College Athletics and the Beauty Pageant that it is

College Athletics and the Beauty Pageant that it is

It is the goal of every university to have the best facilities that it can, whether they’re academic buildings or athletic facilities. Missouri Western State University athletic director Kurt McGuffin believes it is a constant competition between the schools at each level.

“We want to be the best, it’s all about keeping up with the Jones’s,” said McGuffin.

It has become a war, a war that doesn’t take place on the field or the court. The battle for supremacy has gone from the number of trophies you have, but the size of the building your trophy room is in.

Birth of the MIAA

The MIAA was established in 1912, with only the University of Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri State University remaining in the conference. It was originally known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association. That was until 1989 when Washburn University and Pittsburg State University joined the conference, the conference then changed to what it is known as today, the Mid-America Athletic Association.

The conference has had many different colleges and universities call the MIAA home throughout its history. Since it was assembled, 15 schools have joined and left the conference. Schools such as William Jewell, Missouri State and the Missouri University of Science and Technology have gone to other conferences.

Where the Conference is Today

Today the conference holds 14 members. It stretches across Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas. The University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University are its newest members, joining in 2014. The conference has benefited greatly with the addition of the new schools. Bob Boerigter took over as Conference Commissioner in 2010 and believes that it has helped tremendously with scheduling.

“In a number of different sports, a number of our institutions were having trouble filling their schedules,” Boerigter said.

The expansion has helped the conference spread its name across Midwest. Doing this gives schools a better opportunity at reeling in recruits who are looking to play in a bigger, more prestigious conference.

“It has helped expand the MIAA footprint and the MIAA brand throughout our region,” Boerigter said.

Mine’s Bigger than Yours

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a new video board is worth a whole lot more. This has become the norm in sports across not only the United States, but around the world. Schools across the MIAA have added new video boards to their stadiums and arenas. Northwest Missouri State, Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern, Emporia State and Northeastern State have all added or upgraded their video boards. After the renovations are completed, Missouri Western will have a board that is not only the biggest in Division II, but bigger than the boards at Kansas University and the University of Missouri. Missouri Western head coach Jerry Partridge knows the importance of having the best facilities.

“You know it shouldn’t play a part in a recruit’s decision,” Partride said. “But it does, they want to know they’re going to be playing in something nice.”

In the fall of 2016, the MIAA will have the three biggest video boards in D-II football. The University of Central Oklahoma video board is 1,225 square foot, good for no.3 in the country. Number two sits in Pittsburg, Kansas. Pittsburg State also updated their video board, not only in the football stadium, but in their basketball arena and at their baseball field. Northwest Missouri State University athletic director Mel Tjeerdsma believes it’s all centered around recruiting.

“There is no doubt from a recruiting standpoint, that when somebody does something, you feel like you have to one-up them,” said Tjeerdsma.

Turf Wars

The Houston Astros were the first sports franchise to play on a surface other than natural grass. It was in 1966 when “Astro Turf” was put into the newly constructed Astro Dome. The turf went mainstream in the 1970’s across the United States and Canada and is still used frequently today.

Today though, most facilities have switched to field turf. It was first introduced in 1999 at the University of Nebraska and soon after many collegiate and professional programs. The turf is much softer and more durable than the Astroturf that was used throughout the late 1900’s. The artificial turf is much easier to maintain and safer for the athletes playing on the surface.

Every school across the MIAA uses field turf in their football stadiums. The installation of the artificial grass cost the school roughly $800,000. Fort Hays State University, Missouri Western and Northeastern State have all added new turf to their stadiums.

The playing surfaces don’t stop at football. Pittsburg State recently added new turf to their indoor baseball facility, spending $1.1 million on the turf. Fort Hays recently spent $7,500 on their soccer field. While Northeastern State spent $40,700 to replace the natural grass at their soccer complex.

The Cost of Beauty

One of the nicest places to be in any stadium or arena is the press box. They’re suites built for those of us who choose to sit amongst each other and report on the action taken place on the playing surface. These boxes are made for media, coaches, owners and for those who just do not want to sit out in the elements.

It is the crown jewel of almost all stadiums, even though it rarely, if ever has any sort of impact on the game itself. Northwest Missouri State tore-down its west grandstand in 2001. The project was completed in 2003 with 10 new suites added to their press box, along with a whole new grandstand.

“Renovations make the conference more competitive, we can’t complain about what we have,” Tjeerdsma said. “You just have to make the most out of what you have.”

Following suit are institutions like Missouri Western. The Griffons are in the process of renovating their own press box. With the field surface, video board and the addition of new suites, the total cost will reach $11.6 million.

One of the newcomers to the conference is the University of Nebraska-Kearney. UNK entered the conference in 2012 and has slowly adjusted to the cost of playing in a bigger conference. The university recently spent $700,000 on seating for their basketball arena and another $500,000 on their football locker rooms. Athletic director Paul Plinske knows that his athletic facilities must improve in order to keep up with the rest of the conference.

“We’re trying to make advancements, so that we can look the part as an MIAA school,” Plinske said.

UNK also spent $350,000 on branding and feel like that is a big part of fitting in with the rest of the conference.

“If you don’t brand, you just don’t look the part,” Plinske said.

Another of the conference’s newbies recently built a $17 million basketball arena. Northeastern State added their arena in 2013, right before entering the MIAA. It may not have the prestige of the William L. White Auditorium at Emporia State, but it is one of the more impressive venues in the conference.

Practice Makes for Expensive Buildings

The indoor practice facility. Like video boards and luxurious press box, building a state-of-the-art practice facility seems to be a must-have in sports in 2016.

Missouri Western built their practice facility in 2010, with a little help from the Kansas City Chiefs. The $13.5 million facility not only serves as a place for the football team to practice, but gives the other sports an opportunity to practice indoors as well.

In 2013 Fort Hays built their own practice facility. The building cost $4.2 million, $1 million of that was donated by alumni. Pittsburg State soon after built a $13 million dollar facility. Athletic director Jim Johnson believes strongly in having the best facilities possible.

“It’s what you gotta do, keep them as up-to-date as possbile,” Johnson said.

Missouri Southern completed their indoor facility project in 2015. The field house is a $9 million building that contains locker rooms for multiple sports, a training room and an alumni event center.

The Spring Sports

Football and basketball may generate the most revenue for these universities, but the spring sports are just as important. Over the last few years, multiple schools across the conference have put money into either their existing baseball fields or in the case of Missouri Southern and Missouri Western, built on-campus fields.

Missouri Western built the Spring Sports Complex. The complex has two fields, one for softball and one for baseball. Both dugouts are lighted and heated for those cold weather games. Before the complex, Western was forced to play their games at Phil Welch Stadium. The project cost $7 million and was completed in March of 2011.

Missouri Southern shared the same problems as Missouri Western. Before building their $2.5 million stadium in 2015, the Lions had to play their games in the downtown ballpark in Joplin. This made travel difficult not only for the players, but for those fans wanting to attend the games. The new stadium holds the facilities necessary to give their players what the care that they need.

Fort Hays replaced their artificial turf infield along with new fencing for the backstop and outfield. There biggest project was replacing the scoreboard in the outfield. Emporia State spent $180,000 in upgrading their baseball stadium.

Northeastern State University spent $128,525 on their spring sports facilities and fields. They added irrigation systems to their baseball fields, updated the locker rooms and adding new press boxes to their baseball and softball fields. In March they will finish a resurfacing project on their tennis courts, costing $25,000. The school spent just over $23,000 on their soccer complex as well.

The Rise in Revenue

The amount of money generated in college athletics can be staggering. There is a big difference between Division I and Division II though. The MIAA generated $53,272,267 in revenue in 2010, $59,322,194 in 2011, $64,648,062 in 2012 and $71,318,211 in 2014. This seems like a lot of money, but in order to generate revenue, you have to have a product that earns that revenue.

The MIAA does not profit much from these revenues though. The biggest profit came in 2014 when the difference was $2,037,600. The conference benefited from the addition of the Oklahoma schools, even with the additional money it cost to travel there.

The conference is in as good a shape as it has ever been. The conference feels like the schools they have added and those that were already in the conference are here to stay.

“At this particular point we feel pretty good about where we are,” said Boerigter. “So we do feel that people are committed to where we are.”

Boerigter even spoke of the possibility to add two more schools, generating more revenue and making one of the country’s strongest Division II conferences even stronger.