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UNM football: Lobos break ground on indoor field

By Iliana Limón
Thursday, February 15, 2007

Rendering of Lobos football indoor practice facility

Courtesty University of New Mexico

Rendering of Lobos football indoor practice facility

To some, building an indoor practice facility in Albuquerque still seems extravagant.

To University of New Mexico football coach Rocky Long, it is the least the program can do to keep up with the competition.

On Wednesday, UNM became the sixth team in the Mountain West Conference to break ground on an indoor practice facility.

UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs pointed to at least an inch of snow piled up outside as one big reason the Lobos needed the $6.4 million structure.

The facility will be used by numerous Olympic sports for conditioning, but football will undoubtedly reap the most rewards.

Long pointed out UNM loses about four practices every fall due to thunderstorms or other inclement weather. He said the Lobos also lost two more practices due to snow preparing for the 2006 New Mexico Bowl.

"If you lose four or five workouts in any sport, it puts you way behind," Long said.

More important, he said the facility will give UNM a boost in recruiting.

"This will help attract 18-year-olds to campus," Long said.

Krebs said it also helps UNM attract and retain strong coaches.

"Great facilities help you build great programs," he said.

UNM joins TCU and Wyoming in building new indoor facilities scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2007 football season.

Construction of the Lobos' indoor field should be completed by June 15.

Air Force, BYU and Utah already have indoor facilities.

Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick has been lobbying for a new indoor facility, and Rams athletics officials said last year they hope to add one within five years.

"This gives us a chance to keep up with everyone else," Long said.

New rules: The NCAA football rules committee met in Albuquerque this week and recommended reversing changes made last season to shorten games.

The committee is suggesting the play clock start when a kickoff is fielded by the opposing team and when the ball is snapped.

The group suggested the following ways reduce the length of a game:

Start the play clock 15 seconds after a commercial break;

Move kickoffs from the 35 back to the 30-yard line;

Allow penalties on the kicking team to be assessed after the run;

Start the play clock when the ball is handed to the kicker during kickoffs;

Limit instant replay reviews to two minutes.

Long said he was not among the college football coaches who passionately want to see the clock changes from last season eliminated.

He said the he liked the idea of speeding up the game. Long also said that the newest suggested changes hinder strong kickers and puts an emphasis on kickoff returns, which typically make the game more exciting.

"We'll play with whatever rules they give us," Long said.

The rules oversight committee will meet March 12 to decide the rule changes.

New coach: Long said he could announce the hire of a new wide receivers coach as soon as today. He is awaiting approval from UNM's human resources office before he can disclose the new assistant coach's name.