BOULDER, Colo.—The University of Colorado fulfilled a clause in men’s basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik’s contract by breaking ground on a new practice facility Thursday.
Now, if Bzdelik were to leave for another school in the next two years—and he insists he’s in Boulder for the long haul—CU would be owed $500,000. Had ground not been broken on the facility, Bzdelik’s buyout would have gone down to zero if another university tried to lure him from Boulder.
Adjacent to the Coors Events Center, the new $10.8 million facility—funded through private donations—will be used by both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the volleyball team.
It will add 35,000 square feet to the arena and feature two dedicated basketball-volleyball courts, locker rooms, coaches offices and team meeting rooms.
The target date for completion is August 2011.
Athletic director Mike Bohn said the new facility will eliminate the challenges of aligning practice times with class schedules for student-athletes. Because the Coors Events Center is used for other events such as conferences, concerts and class exams, the new facility will eliminate conflicts for those other non-sports uses.
Bzdelik said the new digs will help in recruiting but he stressed that the overall student body, and not just athletes, will benefit.
“Kids that want to pursue excellence need a facility in which to pursue it, it’s that simple,” Bzdelik said, adding: “This facility benefits all students. When we have to go to the Rec Center, we take time from other students using the Rec Center. And I know there has been a couple of times we had to go in there and tie up the Rec Center maybe for five hours between women’s and men’s basketball.”
Bzdelik insisted his contract clause that called for the groundbreaking “wasn’t a big deal to me.”
“When it’s in writing it always holds people a little bit more accountable. There is a little bit more of a sense of urgency, not that there wasn’t, but it helps,” he said.
Bzdelik asked for the clause in his contract when he left Air Force for the Buffaloes three years ago.
“It was not to benefit me, it was to benefit the program,” Bzdelik said. “I think that’s the most important thing. It’s not about me, it’s not to benefit me. It’s about benefiting the student-athlete.”
Bzdelik said the Buffs’ basketball program won’t have to wait for the facility’s completion to benefit from it, either.
“I think it’s tangible evidence that when we bring a recruit in now that they see things are happening. It’s not just talk,” Bzdelik said. “Now they see the new weight room, they see the new locker room, they see a structure being built. They go, ‘Oh yeah, this is happening.’
Bzdelik reiterated his intention to stay at Colorado.
“I’m deeply committed here from the standpoint that we’re building this thing. I think people can see that the momentum is being built,” he said.
He noted his team went 13-3 last season and returns All-Big 12 player Cory Higgins and Alec Burks, the league’s freshman of the year, in addition to freshman guard Shannon Sharpe, who was sidelined last season by an injury.
“Everything is going in a positive way,” Bzdelik said. “Attendance has gone up 40 percent. We were 13-3 at home. We’ve played one of the nation’s top 25 schedules. We were one game away from going to the NIT. We were two games away perhaps from the NCAA tournament.
“All this is building, it’s building, it’s building. So I’m excited about the future and I think other people are and we just keep moving forward.”
Asked if he’ll be in Boulder for a while then, Bzdelik replied: “Unless they tell me not to and I hope that doesn’t happen.”
