The recruiting struggle in college athletics has always been a game of one-upsmanship. With that in mind, Syracuse is about to take major steps that would make its sales pitch more enticing.

The university is in the process of planning two major facility upgrades, which SU athletic officials hope will not only benefit its current athletes, but also make the school more attractive to prospective recruits.

In November, outgoing Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel announced plans for an 11,000 square-foot football weight-training facility. Construction for the project, which one official said may cost $3.2 million, is scheduled to begin this spring with completion scheduled for the fall.

SU’s other big project will be the laying of new turf on the athletic practice fields adjacent to Manley Field House. Crouthamel said that construction was either to begin this spring or next spring.

‘If you’re going to ask for a level playing field,’ Crouthamel said, ‘you’ve got to create a level playing field. With facilities being built across the nation, including in the Big East conference, you’ve got to keep up with that.’

That mentality has rendered a competitive atmosphere with each school vying to outdo the other in an effort to woo recruits. ‘It’s an oooh, ahhh, thing,’ Crouthamel said.

Mark Jackson, SU’s senior associate athletics director, came to Syracuse from Southern California with new AD Daryl Gross. At USC, Jackson acted as assistant athletic director as well as director of football operations. Despite being a football powerhouse, he said the Trojans lost out on some recruits just because USC couldn’t offer some of the amenities that Pac-10 rivals Oregon and Washington were boasting, which included flatscreen televisions in the player’s lounge and state-of-the-art practice facilities.

‘If kids are into it,’ Jackson said, ‘they will make impulse decisions. I’ve seen it.’

But Syracuse is finding it difficult to match the appeal of larger more endowed public schools. Recently, Connecticut has gone on a spending spree in order to make the jump to the Big East Conference, which it joined last season for football. The Huskies, which already built a $91.2 million football stadium, which was completed in 2003, have plans for two more athletic buildings: a football complex and an athletic training center, both of which will cost more than $2.5 million each.

Also, West Virginia and Rutgers are funneling money into their football programs.

Syracuse knows it cannot compete directly with UConn’s spending. Because Connecticut is a state school it can allocate more of its money to the athletic department, said Joe Manhertz, the associate director of development for athletics at SU. At UConn, because the cost of in-state tuition ($15,760) is nearly half of Syracuse’s, it can issue two scholarships for the price of one at Syracuse. That saved money is being put back into the athletic program and helping to fund such ventures as the new football complex.

At Syracuse, the initial funding for the new weight-training facility is being taken from a reserve fund until enough donations are secured to pay for the entire $3.2 million venture. Crouthamel said the department occasionally dips into the reserve fund to address budget deficits and to start special projects. The renovation of the football locker room, which was completed in 2001, was also done with aid from the reserve fund. Once donations are met, the reserve fund will be repaid.

Still, Syracuse has to be limited in its spending. With budgetary constraints, SU officials said the school needs to be frugal in determining which athletic ventures are really necessary.

Paul Norcross, SU’s director of development, said the university would love to build, among other things, an indoor practice facility, a 50-meter pool and a basketball-only practice facility, but currently those ideas are just on the burner.

‘We have a dream list of facilities that many of our competitors have,’ Norcross said. ‘But us being the private school, we have to be a little slower and thoughtful because all of this is generated by private money.’

Norcross said an indoor practice facility could cost upward of $8 million. A basketball facility could cost nearly $12 million.

‘My focus right now is getting these two built – the weight room and fields,’ Manhertz said. ‘In a sense, let’s crawl before we start running.’

In the near future, the athletic department will have access to more funds, which could make those dream projects a reality. Under Gross, the athletic budget will be refashioned to include revenue from the Carrier Dome. Under Crouthamel, the only direct income from the Carrier Dome was ticket sales. Essentially, Norcross said, athletic teams had to ‘rent’ the Dome.

Now, he said, the Dome is reporting directly to the athletic director, which means the department will share revenue from parking services, food and concessions and licensing.

Norcross wasn’t sure whether the new funds would be available for this budget year or next year. Gross, nor Associate Director of Athletics Rob Edson could be reached for comment.

The university also relies on donors to finance the facilities. Manhertz, who specializes in securing donations, said the key to piquing donor interest is building and sustaining relationships. Manhertz said he deals with alumni, former athletes and those who have a general interest in the university.

In the near future, Manhertz will travel to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver to meet with potential donors for the weight-training facility. Norcross, who also specializes in fundraising, said Syracuse is close to announcing a naming donor for the weight room, which will cover the majority of the cost of the project. But even without a naming donor, Norcross said the department has raised close to $1 million for the project.

But to finance the rest of the weight room, and future athletic facilities, the university is always striving for more donors. And the more the better if SU wants to keep up with the other free-spending schools in its conference.

‘We have yet to prove that we can’t compete,’ Crouthamel said. ‘Our donors have been very generous over the years with this new Big East and a new management team in the athletic department. I think that there’s opportunity here that people will respond to.’

Published on May 2, 2005 at 12:00 pm