FSU football: Are elite facilities that important in recruiting?
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football facilities have been a popular conversation for Nole fans, but it’s a growing conversation among every big-time football program in the country.
The conversation is a perceived “arms race” of who can build the best facilities, with hopes of attracting the best players in the nation.
It’s one facet tied into the departure of Jimbo Fisher in late 2017. The story goes Fisher was lobbying the FSU administration for more money to go towards football.
It was a similar case when hired in 2010, and Fisher was right because FSU was behind the times in terms of overall support for the program. Fisher brought in staff to manage the player’s nutrition, and FSU was the first school in Florida to build an indoor practice facility, among other things.
The benefits of both are measuable. Better nutrition means better athletes, and an indoor practice facility meant having a place to practice in a state that frequently has thunderstorms, etc.
More schools began to upgrade their football facilities. Clemson, Oregon, Alabama, and others pumped millions into stand-a-lone football facilities. Places where football players had their own weight rooms, cafeteria, game rooms, and a place to hand out in general.
Jimbo Fisher wanted the same things and felt he deserved them as a guy that recently won a National Title.
However, building those types of things isn’t something you can snap your fingers and appear when you’re at a young university like FSU. I suppose the real question is, are they that important for recruiting?