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VOLUME 26, ISSUE 1 75 P R E S E N T S : BY ALAN KARPICK AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com I t is a conundrum in one sense, but an absolute necessity in the other. After all, Purdue's football program must better than it has shown on the field in recent years, but it also is in need of a facility upgrade as it seeks to re- turn stability to the program. And the facts are just about everybody in the Big Ten is improving its football facilities — and doing it in grand style. "Sure, the facilities' arms race is alive and well in college athletics," said Kristi Dosh, who covers sports facilities/business for ESPN. "It is the one place you can set yourself apart. "I have been a lot of different places, and it seems the first thing people want to show you is their prac- tice facility, their training center." Sparkling, state-of-the-art football training facili- ties are tantamount to successful recruiting. In recent years, Dosh says college football facilities have sur- passed pro facilities in the spaciousness and splendor. "From the places I have visited, it is not even close," Dosh said. But to call it an arms race is only looking at part of the picture. The upgrades have become more and more necessary for a number of reasons, some that might not be readily apparent. Since the NCAA mandated the 20-hour limit for student-athletes in terms of training and practice time a few years ago, efficient, all-inclu- sive facilities have become critical to not only athletic development but for overall efficient use of time. And while Purdue gets high marks for having most of its athletic facilities in close proximity, for football, it needs to be more efficient. "When we were looking at this, it came down to the fact that time matters, and every second counts," said Sherri Privitera, an architect for Populous, the firm re- tained by Purdue to develop a working plan to improve Football's 'Master Plan' Starts Indoors Improvements to training facility primary focus Populous A larger and more aesthet- ically pleasing players' lounge makes a big differ- ence to recruits, and it will be part of the improvement plan for Purdue's football training facility.