Ohio’s men’s basketball team is spending its season breaking down barriers — it set several all-time team records — but beginning this summer, the athletic department will shift its focus to knocking down a physical wall.
Ohio Athletics will be outfitting the team with a renovated locker room facility, which will cost an estimated $300,000. The project will bring a new look to the Bobcats’ space, as nearly everything from the floor up will be modernized by the time the team starts working out in August.
“As with most of our projects, it’s somewhat of a fluid schedule,” said Jason Farmer, Ohio assistant athletic director for facilities and operations. “We’re going to begin the process and try to get the project done sometime this Spring Quarter with the intention of being done Aug. 1.”
The project will constitute a complete overhaul of the Bobcats’ seating arrangement and flooring.
As the locker room is currently configured, the players’ lockers are arranged in a square, with the exception of one walkway, and span the majority of Ohio’s main locker room area. A half-wall separates the lockers from a small lounge space with a television and a couch.
During the renovation, the half-wall will be removed to maximize the room’s functionality, and lockers will be laid out in more of a “U-formation” to further open the space.
Additionally, the Bobcats might have the opportunity to get their hands on what Farmer calls an updated “graphics package”.
The assembly of electronics features a pair of flat-screen televisions, a touch-screen wall display and a news-style ticker that will flash scores and other customizable messages.
The “ready room,” where the players prep, will also be equipped with theater-style permanent seats, which will replace folding ones that players and coaches use to watch film now.
Ohio coach John Groce said he believes his players deserve a state-of-the-art facility, and if Ohio Athletics’ fundraising effort reaches its goals, the Bobcats will have just that when they get back to business in the fall.
“There’s no other place other than their dorm room where (players) spend more time than our locker room — there just isn’t,” he said. “So it helps a great deal. As I said, we’re excited about it. It’s been in the works for a great while. Our athletic department and our development office have worked very hard to garner support for the project, and we’re getting close and we’re excited that we’re going to get some changes in there.”
If the athletic department is able to gather the necessary funds, photographs of past Ohio greats won’t be the only reminder of the Bobcats’ legacy when walking through the locker room door.
An add-on to the project is outfitting the locker room’s entryway with hardwood from The Convo’s old floor, which was last used during the 2002–03 season.
Farmer said there are two large pieces of the old floor in storage that could be incorporated into the redesigned entryway.
The athletic department has had the project in the works for more than a year and is funding it entirely by gathering donations from former student athletes, basketball season-ticket holders and other targeted donors via a mailing and individual meetings. All money must be raised before the project can begin.
Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus said it is very important to the athletic department to have up-to-date facilities for coach and player use.
The swimming and diving, volleyball, and wrestling locker rooms were recently renovated, and there are women’s basketball and football locker room renovations on the athletic department’s radar.
“Along with things to help build your program, like keeping competitive salaries for your coaches, keeping a quality operating budget for facilities is one of that kind of trifecta of extremely important areas in order to build and be competitive in any sport,” Schaus said, mentioning recruiting as the other key cog. “It’s kind of an animal that we have to feed on a regular basis.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
