I think Pollard has done a great job of upgrading facilities during his tenure. Just look at how far we have come since the late 90's with the football facilities alone. I was a freshman in 1998, the Bergstrom indoor facility had not even been built yet and when we made a bowl game the following year for the first time in nearly 2 decades the team had to practice at the Lied rec center which still limited them getting meaningful scrimmages in due to the size constraints of that facility. McCarney was pushing for an indoor facility for a long time and finally got it and that was the first in many upgrades to come down the road. Bruce Van De Velde didn't do us many favors in his 6 years as AD, he wasn't a big fund raiser nor very popular in general so it's even more amazing the job that Pollard has done having to take over an athletics department that Bruce had not done much to grow or create the necessary buzz to get the donor money needed to improve facilities.
Ever since we closed in the south end zone I am just in awe every fall seeing all the new improvements that have happened to the "front door" of Iowa State. In a short time we have turned our FB facilities from bottom part of the conference to upper half I think. There isn't much I'd change with Hilton as it's stood the test of time as one of the best places to see a basketball game but some improvements to the area immediately outside of Hilton would add some curb appeal. At one point I thought there were plans for an outdoor concourse on the south side of Hilton? It's crazy to think that not long ago the basketball team was practicing at places like Forker and State Gym and the basketball offices were where Johnny's is today.
I think the support our fanbase shows is our biggest recruiting asset. Having nice facilities definitely plays a factor too and shouldn't be ignored either. Where we are today compared to 5,10, 20 years ago it is impressive just how quickly we have closed the gap in an area that we were at a severe disadvantage at one point.
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