Texas Tech University Athletics
Gameday Feature - Second Home
September 29, 2018 | Football
Renovations to the Football Training Facility will serve Texas Tech for years to come
LUBBOCK, Texas - When Cody Campbell played offensive line for Texas Tech 15 years ago alongside quarterback Kliff Kingsbury and receiver Wes Welker, the Football Training Facility — the team's home — was new.
"It was great compared to the dungeon we were in — sharing the weight room with the rest of the athletic program," he said.
A lot has changed since Campbell followed in his father and great-grandfather's footsteps as a Red Raider.
He played in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts before starting Double Eagle Energy Permian LLC with former teammate John Sellers.
Kingsbury — his Red Raider teammate — is now Texas Tech's head coach.
And the Football Training Facility is ready for an upgrade.
Campbell is thrilled.
"I love the school. It made a huge impact on my life," he said, adding "Football is the front porch of our university. We need to be competitive.
"The most impactful building we have for our football program is the Football Training Facility — where the team spends most of its time. The biggest thing I can do is be supportive of facilities projects.
"I don't think most people realize how much the building is used. It's almost worn out because it's so heavily utilized," he said.
Adrian Frye, sophomore cornerback, seconded Campbell's thoughts about how much time the team spends in the building.
"It's like your second home," he said.
Freshman quarterback Alan Bowman added: "And you want to live in the nicest home you can."
From what Campbell's seen, upgrades to the Red Raiders home-away-from-home measure up.
"The plans coming together are great, and it's really cool," he said.
Facilities weren't the reason Campbell chose to go to Texas Tech from Canyon High School in the Panhandle.
He was born to be a Red Raider.
His dad played football for the Red and Black in the 1970s and his great-grandfather was on the first team in the 1920s.
"Guys like me want to play at Tech. But we need facilities to impress the other guys," he said.
Kirby Hocutt agrees.
"Facilities are a big deal when young people look at where they want to spend their four-to-five years of college. You want to be on a level playing field with others," said Hocutt, Texas Tech's director of athletics.
He's also quick to draw the link between the program's litany of improved facilities and steady performance gains, highlighting a few of the university's recent successes, including:
* The new Sports Performance Center with a state-of-the-art indoor track that contributed to a Big 12 indoor championship and top five finish for the men's track and field program.
* Improvements to Rip Griffin Park that have brought even more fans into the stadium to witness the baseball team's journey to a third trip to the College World Series in five years.
* The in-progress Dustin R. Womble Basketball Practice Center that will support the men's basketball team coming off a first-ever Elite Eight appearance and the renewed expectations for the women's basketball team now led by Marlene Stollings.
"The right leadership at the coaching level and investment in the program makes a dramatic impact on recruiting and leads to results we're enjoying," he said.
According to Hocutt the school has a facilities game plan for the next 15–20 years that will provide the kind of practice and competition spaces top-level student-athletes need as well as the game day environment Texas Tech's fan base craves. Significant investments have been made in the past five years as part of The Campaign for Fearless Champions, a bold vision to invest in facilities, increase scholarship endowments and secure the future of the J.T. & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy.
Momentum has been strong for the university's first-ever campaign focused on the student-athlete experience. Donations have quickly doubled the athletic program's scholarship endowments, surpassed a $5 million endowment goal for the leadership academy and funded two-dozen facilities improvements, leaving just a handful of projects on the list.
Announced at the start of what would prove to be a historic season for Red Raider basketball, the Dustin R. Womble Basketball Practice Center has seen strong support from donors and fans eager to see the future home of Texas Tech men's and women's basketball take form along Indiana Avenue.
As the 2018 football season swings into full force, Hocutt confirmed that the Football Training Facility renovation is next on the priority list.
Global design firm Gensler, who served as architect for Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center, has once again been tapped to begin preliminary project discussions.
For the team
Expansion of the Football Training Facility — just south of Jones AT&T Stadium — will serve two groups.
One is the team.
Hocutt said Oklahoma and Kansas State just revamped their football facilities.
"No one is doing anything we're not. But you've got to stay in front of the pack. This speaks to the continuing investment in the future of the football program," he said.
Sophomore linebacker Riko Jeffers said, "We're thankful for what we have now. Some places don't have what we don't have now."
But Frye said, "we'd be happy to see" renovations.
Bowman added, "It's good, but let's make it great."
First on the list is expanding the weight room.
Student-athletes and coaches know how important weight lifting and conditioning are to preventing injuries and staying strong through games in the Big 12 Conference.
More work on neck machines can help protect from concussions. Equipment that enhances mobility prevents injuries and increases range of motion.
"If we have a bigger room and coach [Rusty] Witt has more space for what he can do we'll even be that much better," Bowman said.
Because of limitations of the existing space, the team has to work out in shifts. To get all those shifts in, the strength staff has to get to work at 4 in the morning.
More room for workouts, means the entire defense can work out as a unit, instead of smaller groups, giving the team more opportunities to build chemistry that Frye believes translates to the field.
Next up are plans to expand the locker room and team lounge area as well as improving functionality by rethinking how student-athletes move through the building.
For example, the locker room where student-athletes change is on the west side of the building, while the sports medicine area with hydrotherapy pools and massage tables is on the east side.
Renovation plans will address common issues that have come up as the way the team used the building has grown and evolved.
Last on the list, expanded coaching offices that reflect the staffing realities of today's Division I programs.
"The coaching staff size was increased by the NCAA," said Campbell, with more positions added for video, media, recruiting. "They don't have enough office space because those positions didn't exist when the building was built."
Added all up, the list of enhancements creates an impact Kingsbury wants recruits to see.
"We need that wow factor for recruits driving home six or seven hours from Lubbock. They need to be wowed by the facility. It's a big deal to keep up in the 'arms race,'" said Texas Tech's head coach.
"You want to keep up with competition. Who has biggest, best and brightest, and what are you doing for the athletes," he said, before talking about how every school also promotes what they offer on social media.
"We're competing with every school in U.S.," he said.
He added the Red Raiders still mostly recruit from Texas, but so many other universities also compete for the state's high school players.
"We go against them week in and week out," he said.
Kingsbury said the Petersen Family Indoor Football Facility inside in the new Sports Performance Center— where his team can practice when weather is bad and not lose practice time — has been a "phenomenal" addition.
"It's a space players want to be in and work in. I see more guys doing extra work, and it matches up with anything in the country. And scouts rave about it," he said.
"The way it looks is beautiful," said Bowman, adding that he thinks it played a role in attracting "a great freshman class."
Kingsbury has worked to build a family atmosphere and facilities help.
That's one of the reasons Jeffers chose to be a Red Raider.
"There's a family atmosphere. It's a tight-knit group. We communicate daily," he said.
For the fans
The other group to benefit from the docket of improvements for the Football Training Facility is the Red Raider Nation.
There are already impressive displays of Texas Tech's football history located throughout the building, but they are in an area only student-athletes traverse.
"We want to take exhibits of history and trophies that are hidden in the back and put them on display so recruits and visitors have their own space," said Kingsbury.
Hocutt added: "We could display more for fans and recruits to see."
Giving the showcases a more prominent space in the building, means more access for visitors without disrupting the critical day-to-day use of the building by student-athletes and coaches.
Ready to play
Meanwhile, the Red Raiders are ready for the 2018 season.
Kingsbury and his staff have steadily added depth throughout the roster, providing competition on both sides of the ball.
"We're deep at every position," Bowman said. "Offensively, we're two or three deep, and with our fast-paced offense we'll be able to switch people out."
The same could be said for the defensive side of the ball where 10 of 11 starters return for a unit that ranked sixth nationally a year ago in forced turnovers. That depth will be needed as Tech looks for its fourth bowl appearance under Kingsbury.
"We're two-or-three deep and everyone can play," Frye said.
While the Red Raiders prepare for their Sept. 1 season opener against Ole Miss, planning continues for the Football Training Facility behind Hocutt's aspirations to turn the complex into one of the finest in the country.
