In an era dominated by advancements in sports science, lucrative NIL deals and attention to detail in both mental and physical preparation in collegiate athletics, the significance of home facilities becomes all the more valuable.
Plus, given the new $7 billion deal linking the Big Ten to Fox, CBS, NBC and Peacock as of July 1, 2023, exposure to programs throughout the nation will only increase. Naturally, it’s in an organization’s best interest to establish high-grade spaces for its student-athletes.
Earlier this month, both the UW–Madison’s men’s and women’s basketball teams unveiled recent locker room renovations on social media. Each athlete will possess a personalized locker space and enjoy a renovated space to review game tape and film.
Both programs also received revamped shower spaces and dedicated areas to converse as a team, both for social and game-oriented purposes.
Greg Gard’s platoon will kick-start its 2023-2024 campaign at home against UW–Stevens Point Nov. 1, followed by Arkansas State Nov. 6 and Tennessee Nov. 10.
These new-and-improved arrangements could certainly help acclimate newcomers, like AJ Storr, Nolan Winter, Gus Yalden and John Blackwell, to Wisconsin’s Athletic Department and enhance their preseason preparation experience.
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“We’re excited for what we have in Madison,” Badgers’ head coach Greg Gard told reporters on Big Ten media day. “To have a vast majority of our nucleus back from last year, plus what we’ve added through the transfer portal and with our freshman class, this group has a chance to be a really, really good team.”
Marisa Moseley’s crew also punctuated its preseason with similar spaces in its locker room. Reclining chairs in its film room, a glitzy ceiling in the team meeting area and aesthetically pleasing showers awaited the group ahead of its first test of the year vs. UW–Whitewater Oct. 29.
For a program with documented tribulations over the past decade, this type of investment simultaneously enhances its appeal to recruits while doubling down on a commitment to remain aggressive in a hyper-competitive Big Ten.
“We definitely feel like year three is the year where you’re trying to make a turn, and that’s what we’re excited to do,” Moseley said at a media conference Oct. 4. “We know that we have not been back to the NCAA Tournament in 14 years, and for our team, that is absolutely the goal, to do that this season.”
