The play on a college football field is only part of what goes on with the program. Besides the whole recruiting system, the facilities that a program boasts are often a reflection of that program's achievements. The Bleacher Report recently ranked its top 25 college football facilities. From swimming pools with treadmills on the bottom, to 60-inch plasma televisions, weights and machines, sports medicine and office space, these facilities are the ones that impress the most. For photos and more details, click on each team name.
25. Arkansas
Part of what Arkansas used to attract head coach Bret Bielema and snag him from Wisconsin was the excellent facilities the program can offer. The team has just opened a $35-million football center in conjunction with the existing indoor practice facilities and everything available at Razorback Stadium. If Bielema can use these facilities to attract recruits, the Razorbacks will again be competitive soon in the SEC West.
24. Virginia Tech
The program is in the process of hammering out the details of building a new indoor practice facility, which will help boost the Va. Tech facilities in these rankings. For the time being, the current football complex inhabited by Beamer and his staff is filled with Va. Tech tradition, and provides an excellent place for recruits to learn about the program.
23. Ole Miss
Renovations to Vaught Hemingway Stadium that provide locker room space on game day, as well as a team meeting room, finally let the facilities be ranked with the best in the country.
22. Texas Tech
The team's training facility has been recently renovated with updated locker rooms and weight rooms. The trophy room, which runs down Red Raider history, is an entertaining place to spend some time, and the uniquely "Texas" feel of the place is perfect for Lubbock.
21. Auburn
The university recently built a 92,000-square-foot facility that includes, among other things, a field with a whole 100 yards.
The facility also includes modern workout equipment, as opposed to the outdated junk that previous classes utilized.
20. Texas A & M
The Aggies' facilities, while solid, are not as palatial as those found in Tuscaloosa or as modern as those at LSU. That said, Texas A&M is certainly not lacking for facilities, with plenty of equipment and space in the McFerrin Athletic Center.
19. Michigan State
This building has a gorgeous lobby, and features Spartan history to go with plenty of space for current players and staff to complete current football tasks. This team is going to be a legit player in the Big Ten in the near future, and with these facilities, attracting recruits just gets easier.
18. Florida
When Urban Meyer was coaching the Gators, the university renovated the facility to be one of the most eye-popping, attractive structures of its nature in the country.
17. TCU
The team is getting a new locker room in the stadium, and the funds gained by the program after the transition to the Big 12 conference will help keep this program near the top of the rankings when it comes to facilities.
16. Tennessee
The Vols have recently completed renovations on Neyland, helping to make the stadium fresh and continue to stay near the top of the stadium rankings. Last fall, the team moved into new digs, a $45-million facility that includes a restaurant, a fighting cage, and recharging stations all over the place.
15. Cal
Memorial Stadium is undergoing renovations and will be one of the best stadiums west of the Mississippi when completed. The facilities, as shown in the video, are ridiculously opulent, and provide everything a football player might need, including locker rooms, equipment for strength and conditioning and a plethora of charging stations. The coaching staff needs to use this tool, and use it well, to get the Golden Bears back to a place of national prominence.
14. Georgia
The newly renovated Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall pushes the program higher on this list when coupled with the experience that is Sanford Stadium. The facility is a recruit's dream, with cutting edge equipment, indoor practice fields and plenty of other amenities including televisions, charging stations and large images of UGA scattered at random throughout the facility.
13. Penn State
The separate football complex provides everything needed for football players to sustain themselves when away from the stadium. The Lasch Football Building includes state-of-the-art equipment, plenty of space for meetings, video sessions and a unique Nittany Lion feel. When put together with Beaver Stadium, Penn State has excellent football facilities that other elite college football programs can only hope to match.
12. NC State
The Murphy Center is home to N.C. State's equipment center, sports medicine center and areas for strength and conditioning. Check it out, the place is amazing. Checking in at 103,254 square feet, the facility is one of the largest in the nation dedicated to a football program.
11. Michigan
Michigan is one of the premier programs in college football, or at least they used to be, and the cachet that is attached to the name of Wolverine football carries with it enough pull to attract high-caliber talent. This kind of facility does not hurt, either.
10. USC
From practice fields to media rooms, and training rooms to coaching offices, this facility is incredible. USC has the history, tradition and stadium to attract recruits. Now the facilities, unveiled in July of 2012, provide the extra incentive Kiffin and his staff may need to help lure in elite recruits at a faster pace than ever.
9. Oklahoma
The Oklahoma facilities, while not as cutting edge or filled with as many gadgets as some other places, are sufficient to wow recruits and attract the best talent in the nation to play for the program. The meeting rooms are absolutely beautiful. The history of the program, its accomplishments and its trophies are detailed throughout the Switzer Center and the rest of the football complex.
Oklahoma State's indoor practice facility really is something else. The program has made incredible strides in recent seasons. These facilities are going to do nothing but help Gundy's cause.
7. Nebraska
The true highlight is the weight room, which is absolutely stunning. The rest of the complex is great, with plenty of space for everything football related, including a fitness center, office space, meeting space, video rooms and plenty of screens.
6. LSU
LSU put together a beautiful facility when they built the Football Operations Center. The team has access to weight rooms, video rooms, coaching offices, locker rooms and a training room all within the walls of this building. There is an indoor practice field, as well as practice fields immediately outside the building. Built in 2006, the complex is very modern and provides the perfect combination to attract top talent when coupled with the allure of Tiger Stadium.
5. Ohio State
The Buckeyes also don't skimp when it comes to training and practice facilities. The Woody Hayes Athletic Center is beautiful, and the football program maintains sole possession of the complex as it doesn't share with other collegiate sports. That building includes offices, meeting rooms, a weight room and memorabilia displays. The team also has both indoor and outdoor practice facilities.
4. Notre Dame
The Guglielmino Athletics Complex is incredible. Equipment rooms, meeting rooms, locker rooms, offices, strength and conditioning facilities and a fitness center are all a part of this facility, along with a treadmill at the bottom of one of the exercise pools.
Yes, this is an acceptable use of a treadmill.
3. Texas
In a state that idolizes football, the Longhorn football program has long been Mecca, and these ridiculous digs for the football program cement that status. Ridiculous screens to entertain players and teach the system are scattered across the facility, as well as hot tubs, pools, meeting rooms, a practice field and a plethora of burnt orange.
2. Alabama
The new facilities that the Crimson Tide now live in are absolutely ridiculous.
Besides the incredible fitness center, video rooms, conference rooms, locker rooms and offices, the complex features arcade games, pool tables and 30-foot-long hot tubs, among other amenities.
Check out the video tour. It's pretty clear that the best football program in the nation also has one of the best football facilities.
1.Oregon
Oregon benefits from the contributions provided by Nike's co-founder, Phil Knight. Knight's donations to the Ducks helped build the new football facilities, which are absolutely stunning.
The Ducks are everywhere, from the "O" over the entrance to the Ducks throwing away a beaver on top of the trash cans. This facility was built with Oregon football at its heart.
The locker room is two stories, and the lockers themselves cost nearly $26,000 apiece. There is also the The Moshofsky Sports Center, which was the first indoor practice facility and training center in the Pac-12, and is turned into a huge tailgating venue on game day.
There are few programs that can match Oregon's excellence on the football field outside of the SEC, and even that conference has no facilities that equal Oregon's.
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