The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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housed Michigan football for more than two decades, but it's about to get an upgrade. On Jan. 19, the Univer- sity of Michigan Board of Regents ap- proved a $9 million renovation to the football headquarters, which will not only revamp 7,000 square feet of exist- ing area but also add 7,000 square feet of space. The building includes coaches of- SCHEMBECHLER HALL TO GET $9 MILLION MAKEOVER Schembechler Hall has comfortably INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS fices, locker rooms, meeting rooms, space for medical treatment, training areas, weight rooms and adminis- trative areas. The newly constructed Glick Family Field House now ties into Schembechler Hall, and so does Oosterbaan Field House. Michigan athletics director David Brandon noted the athletics depart- ment seeks to both bring the facility up to date and improve its appearance. "Our plan is to create a grand entry Athletics director David Brandon said, "Our plan is to create a grand entry to announce that you have arrived at the home of Michigan football." to announce that you have arrived at the home of Michigan football," Bran- don said. "We are looking to transform the exterior look of this building to match the other facilities on our ath- letic campus." The first floor of Schembechler THEWOLVERINE.COM POLL RESULTS a new poll for its readers to vote on. If you would like to vote, go to www.the- wolverine.com. The poll is located on our premium message board, The Fort. Each month, TheWolverine.com runs best chance of starting in 2012? DT Ondre Pipkins — 62 percent OT Kyle Kalis — 11 percent TE A.J. Williams — 10 percent WR Amara Darboh — 4 percent LB Joe Bolden — 7 percent S Jarrod Wilson — 3 percent Other — 3 percent 1,168 votes Staff of The Wolverine's consen- sus: Ondre Pipkins 18 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 Which Michigan signee has the Hall features a museum area, includ- ing championship trophies, Heisman trophies and memorabilia from the Wolverines' 132-year football history. Brandon noted this part of the facility will get considerable attention in the remake. "The museum will be redone and modernized during the renovations," Brandon said. "We will have more in- teractive displays to go along with the trophies and memorabilia. This space will also highlight the new 'Michigan Football Legends' recipients that began this year with the induction of Des- mond Howard. "The overall renovations will pro- vide a 'wow' experience for our stu- dent-athletes, coaches and recruits as they step inside Schembechler Hall. We also hope to open these spaces up from time to time to allow our fans and supporters to enjoy this celebration of Michigan football." Funding for the project will come PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL you've got a building that doesn't fit, architecturally. We're trying to make it so that when you come up on the building, you know you've arrived at the home of Michigan football. "We'll get there. We've got some plans we're working on now, that will eventually come to fruition. I think everyone will be really happy with them." Rademacher is also excited about the upgrades to the museum area, and what the future should hold for those coming to see an area boasting of Michigan's football history. "We need to update it so that our current student-athletes, our future student-athletes, recruits and the staff that walk in there are wowed every time they enter that building," he said. "Part of remaining successful is continuing to recruit the best student- athletes. "You'll see some new spaces in there from donations, via a fundraising ini- tiative, as well as from athletics depart- ment resources. The firm Integrated Architecture has been tabbed to de- sign the project. The Regents must still approve the schematic design for the new-look Schembechler Hall. Michigan associate athletics director Rob Rademacher noted that one of the goals is to improve the fit of Schem- bechler Hall to its surroundings on State Street. "Right now, we have this build- that will create that 'wow' experience for both recruits and student-athletes." Rademacher indicated the 7,000 square feet of additional space will come from adding to the front of the building, toward State Street. It will include the creation of a Michigan foot- ball legends area, with Desmond How- ard as the first inductee and more to follow. It will also feature an area dedi- cated to Bo Schembechler, for whom the building is named. "We're trying to get that right look ing that doesn't fit, in many ways," Rademacher said. "We've got Yost [Field House] on one end, and Glick [Field House] on the other. Then — a modern look, but tie into the clas- sic architecture that's up and down State Street," Rademacher explained. "Once we get there, I think everyone is really going to like it."