STrib: Gophers AD Mark Coyle calls Athletes Village 'a game changer'

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BleedGopher

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per Gonzalez:

Mark Coyle peered out over Dinkytown with the Minneapolis skyline in the distance and said, “You don’t have to have the biggest house in the neighborhood, but you want to be in the neighborhood. We’re in the neighborhood.

“This is a game changer for us.”

The Gophers athletic director and his Big Ten program still have about nine months until they move into their new headquarters, but construction on the $166 million Athletes Village is 65 to 70 percent completed.

Coyle helped lead a tour of the site for media members Thursday and revealed about $100 million of the $166 million funding goal has been raised for the project.

One of his favorite spots on the tour is the fifth floor southwest corner of the Center for Excellence, the new academic center, where walls of windows overlook downtown Minneapolis.

While cameras stopped for the “money shot,” Coyle said, “When people come through it, like all of you, they are kind of caught off guard. Like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot here.’

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-ad-mark-coyle-calls-athletes-village-a-game-changer/420684233/#2

Go Gophers!!
 

It will really be fun to see it when it is complete. There is so much GOOD going on right now with Gopher athletics, but it is easy to forget that will the long term struggles of the Football and Basketball operations, and the current men's hockey drought. Once the "money" sports take their place among conference contenders on a regular basis... the existing perception of overall athletic department mediocrity will change among the fickle masses. This facility will go a long way. I'd argue it is just as valuable now, with shovels in the ground and enough structure to tour, as it will be when it is complete in terms of the vibes it sends to potential recruits.
 

Schnauzer said:
It will really be fun to see it when it is complete. There is so much GOOD going on right now with Gopher athletics, but it is easy to forget that will the long term struggles of the Football and Basketball operations, and the current men's hockey drought. Once the "money" sports take their place among conference contenders on a regular basis... the existing perception of overall athletic department mediocrity will change among the fickle masses. This facility will go a long way. I'd argue it is just as valuable now, with shovels in the ground and enough structure to tour, as it will be when it is complete in terms of the vibes it sends to potential recruits.
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Agreed. Athletes Village is huge for the program, everything seems to be falling into place for a true turnaround of the Big 3 sports which will snowball into more success I hope.
 


Schnauzer said:
It will really be fun to see it when it is complete. There is so much GOOD going on right now with Gopher athletics, but it is easy to forget that will the long term struggles of the Football and Basketball operations, and the current men's hockey drought. Once the "money" sports take their place among conference contenders on a regular basis... the existing perception of overall athletic department mediocrity will change among the fickle masses. This facility will go a long way. I'd argue it is just as valuable now, with shovels in the ground and enough structure to tour, as it will be when it is complete in terms of the vibes it sends to potential recruits.
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I always love it when people refer to the downturn of the hockey program. If football or basketball achieved half of what they have over the last 5 years there would be a ticker tape parade down University Ave.
 


Ski U Master said:
I always love it when people refer to the downturn of the hockey program. If football or basketball achieved half of what they have over the last 5 years there would be a ticker tape parade down University Ave.
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Do you agree? Hockey should be held to a different standard. With the number of NHL players this state produces, along with the common knowledge most any MN youth player's biggest dream is to play for the Gophers - topping the B1G regular season standings isn't enough for this program to hang its hat on. Hockey is a regional sport and the U has built in advantages that most any other college hockey program would drool to have. The basketball and football programs swim in a much larger pond with much more competition for top players. I would argue anyone holding all three programs to the same success standards is completely wrong.

I would argue that the hockey program is UNFAIRLY held too much to the same standard as other programs. The Gophers aren't the only school that rightfully have different standards for different programs. I don't think Kansas has the same standards for success when discussing their football and basketball teams.
 


Ski U Master said:
I always love it when people refer to the downturn of the hockey program. If football or basketball achieved half of what they have over the last 5 years there would be a ticker tape parade down University Ave.
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Frozen Fours are the only way a season is considered good for me and most die hard gopher hockey fans. We are the YANKEES of College hockey, and any drought of 5+ years is completly unacceptable. The talent we have pushed into the NHL alone says that we have underachieved greatly with the don at the helm these last few.
 

Spoofin said:
Me too. I remember when TCF stadium was "the game changer".


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Well, we haven't lost to Indiana at TCF Bank Stadium yet. Granted, they haven't played us at home yet.

Go Gophers!!
 



Schnauzer said:
Do you agree? Hockey should be held to a different standard. With the number of NHL players this state produces, along with the common knowledge most any MN youth player's biggest dream is to play for the Gophers - topping the B1G regular season standings isn't enough for this program to hang its hat on. Hockey is a regional sport and the U has built in advantages that most any other college hockey program would drool to have. The basketball and football programs swim in a much larger pond with much more competition for top players. I would argue anyone holding all three programs to the same success standards is completely wrong.

I would argue that the hockey program is UNFAIRLY held too much to the same standard as other programs. The Gophers aren't the only school that rightfully have different standards for different programs. I don't think Kansas has the same standards for success when discussing their football and basketball teams.
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No I agree, just funny to hear their lack of success mentioned in the same breath as the football and basketball programs.
 

It looks more impressive than the renderings. It is a game changer.
 

Spoofin said:
Me too. I remember when TCF stadium was "the game changer".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Yeah, i think the facilities math has to include, everything, not sure one or the other really works.

Still in the end.... coaches gotta croot, facilities are all that stuff are just small multipliers to what the coaches can do, if that is 0, the result is still 0.
 

t-docious said:
Frozen Fours are the only way a season is considered good for me and most die hard gopher hockey fans. We are the YANKEES of College hockey, and any drought of 5+ years is completly unacceptable. The talent we have pushed into the NHL alone says that we have underachieved greatly with the don at the helm these last few.
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Tournament appearances five of the last six years. Frozen Four in 2012 (3rd place) & 2014 (runner up).
 



PMWinSTP said:
Tournament appearances five of the last six years. Frozen Four in 2012 (3rd place) & 2014 (runner up).
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There are only 60 D1 hockey programs, and 16 of those get into the tournament (27%), which is a much higher percentage than D1 basketball (19%, 68/351) and FBS football (3%, 4/128), so it's not a huge accomplishment to cite tournament or Frozen Four appearances when we have one of the largest budgets and embedded talent bases in the country. Minnesota hockey needs to be held to a higher standard for those reasons, and with 14 years and counting between national titles, they're falling short.
 


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