The University of Mississippi Athletics
INSIDER: Ole Miss Facilities Second to None
6/25/2008 | Athletics
By Ben Garrett
OleMissSports.com Insider
When compared to other facilities around the Southeastern Conference, the University of Mississippi offers many amenities unmatched by its counterparts. From a multi-million dollar Indoor Practice Facility for football to a one-of-a-kind track complex, the Ole Miss campus is entrenched with various venues that encourage success in athletics.
"I find that Ole Miss athletes and coaches have the opportunity to practice and play games in state-of-the-art facilities, on the finest fields and courts," said University Chancellor Dr. Robert Khayat. "They are in a position of being nationally competitive."
June of 2007 saw the opening of the FedEx Student-Athlete Academic Support Center, a 22,500 square-foot facility located next to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. With an approximate cost of $5 million, which included a major gift from The FedEx Corporation, the center houses the Office of Student-Athlete Academic Support and provides state-of-the-art computer facilities and space for study halls and tutoring for student-athletes as well as additional classrooms for all students.
The University also opened the Athletics Administration Building in October 2007. A $6 million project, the building includes spacious offices for all of the Rebel support staffs, an advanced video production area and spectacular visuals that showcase the success and tradition of Ole Miss sports.
"Through the FedEx Academic Support Center and our administration building, current and future student-athletes will have all the administrative resources and athletics facilities needed to succeed while attending Ole Miss," said John Hartwell, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Finance.
Having coached at SEC rival Arkansas, head football coach Houston Nutt understands what types of facilities are needed to compete in the nation's toughest conference. The Indoor Practice Facility, a jewel in the growing athletics compound surrounding Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, opened in the fall of 2004, and Nutt has been impressed with the 150,000 square-foot structure.
"Our indoor facility is probably good or better than any other in the nation. I love it," said Nutt. "The players lounge, the meeting rooms and the locker room are outstanding. Our facilities are outstanding."
Located on the southeast side of the Ole Miss campus, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been a symbol of the University since 1915. The stadium's capacity was increased to 60,580 in 2002 with the bowling in of the south end zone, making it the largest facility in the state. With the additional seating, the Rebels have set record-breaking attendance figures over the last five years.
"This stadium is perfect," Nutt said. "I want it to be very loud and packed. As a visitor, I didn't like coming in here very much. It was a very hostile environment. I'd like another scoreboard one day, but other than that, I love the atmosphere."
That "one day" will come this summer with the recent announcement of a $6 million integrated system, featuring the largest true high definition video display in the SEC, to be installed prior to the 2008 season opener.
While that addition is being made for football, construction is continuing at Oxford-University Stadium, which will make Ole Miss baseball games a truly remarkable event.
Some of the amenities of the ongoing expansion include 880 club seats between first and third base, as well as an increase in box seats from 400 to approximately 1,700. The overall number of chairback seats will rise from 2,951 to over 6,000, with total capacity of the stadium exceeding 10,000. Fans will also be able to enjoy additional concession and restroom areas.
The upcoming changes in Oxford-University Stadium are on the heels of several other recent additions and renovations to the facility, which included a new scoreboard with a large video board, alterations and expansion to the Oakes Pavilion in left field and extending of the right field seating area to benefit Ole Miss students. In addition, a new office suite in front of the stadium was completed in the spring of 2007 that houses the Rebel coaches and support staff.
"When everybody sees what's going to happen, they will see that the stadium is going to be very impressive," said Ole Miss baseball head coach Mike Bianco. "It's going to be the nicest stadium in the country, help in recruiting and have that wow effect."
A similar effect is buzzing around the Ole Miss hoops programs, as plans are moving forward for the exciting construction of a basketball practice facility, which will provide separate practice courts, locker and meeting spaces, film rooms, players' lounges, and coaches' offices for both the men's and women's basketball teams.
"Our guys are committed to playing on the national stage every March and this building provides a huge step in our ability to recruit and compete," said Rebel head coach Andy Kennedy.
Among the latest improvements to Tad Smith Coliseum were last season's additions of video ribbon boards above the top row of seating and a new media workroom and press conference area. Other renovations included new championship banners, a repainted ceiling and added bleachers to the student section.
"It's certainly come a long way since I played here in the early 80s," said Renee Ladner, head women's basketball coach. "I think these improvements can only help with recruiting and our home-court advantage, as we continue to build on the success and make our program one of the best in the nation."
Ole Miss also offers some of the best facilities for its many Olympic sport programs. The Gillom Sports Center ushered in a new era in women's athletics at Ole Miss in 1997. The center houses offices and locker rooms for the rifle, soccer, softball and volleyball programs, and contains three indoor tennis courts, a championship volleyball court and another court which can be used for both volleyball and basketball practices.
Located directly behind the Gillom Sports Center, the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium was surrounded with a brick facade and a new press box prior to hosting the 2002 SEC Tournament and added a new state-of-the-art scoreboard and color graphics message board in 2006.
Due to a $1.2 million renovation project in the spring of 2006, the Ole Miss Softball Complex includes an indoor hitting/practice facility, a state-of-the-art press box with video and audio systems, refurbished dugouts, a brick facade lining the grandstands, a central seating section with comfort-designed chairback seats and new fencing, netting and lighting. The project also included new lighting for the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
The Ole Miss Track and Field Complex was completed in the fall of 2003. The facility features nine lanes and state-of-the-art areas for field events in addition to prime seating for over 1,500 spectators with a concession area. The display board at the southeast corner of the complex also offers fans real-time scoring.
"It has some charisma about it, like one of those stadiums that wows you," said long-time Rebel track & field head coach Joe Walker. "It was done correctly. It's a great place to practice, great place to compete. We don't take a back seat to anyone. It's an outstanding facility, and we are very thankful and proud of it."
Completed in 2004, the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center features a 12-point shooting range and serves the needs of the Ole Miss rifle program with a team meeting room and locker room. It also provides the program with an arms room for storage and an observation area for spectators.
"Our facilities are easily the best in the nation," said rifle head coach Valerie Boothe. "The University has supplied us with the technology we need to compete. The facility is extremely spectator friendly. We have a viewing area were fans and family can see the action as it happens. Other schools pale in comparison to what we have here at Ole Miss."
The Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center ranks as one of the nation's finest collegiate facilities and has often been regarded as perhaps the most beautiful in college tennis. Preparations have also begun for renovating the facility in the near future.
"Our objective was to build a state of the art tennis center that would enhance and compliment the beauty of the campus," head tennis coach Billy Chadwick said. "With our new pavilion and landscaping, it is a showplace for the University."
While renovation plans for tennis formulate, the construction is already occurring at the Ole Miss Golf Course, where the course is being revamped and a new short-game facility is being added. To go with the impressive Whitten Golf Complex that was erected in 2002, the new short-game facility will feature a 10,000 square-foot bent grass putting green with slight undulations, and a 7,500 square-foot champions bermuda pitching green.
"We will have one of the best short-game areas in college golf," said Ernest Ross, Rebel head golf coach. "Combining this short-game facility with the new driving range we opened in 2006, we will offer fantastic facilities for any college golfer."
With the continual growth of facilities on campus, the future looks bright in the world of Ole Miss athletics. Chancellor Khayat said that every effort has and is being done so that all athletic programs have the necessary tools to excel.
"As we look forward to finding out what is going to happen in athletics at this University and with the University in general, we can move forward knowing that we have provided the infrastructure and facilities that needed to be provided."