What improvements were made to "Redbird Field?" RA was built well after joining the MVC. Every school seeks to enhance their athletic facilities over a 5 to10 year horizon whether they change conferences or not. RA happened but I have never heard that it was part of some remediation requirement when joining the Valley.
We got some good news just recently. The funding for the IPF dome is in place and it is going to happen with construction starting in the spring. From a competitive and functional perspective an air supported dome will be a major step forward. Our athletic teams will have a year-round indoor space to train in on a turf field. When our football team prepares to play at North Dakota, North Dakota St. South Dakota or Northern Iowa we can practice inside, away from the wind and the rain, for a game that will played indoors. I think our QB's and receivers will really appreciate that.
From a FBS perspective we would still have a very long way to go to not bring it weak to the FBS (yes, I am using the more common slang expression that is grammatically incorrect, you win that one). Hard-sided IPFs are now common in the FBS. From a functional standpoint there isn't much difference, but a steel frame or concrete supported structure is more permanent, and it represents a greater commitment to athletics. Recruits like that sort of thing. Almost everything in Kaufman would need to be expanded/upgraded. If you look at team meeting areas, the locker room, the athletic training area, the equipment room, heck even the lobby, all of these areas are small and unimpressive by FBS standards.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say we have the money to do it. A major renovation and expansion of Kaufman would come with a large price tag and that money is not currently in the budget. And let's not forget scholarships. You will need a lot more scholarship money to field a FBS football team.
Hey, I get it. Going FBS also opens doors to revenue we are not currently getting. Would we still be able to come out even or ahead or would FBS football weigh us down? I seriously wonder if anyone can answer that with any certainty. It's a chance you take if that's something that Redbird Nation really wants to do. Like some of you I've been monitoring Redbird fan sentiment for over 40 years now. I don't think it's changed that much. This is still a basketball school. Lack of post season play has driven a lot of that support underground, but you can still look at the basketball board and see that that is where the greater interest lies. We have a group of fans that crave FBS football, but I've never had the impression that their roots run deep or wide. Basketball for old folks, E-sports for current students, interests lie elsewhere. Trust me, I'd love to be feeling the support for football like they have at North Dakota St. or James Madison but I'm not seeing it. The other way we could bring it strong to the FBS is to find more deep pockets. The IPF will be built primarily with private money due to a couple of major gifts. Was that a temporary spike or new trend? I hope to stick around for next 40 years and find out.
