Story Poster
Photo by Stewart Wade
Texas A&M Football

The Reveal: Texas A&M's state-of-the-art football facilities

July 31, 2014
39,017

Talk is supposed to be cheap.

It isn’t.

That became crystal clear on a Wednesday tour of the renovated Bright Complex to view Texas A&M’s new football facilities.

They’re plush. They’re state of the art. They provide the “wow factor” that is so vital nowadays to attract 18-year-olds with elite athletic ability.

There are about 100 HD TVs in the building. That does not include the micro-tile images of each player above their lockers. And those lockers … they’re what your wife dreams her closet could be like.

Stewart Wade The completed effort gives Texas A&M some of the country's most visually and functionally impressive facilities. {"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"The completed effort gives Texas A\u0026M some of the country\u0027s most visually and functionally impressive facilities.","MediaItemID":45013}
There’s the hot and cold tubs that are so swanky you’d expect a bikini-clad server (with a sarong, of course) to be delivering daiquiris with tiny umbrellas in them. Maybe that’s next.

There are meeting rooms with chairs more comfortable than your Lay Z boy. There’s the underwater treadmill, the barber chair, the spacious training room. The player’s lounge isn’t yet completed, but rest assured it will make quite an impression on A&M players and recruits.

“We wanted the ‘wow factor’ and I think we achieved that,” Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said on Wednesday. “It’s also functional. It also speaks to the commitment from the University, but also to the player development — the Davis Center, the R.C. Slocum Nutrition Center, the locker room and now the training room area.

“It’s all about player development, player wellness, and I think you can see that. There’s a lot of bells and whistles in there, but there’s also a lot of things that are there to help maximize performance, whether it’s the meeting rooms or the training rooms and the locker room.”

The project cost $16.8 million. No tax money or SEC money was spent. The tab was picked up by generous donors.

So, what do they get out of the deal?

Well, the most generous might get their name on something. And there is a tax write-off. There is membership in the 12th Man Foundation. There is the satisfaction that comes from helping the alma mater.

Mostly, there is the feeling of being part of the process of building a dominant football team. That leads to triumph on Saturday.

And trash talking around the water cooler on Monday.

Well, look for Aggies to be talking tons of trash in the future. 

After all, what is needed to win a football national championship that Texas A&M doesn’t now have?

When you have something like this it also gives you an expectation. You treat someone first-class and you want first-class performance and first-class actions. To me, those go hand-in-hand. - Kevin Sumlin {"Module":"quote","Alignment":"left","Quote":"When you have something like this it also gives you an expectation. You treat someone first-class and you want first-class performance and first-class actions. To me, those go hand-in-hand.","Author":"Kevin Sumlin"}
A&M has the facilities, the commitment, the fans, the recruiting base and the coaches to become a national power in the very near future.

When completed, the renovated Kyle Field will be as good as any college football venue in our great nation and better than most. It’s been called A&M’s megaphone to the world. That’s underselling it. It will be a good bullhorn to the world.

There is the indoor practice field. There is great fan support. A&M offers close-to-home proximity for the hundreds of talented high school football prospects our state annually produces.

Those prospects will come to A&M and see that stadium, that indoor facility, that locker room, that training room, those meeting rooms and that player’s lounge and will be extremely impressed.

They will likely get a tour of it all from Sumlin, who is such a smooth operator that every time he speaks Sade should be singing in the background.

“(The renovated Bright Complex) shows them that we care as coaches, our administration cares, the University cares,” Sumlin said. "And when you have something like this it also gives you an expectation. You treat someone first-class and you want first-class performance and first-class actions. To me, those go hand-in-hand.”

First-class facilities attract first-rate players.

First-rate performances lead to first-place finishes.

It might not be too long until A&M finishes first.

That will be something to talk about.
Discussion from...

The Reveal: Texas A&M's state-of-the-art football facilities

25,825 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 10 yr ago by Pro Ag
Olin Buchanan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Staff
S
The Reveal: Texas A&M's state-of-the-art football facilities
CaddoAggie96
How long do you want to ignore this user?
kirbyclarke
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AgsWin2011
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I want to live there. Insert drool face. Awesome job!
Tommy Pickles
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
@BrentZwerneman
Apparently the good folks at TexAgs could use a visit from Aggies' new life skills coordinator. Tour embargoed until 3 pm, they post @ 2:53.
Removed:15444557
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Matsui
How long do you want to ignore this user?
rally-cap
How long do you want to ignore this user?
TennAg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
damn.
adk9595
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Yeah...damn.
PharmD4
How long do you want to ignore this user?
exp
How long do you want to ignore this user?
MidTnAg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
WOW!!! Incredible!!!
Wish everyone could see it. Tours in the off-season might even pay for it.
NorthshoreAg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
tbirdspur2010
How long do you want to ignore this user?
DifferenceMaker Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
The ventilation system is going to eliminate the locker room smell eh?

Pity.



aggal01
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
SEC life is gooooood

Fight'n Texas Aggie Amy! 01'
AgsLv44
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
The helmet stand on top of the locker dries the helmet at well. Apparently it circulates air and dries the helmet. (What a player told me - idk how it works) I'm not familiar with college locker rooms & such.
SteadicaTm
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
At least there are still community showers so the team can break into song and dance before heading out to the chicken ranch.

If it were me, I would have made the individual stalls with a shower head blasting you from each direction.
Meximan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
quote:
At least there are still community showers so the team can break into song and dance before heading out to the chicken ranch.
SupaManu
How long do you want to ignore this user?
NorCal
How long do you want to ignore this user?
1aggie02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
At least there are still community showers so the team can break into song and dance before heading out to the chicken ranch.

If it were me, I would have made the individual stalls with a shower head blasting you from each direction.


Your the phobia guy that showers in the handicap shower at the gym aren't you?
Pro Ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Did you not read the second part of that? It was so you could have shower heads from the side too.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.