May 22, 2007
From the Nashua Telegraph:
Footing the Bill: a look at how local colleges handle the challenging economy
New facilities require more space, not to mention money

The following article was published in the Nashua Telegraph May 20, 2008
A link to the original article can be found by clicking here.

By Tom King, Staff Writer

Nashua, N.H. – Space, according to all involved, really is the final frontier. New facilities represent the promised land for both the Daniel Webster and Rivier College athletic departments, not to mention the school administrations.

"That's my dream," DWC President Dr. Robert E. "Skip" Meyers said. "That's the ideal for me. The process is really to create space that has multiple functions – competition space, training space, and space for the external community."

In other words the Eagles, who have just about maxed out the room at the Vagge Gymnasium, are hoping in the next five years to become major players in community sports. And at Rivier, especially if it adds three more sports, space – at least office space for coaches – will be at an all-time premium in the Muldoon Center.

"The Muldoon as it currently exists cannot meet all the needs we have," Rivier President Dr. William Farrell said. "There's a whole host of specific needs in one or more than one facility. All of these issues need to be decided on."So, top officials at each school acknowledge the need for a new athletic facility. The questions are when, how, and the all-important, how much?

Meyers says that Daniel Webster has between five and 10 acres of unused land on its campus that can be utilized, with construction of a facility costing between $5 million and $10 million.

"We're just now in the process of costing some of these models out," he said.

Thus, this isn't something that DWC folks consider a pie-in-the-sky idea. It is something that the current administration wants to see done, according to sources, within the next three-to-five years.

At either Rivier or DWC, a new facility would drastically change the landcape of local small college athletics.

"I feel that if we have a new facility, we will be where we need to be and we'll be a very, very viable option for everyone to come to, as far as schools our size."

Rowe likens the future possibilities to what's happened at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. Endicott, along with Rivier and DWC, was an original member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, but the school opened an 84,000 square-foot, multi-million dollar facility known as the Richard and Helen Young Post Center. It includes classrooms, training rooms, labs, offices, fitness, dance, weight and aerobic rooms, racquetball courts, locker rooms, a competition gymnasium seating 1,200 and a field house with a suspended running track. It didn't take long, just a couple of years, for Endicott to leave the GNAC for the more established and prestigious Commonwealth Coast Athletic Conference.

Now, the DWC or Riv model probably wouldn't be as elaborate, but it would certainly be an improvement over what's on either campus now.

"I go back to Endicott," Rowe said. "The revenue that you can generate from that . . . .We've got to have it in the next three years, based on the strategic plan. Well, definitely so we know it's happening. If we had it in three years – or shovels in the ground – now we're off and running.

"Ten to 15 years ago, (Endicott) took that model and ran with it, as Colby Sawyer (in New London) had done before that with a new athletic complex . . . They've (Endicott) grown to their area and their abilities. That's what we hope to do over the next three-to-five years."

A similar vision

Picture this scene at Rivier College in January, 2010:

"Two basketball teams, two lacrosse teams," Merrill said, "a baseball team and a softball team all try to practice indoors."

She even left out one – a men's volleyball team.

"That time of year," Riv women's basketball and softball coach Kelly O'Connell said, "gets a little hectic. It's a limited amount of time, even more so due to classes."

Right now the different programs sometimes have to hold fundraisers just to pay for time in off-campus facilities such as the Hampshire Dome in Milford or any indoor batting cage.

But now the fundraising for a new facility certainly has to be more than the standard car wash.

"I think so," Merrill said. "Anything is on the table. I would say that's kind of the next project that our administration would see as the biggest need and that's what they have in mind. Is there anything formal or started yet? No, but there's a real desire, there's a recognition of the need . . .''

That, however has been said for years. When?

"I wish I could answer that," Merrill said. "But these additional programs are coming for us, and with that means everything – from office space to practice space."

Does today's economic climate hurt the chance of a facility being built?

"I don't know, probably yes," Merrill said. "Because what was talked about two years ago with an $8-to-10 million building, I wonder what the cost of that would be today."

Rivier appeared to be on the verge of doing something two years ago, but the finances were earmarked for a new library.

"Not just athletics," Merrill said, "there's a real need for intramurals, for recreation, for any student that wants to be able to participate. I think something is going to happen . . . I hope. But I don't know. I don't think we constantly do have to tell (the administration) because our president does know . . . We need a field house type facility – practice space, recreation space, that's our biggest need."

It's interesting to note the two schools' approaches. Daniel Webster is trying to upgrade its program to create the need for a new facility. Rivier's programs have become competitive despite the lack of a top-rate facility, with three GNAC title appearances in the last year alone. A new building at either school might attract more recruits.

"I don't think I've ever lost a recruit because of our gym," O'Connell said, "but obviously bigger and better, kids are impressed by that."

Farrell is well aware of the needs of the athletic department.

"No question, if we were to add more teams, there will be facility needs and field needs," he said. "We're having some very serious conversations about that – and we're setting aside some reserve for field needs."

Not only will the added outdoor sports mean more indoor practice space needed for the February-March preseason, but also the wear and tear on the school's soccer field would be a huge problem. The solution, Farrell said, would be to install field turf.

Eventually, the Raiders may or may not get a palace, Farrell said, which is the ideal. But they will get improvements.

"We have to take step one," he said.

Farrell said the school's expanded golf tournament will bring in six figures this summer. The Alumni and Development office will be key in targeting funds, some of which can be funneled to the athletic department or preserved for a facility campaign.

"There is," Farrell said, "a variety of sources. Corporate campaigns, funding, development – that's the key . . . We'll (improve the facilities) the way we do everything else – with some tough planning."

But, as Merrill said, "It's hard. There aren't a lot of alums that are big corporates. Not a lot of 55-year-old men – there aren't any who are alums who are sitting on a board . . ."

Myers has the same thought. Which is why the school has undertaken great lengths to basically overhaul its athletic department under Rowe, with several new coaches, membership in a new conference starting in the fall, and "If we try to do it right now, it would be a real tough rock to roll up the hill," he said. "It becomes easier as we get more success, more notice. What you want to do is start a capital campaign with a silent phase – go out and round up two or three major donors, then use them as the basis for contributions from others."

And it may be a case where community businesses can relocate.

"We have the land and the space," Rowe said, "and we're looking to partner with different people, whether it be fitness center type people, doctors that might want to come in."

Rowe cited a similar setup at the facility at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., which school officials visited. They are serious enough over at DWC to examine other schools' facilities.

"We're taking a very serious, aggressive approach to find those partnerships," he said. "It's a very big (undertaking). Exciting. I think the beauty of it is, in our situation, it's a project that is a lot of fun, and if we don't make it, what's the worst case scenario? We're better than what we were."

Such an undertaking might take as long as three to five years. But by then, Myers said, the goal is to have the school's enrollment to over 1,000 students.

How big is Rivier's vision?

"I think," Farrell said, "you're going to see some excitement around here."

Right now Merrill would settle for two or three new offices and a baseball field for a program that has never had one.

"I'd love to have a baseball field," Merrill said, "but there's no space."

There's that word again. For a small Division III college, it's the final frontier.