OSU pole vaulter

Ariadni Adamopoulo won a Big 12 championship on Saturday. The Cowgirls beat No. 1

Texas to win its first Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Oh, the team doesn’t boasts its own indoor facility. On cold days, Adamopoulo and her fellow field athletes practice in an annex gym at the Colvin Recreation Center.

Only team in the Big 12 without one. No official plans for one.

Until now.

Soon Dave Smith, OSU’s Director of Track and Field and Cross Country and his perennial power will have a home. The timeline is to be announced. The donors are also not announced.

OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said donors will determine the

OSU’s plans for an indoor track and field facility were one of several released along with its $325 million athletics vision plan on Monday. All plans are in its “conceptual stages.” OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg called the vision a “roadmap.”

“We can go from contending for national titles in cross country to contending for national titles in indoor track, cross country and outdoor track,” Smith said.

No more semi-frequent trips to Arkansas — one of the closest Division I indoor tracks.

The plan proposes an indoor track facility south of OSU’s outdoor track and field complex, according to a press release. McElroy Road will border the facility to the north, the Sherman E. Smith Training Center to the south, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center to the west and North Knoblock Street to the east.

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“I’m super excited for this,” Smith said. “I think this can be absolutely revolutionary for our program. Elevate us very, very quickly to one of the programs in the country through all six sports — men’s and women’s cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.”

During warm weather, the team practices in its outdoor track and field facility. The facility doesn’t have bleachers so no meets are hosted. Only OSU’s Greiner Family Cross Country Course hosts spec- tators. Smith said there was a question regarding whether the team upgrades its outdoor facility or builds an indoor facility.

“For me, the huge difference maker is an indoor track,” he said. “That changes everything.”

Smith said the inability to have its own facility always made recruiting hard, especially for the “explosive athletes” — jumpers, sprinters and throwers.

“For large parts of the year, they don’t get to practice,” Smith said. “Under our current situation, we have no place for them to go. When we do get kids that we bring in and start to develop, they start seeing the places we are traveling to and think, ‘Man, wouldn’t it be nice to be in a place where I can actually have a warm, dry place to do my events during the winter events.”

The proposed facility features a 200 meter banked track, spectator seating, indoor field event space, athletic training rooms, team meeting spaces, locker rooms, athlete lounges and coaching offices. The facility includes a village plaza that feature a daylight creek, linear park and about 150-200 surface parking spaces.

Smith said the program had donor money ready for a facility in 2008 but the recession resulted in lost money and spoiled plans.

OSU cross country hosted the 2022 NCAA Championships and the teams earned podium finishes.

“Our dreams are big,” Smith said. “We don’t want to be as good as anybody else. We want to be better than everybody else. We want to show that we are a nationally relevant program.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

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Due to available space and to maximize efficiencies, the institute headquarters will share a roof with the new operations home of Cowboy Football and will be located immediately adjacent to the existing practice fields and the Sherman E. Smith Training Center.

Sharing the same footprint will maximize efficiencies of key elements of the Human Performance And Nutrition Research Institute and the Cowboy football program.

Vacated space in the west end zone of Boone Pickens Stadium creates benefits for student-athletes in every sport and accommodates an athletic department that has grown in recent years to include new areas dedicated to student-athlete success, mental and physical wellness, leadership and professional development.

While the institute itself is funded by the university, the Cowboy football program will have its own space within the building paid for by athletics funds and private donations.

Indoor Track and Field

The men’s and women’s track and field programs support more than 100 student-athletes. These athletes require year-round training and competition space. The vision plan proposes an indoor track and field facility south of the existing outdoor track and field complex.

The proposed site is bordered by McElroy Road to the north, the Sherman E. Smith Training Center to the south, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center to the west, and North Knoblock Street to the east.

The parcel of land is ideally sized for a full indoor track program. It will include a 200-meter banked track, indoor field event space, spectator seating, athletic training rooms, team meeting/theater spaces, locker rooms, player lounges, and offices for coaching staff.

In addition to strengthening training and development for the track and field programs, this new facility will act as a new recruiting tool for a nationally-prominent program.

Wrestling Practice Facility

OSU wrestling is the most successful program in the history of the NCAA, regardless of sport. The Cowboys wrestling program has won 34 team national championships, 143 individual NCAA championships and produced 475 All-Americans. The plan proposes an addition to the existing facility, which would support the ongoing success of the program.

While the program recently received an upgrade to its locker room, additional space is needed to sustain the success of the program.

This addition will increase the size of the wrestling room, allowing for additional mat space and championship-level team amenities. While the team will always compete inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, the training facility will feature a dedicated space for spectators intended to enhance recruiting and donor visits. This training facility will also house office and meeting spaces for the coaching staff.

Basketball Practice Facility

While having the benefit of utilizing the game court and backdrop of Gallagher-Iba Arena for practice can be an advantage for both the men’s and women’s programs, at times the teams are displaced during other athletic and campus events. A new practice facility can help both programs continue to recruit, develop and train studentathletes.

The vision plan proposes an addition on the south side of the arena, which will feature two practice courts, and other championship-caliber training spaces.

Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center

Building off the historic 2021-22 season in which the program captured its eighth Big 12 Conference title and its first overall NCEA national championship, several updates to Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center are planned.

Similar in size and scope to the Atherton Family Arena, an additional covered arena will be added to the Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center.

Currently the primary practice arena, the Atherton Family Arena is a 135x270 square foot covered arena. The team also uses the Totusek Indoor Arena, a 100x200 foot climate-controlled facility. The Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center consists of a saddling barn that includes coaches’ offices, locker rooms, a tack room and an athletic training satellite office. It also has a 24-stall horse barn with outdoor runs and several paddocks and pastures.

A new multipurpose team building that includes a team lounge with study area and a fueling station was completed in 2021.

Karsten Creek Golf Course

Opened in 1994, Karsten Creek Golf Course was quickly named the “Best New Course” in the country by Golf Digest. While the course and related amenities have stood the test of time, renovations to improve the facilities infrastructure, create a more challenging course, and enhance the skills of the student-athlete are proposed.

Course enhancement will include new irrigation, drainage, fairways, cart paths, and greens. Bunkers and tee boxes will be adjusted to increase the difficulty of play and advance the skills of the golfers. The practice facility will also be renovated to improve the tee boxes, landing zones, short game area and practice putting greens.

Originally constructed in 1997, the indoor practice facility will be upgraded to include state-of-the-art equipment.

Gallagher-Iba Arena Welcome

Plaza

Since 1938, Gallagher-Iba Arena has been known as one of the great venues in collegiate athletics. This project seeks to revive the east side entrance, creating an enhanced welcome for OSU fans.

The plan also proposes adding premium parking and tailgating experiences to enhance the fan experience from the moment they arrive for an event.

The proposed Gallagher-Iba Welcome Plaza parking expansion will create approximately 250 new parking spaces nestled in a park-like setting. See full story at ocolly.com

Facility upgrades are on the horizon for OSU men’s and women’s basketball programs.

In a Monday press release, OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg un- veiled an athletics facility visions plan, which includes an estimated $325 million in upgrades to facilities across several programs.

The vision plan includes additions on the south side of Gallagher-Iba Arena, featuring two practice courts and “other championship-caliber training spaces.”

There is no timeline, and Weiberg said construction will take place as funding is made available for individual elements.

“We will take our time on this,” Weiberg said, “and we will not move on any of this until the funds are there and the funds are available because we’ve got to keep our debt service below where it is now.”

Both basketball programs use the GIA game court and nearby auxiliary gym as a practice facility, but athletic and campus events can cause interruptions. A new training space will eliminate that problem.

With the location and proximity of the addition to GIA, existing locker rooms will be used. Also, with additions to other athletics facilities, the GIA weight room will become designated for men’s and women’s basketball, creating a facility specifically for those programs.

“It will give us the ability to kinda centralize our programs,” Weiberg said.

Basketball offices are located on the west side of GIA, behind the screen in the east end zone of Boone Pickens Stadium. Those offices will be relocated to the south-side addition, adjoining the practice and training facilities.

“Our basketball offices are sort of disjointed where they are,” Weiberg said. “I think what this does is give us the ability to sort of bring all of that together and give OSU basketball, men’s and women’s, Cowboy and Cowgirl, a home.” sports.ed@ocolly.com