Coming to watch BYU sports teams this season, Cougar fans may have noticed updates and changes to athletic facilities across campus. These updates—and many others largely unseen by fans—have accelerated recently, making BYU’s top-notch facilities even better.
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe and assistant athletic director Matt Nix meet regularly to discuss ongoing improvements, what changes are in the works and any future priorities for buildings across the department. Because the Student Athlete Building and Miller Park are the only two facilities owned and operated solely by the athletic department, Holmoe, Nix and the athletic team work closely with university physical facilities on how and when to make changes to other facilities, such as the Smith Fieldhouse or the Marriott Center.
Depending on the update, costs are either shared between the university and athletics, or one foots the bill while working together on construction logistics. Unlike the vast majority of athletic departments that go into massive debt to finance updates, BYU does not go into debt, take out bonds, or use taxpayer funds. All updates, including endowments used for maintenance of facilities, are paid up front through generous donations and other fund reserves.
So what updates have been made lately? Here’s a summary of the many changes to BYU athletic facilities over the last year and a half.
Indoor Practice Facility
Originally built in 2003, the IPF has been in constant use over the past 15 years. Not only does the football team often practice in the building, but many other athletic programs, from golf to softball, practice and train there as well. All of that is on top of the literally hundreds of intramural games students play in the evenings and Saturday mornings in the IPF.
All that wear and tear led to the IPF needing a new turf field. Deputy athletic director Brian Santiago, baseball head coach Mike Littlewood and Nix traveled to Georgia to tour the three main turf production facilities in the country in order to find the best new turf for both the IPF and Larry H. Miller Field, ultimately settling on FieldTurf for the IPF.
LaVell Edwards Stadium
Fans have already had the chance to enjoy multiple additions to Edwards Stadium. A state-of-the-art social media videoboard located above the east stands, the first social media videoboard of its kind in college football.
A Wi-Fi and distributed antenna system were also implemented. BYU partnered with Verizon Wireless and Extreme Networks to become the first college football program in the country to implement a full-stadium, high-density Wi-Fi offload solution used in many NFL stadiums.
Following the season finale against New Mexico State, a new project will add structural sections at the four corners of the stadium to connect the four stadium stands at the mezzanine level. These improvements will allow patrons to walk between stands without having to return to ground level. The project will also increase the number of restrooms in the stadium by adding women’s, men’s and family-friendly facilities on the north and south mezzanine levels. The changes are intended to improve accessibility, safety and the overall patron experience at football games and other stadium events. Construction is expected to be completed before the 2019 season begins.
Miller Park
While on their trip to Georgia, Santiago, Littlewood and Nix chose turf made by Shaw Sports Turf for the baseball field, switching over from natural grass starting with the 2018 season.
However, the turf was just one aspect of the Miller Field overhaul. “The field used to be flood irrigated,” Nix explained. “From left field to right field there was a five-foot elevation change to drain the water. So, if you were running in right field to catch a fly ball, you were literally running uphill.” With irrigation no longer needed thanks to the artificial turf, BYU’s contractor, Fields, Inc., leveled the playing surface and redid all the drainage substructure.
Perhaps the most exciting improvement to the field is one hidden underneath it—hundreds of electric strips, each about an inch wide, that heat the field. Thanks to a generous donation from former player Dave Decker and family, the system melts snow extremely quickly, allowing the Cougars much more field time during colder months.
“Six days before our home opener last season there was a big storm that brought eight inches of snow,” Nix said. “We turned on the heating system remotely on Saturday night; it was down to two inches by end of day Sunday and by the end of day Monday the snow was off the field and we were able to practice before the game on Thursday. If we hadn’t had the heating system we would’ve had to move that weekend’s games somewhere else.”
Softball opted to keep its grass outfield but now has turf between the dugouts and base lines. Other team areas were updated as well. Even the press box was remodeled to fit TV-specific booths.
Richards Building Pool
Home of the BYU men’s and women’s swim and dive teams, the Richards Building Pool was renovated and reopened this month. The new facility includes two heated swimming pools with a bulkhead that allows for separation between the diving and swimming areas.
The new facility is the most versatile competition pool in the state. It can be used as 18 25-yard lanes or eight 40-meter lanes with Omega back fin blocks. The bulkhead allows the 40-meter pool to be shortened to eight 25-yard lanes for the college competition season. In addition to the competition pool, the Cougars have a six-lane, 25-yard lap pool. For divers, the facility includes new 1-meter and 3-meter boards in addition to new 3-meter and 5-meter platforms, a sparging unit (a system that bubbles the water where the divers land to soften the water while divers attempt new dives) and showers on deck.
Other updates include here is a new video feedback system, videoboards, a dry-land training room, HVAC, light and sound systems, coaches offices and increased seating on the east side of the pool.
Smith Fieldhouse
This past summer, the volleyball office area of the Fieldhouse was completely gutted to create new coaches offices and player lounges. Made possible by a generous donation from Greg and Julie Cook and christened the Carl McGown Volleyball Suite after the Cougar coaching legend, the suite includes two different lounges for the men’s and women’s teams that have a TV, video games, a ping pong table, a refrigerator and lounge chairs to give players a place to study or relax.
Last December, the volleyball teams were excited to see Elaine Michaelis Court convert to a new TeraFlex flooring. The court now provides better shock absorption to players constantly diving and jumping, helping to prevent knee and other injuries.
The gymnastics practice gym has been overhauled over the last few years as well, with recent improvements including a new camera system and the installation of carpet and lighting.
Other Updates
At Robison Track, the area for the field events was updated, including resurfacing of the jump and vault runways and throws area. In the SAB, the football area was remodeled to accommodate the additional coach recently approved by the NCAA. The old staff room was turned into two offices while a new staff room was created in the lobby.
On the south end of campus, the indoor and outdoor tennis courts were re-surfaced just last month. Finally, South Field received a facelift in the summer of 2017, installing new grass sod to replace the previous turf that had slowly worn down over time.
Thanks to the support of university leadership and the contributions, large and small, by BYU fans like you, student-athletes, coaches, staff, and visitors to campus can enjoy some of the very best facilities in all of intercollegiate athletics. Thank you for all you do to strengthen our programs!