough money to construct the facility they were PROMISED. It smells of the old bait and switch.

I suspect there are probably as many athletes participating in T & F as football. (In fact a number of football players participate in T & F). They also have a never ending season with both an indoor season and an outdoor season and an inadequate facility for indoor and no facility for outdoor.

Look, the football people got what they wanted, thats fine, I love the new facility. But the T & F people should get what they were promised - it was part of the package. This issue is creating aniosity on campus. That's unhealthy. And posts on this board that its somebody else's fault don't help the situation. They had a facility before the renovation, they were promised a new improved facility as part of the renovation - keep the promise.

Lafalum

I am not disagreeing with you but as I understand it the a price was put on the whole project and it ran over. Bourger and Co came up with additional funds rather than build less than was promised. The school screwed up, many capital projects get funded with endowment when that happens at Lafayette and, other places. Many, capital projects are not 100% funded with donations, and I have seen named projects having requirementss waived when they ran over budget (which has happened for virually every project in the last ten years.) To get a dorm named after you cost 1/3 of the project cost, for example. Athletic (and to be honest) many classroom buildings are built with the alumni donations footing 100 pct of the original bill.
The exception was the library which started at 11 mio and ended up north of 23 mio, some of that coming from endowment.
McCracken was one large donor and a number of six figure donors, I understand, financing the entire amount ( that would include housing for the T and F team). Four teams had fund raisers and raised over 100 k each, FH, Softball, BAseball, and Men's Soccer. I have also heard that Men's Lacrosse was also raising money.
You are right T and F has as many participants and alumni as football, if they are short, maybe a campaign is in order......but you are right a promise is a promise and they should make T and F whole...I can't imagine we are talking more that 1/2 a mio at most. The stands are easily fixed with temp stand if we need it, the water darainage issue must be done, the birms must be done and the 300 meter( are you sure it isn't 400 meter) track was
promised. I don't see a whole lot of money here in the larger scheme of things. I don't see the problem except with some stubborness in some quarters. On the other hand this is not JB's problem or any of the other donors...it is the school's problem and I go back to the 10 mio dollars beautification problem. I have never interviewed a recruit, student, or prospect who thought there was an issue with third street. It was A HUGE ISSUE with the former president's wife. Most of that money came from endowment.

Andy

TheRock90

Andy, I didn't say it was Jack Bougher's fault. I said it was his promise.

Lafalum

Whoa whoa, not possible!!!!!!!!! The only people who can make those promises are Weis and the BOT, Jack signs the checks. If the college is reneging that's where the responsibility is. It is only within the power of the college to keep that promise.

Keeping that promise to the track team to me has higher priority than the boondogle on third street...or buying a new house for staff members...or any number of other projects funded by endowment money

TheTruth

Rock90: I think everyone is in agreement that the Track team is getting the royal shaft here. For some dumb reason, the college chose to lump the new track with stadium renovations. As Lafalum alluded, every construction project on campus since 1996 has gone over budget. Not by a little but by a significant percentage. It is not Jack Bourger's responsibility to provide a new track for the school. If the college could plan properly, the track should have been constructed in the fall 2005 once they knew the Fisher field track was going ot demolished for the renovations. This way the track team would have been out a track on one season, spring 2006. If this "permit" or "funding" issue does not get resolved shortly, they will be without a track for the spring season. Very sad way to treat one of your sport teams. The college should bite the bullet and spend the 3-5 million on this track. Make up the money by holding the high school district meets there.

Lafalum

In fairness the track could not be constructed until after football moved from Metzgar, but planning could have been better. Why wasn't the permits applied for and plans made before Fisher construction began. Construction could have begun last fall!!
I do think the two projects are linked, it required simultaneous planning and execution which the college failed to do, combined with its characteristic underestimation of cost. Could it be that the resignation of Quivey ( the college CFO) had something to do with this??? All that being said its time to make them whole. The college has the resources and its the right thing to do.

ranger · Promises to T & F

There were no promises to T & F. Only 1 T & F entered discussions bringing no financial support to the table. The 3 football guys brought $22million. Football guys were and are willing to help and support T&F, but T&F gives appearance of having no former T&F guys willing to write checks.

TheTruth

What you are saying is true but the school has never tried to organize the track and field alumni like they did with the football alumni. The Friends of Football was created with the football renovations and additional financial support for the program in mind. Those donors have been cultivated over the past 6-7 years.

T & F has not received this much attention. If the school plans on keeping T & F, they should pony up the $3-$5 million and give them a first class facility.

Lafalum

Actually the school never did the organizing for friends of football. Bourger did it on his own and he primed the pump with generous support. The first friends of organization was basketball which has raised money for a number of things including the rome trip.
There are now friends organizations for soccer, men's lacrosse, field hockey,softball and baseball and all have raised at least 6 figure amounts.
T and F (and some of the other sports) needs to get organized and that takes alumni leadership...perhaps with encouragement from the coach.
That doesn't relieve the school to supply T and F with a good Div 1 track.

ranger

Friends of Lafayette Football was organized to supplement annual football budgets which were not realistic and still are not in order to be competitive in PL. Bourgher went to Rothkopf with Varsity House for football idea. Fisher wanted field turf and lights then pushed/paid for jumbotron. Fred Kirby wanted improved seats, field moved closer. Bourgher and Fisher got together to push Rothkofp then Weiss; then Weiss went to Kirby. Impression remains that T&F alumni don't care. They have not organized Friends group nor come to the table with financial support . 1 T&F alum offerred I heard $5000. This tells football guys T&F guys and gals don't care. Same message to school. If T&F people don't care why should college spend the $$$. T&F unite; get check books out, then these same football would probably help-they are sports guys.

TheRock90

You are overlooking one important piece of information. T & F had an adequate facility at Fisher Field. They had a track, with a steeplechase pit, a long jump, triple jump and pole vault pit, a high jump pit and a shot put area. They were satisfied with what they had.

However, football wanted to eliminate the T & F facility at Fisher for the reasons you mention. To get what they wanted, the individuals you mentioned promised to fund a new T & F facility at Metzgar. Plans were drawn up and everyone signed off on them.

Now because of cost the football revnovation overruns, T & F is being told the original plan is being scaled back. Thats not fair.

The T & F athletes have had to do without a facility for two years. One, while the renovations took place to the football field and a second when they could not construct the facilty last fall because football needed to practice at Metzgar.

The way this is dragging on, its very possible there may not be a facility this spring. Could you see the football team busing off to some high school field for practice for three years?

My original point was and remains, Jack Bougher and the others need to make this happen now. It appears the athletic administration and others have no sway in the matter. If Jack can have the facade of the press box changed in two weeks, he and the others can certainly get this project on the fast track (pun intended). This is my last post on the topic.

ranger

Football guys promised to pay for football costs and did. They never promised to pay for T&F facilities. You are misinformed.

ranger

NO shot put or javelin were at Fisher. Also, Bourgher, Fisher, or Kirby never saw or were presented with T&F drawings, concepts, etc. to sign off on or "Promise" to fund. They committed a specific $ amount. Bourgher and Fisher have added to that commitment to cover some additional costs.

Lafalum

Ranger is right on this!!! They were asked to fund a project and the college screwed up on the cost as usual....the college owes the track team a facility. No person ( and these guys are too smart) signs a deal with the college "for whatever it costs"
In addition the short fall is a small amount of money in part due to the demands of Forks on the drainage ( in the hundreds of thousands not millions). The stands are a non issue.
The delay in construction is solely due to the Forks demands. In end the track team will have their 8 lane 400 meter track, a new locker room (paid for by the donor for McCracken and 4 other sports who raised money for it.)
If someone is saying the three major donors promised what you said, they are not telling the truth. It was up to the college to estimate, organize and provide for the funding for the entire project. There was very little effort by the T and F alumni to provide any funding for this.
All that being said they are entitled to a facility...if we can spend 10 mio for several flooded out buildings that's used by 15-20 students a day we can pony up the money to finish the project.
If you want to be picky the reduction in the freshman class population cost us more in their 4 years than the track would!!

TheTruth

Track & Field

Re: Track & Field

Promises to T & F