At halftime during a Big Sky Conference matchup against Sacramento State on Oct. 1, 2022, President Jeffrey Armstrong revealed plans for a project that would provide the football program with a new facility for players and coaches: The John Madden Football Center, a facility that would pay homage to their football program’s past and brighten their program for the future.
The two-story, $30 million facility would serve as the program’s new headquarters, named after Cal Poly alumnus and NFL Hall-of-Fame coach and broadcaster John Madden. The center would sit in the south end-zone of Mustang Memorial Field, facing the Mustang Memorial Plaza, and include amenities such as a new locker room, weight room, strength and conditioning facilities and a nutrition bar for players.
Despite contributions from the Madden family and other football alumni, the department was still roughly $6 million short of its initial $30 million goal at the time of announcement. Those in attendance were asked to consider providing a contribution by donating funds to the program.
Although the department was short of its goal, construction for the project still began and is planned to open prior to the 2024 season, according to Go Poly.
However, months after the season’s conclusion, the athletic department is still short of its fundraising goal.
Additionally, the project is behind schedule, making it unclear if the center will be ready for the 2024 season.
Cal Poly’s athletic director, Don Oberhelman, said several factors contributed to the delay.
Pipe-wire cable tubing, which runs most of the sewage that enters and exits campus, was also found in the space near the end zone, according to Oberhelman.
As a result of the expenses caused by the bedrock and infrastructure, Oberhelman said that an additional $5 million was added to the budget.
“It’s going to be north of $30 million,” Oberhelman said. “It’s probably going to be closer to $35 [million] before we are all done.”
One of the biggest problems we found is the site down there, there’s bedrock that is causing us a lot of problems.
Oberhelman said that the possibility of an increase in spending was expected when the project was initially planned, though the increase was higher than expected.
Additionally, Oberhelman says that the rise in the project’s cost will ultimately ensure the Madden Center meets the original project plans. He said that by cutting costs, amenities such as the weight room would lose the features that would have made it an upgrade in the first place.
“We basically would have wasted money and we can’t do that,” Oberhelman said. “That’s why the pressure is on us to increase the revenue to try and make sure we get what we want.”
Even with the center still undergoing construction, Cal Poly Athletics pitched the John Madden Center to potential recruits to draw interest to the program.
Impact on recruitment
In the past two offseasons, the Mustangs have put together back- to-back top-five recruiting classes in the FCS, according to 247 Sports and Hero Sports. In this past signing period, the Mustangs put together the No. 3 overall recruiting class.
Redshirt sophomore Reed Shumpert, a wide receiver who transferred to Cal Poly from Washington State in the summer of 2022, said he first heard about the center during his recruitment trip. After taking a tour of the campus, Shumpert and other players who were present during the recruitment trip were shown a YouTube video that showed a digital replica of the center.
“The biggest thing they were selling us on was the brand new locker room,” Shumpert said. “We would each have our personalized locker. We are also going to have a new weight room. We’ll also have a new entrance to run out of once the Madden facility is built. And just the training rooms and the meeting rooms that are being built for us.”
Shumpert says he was unaware of the project’s recent setbacks.
How will the center benefit players?
With their current accommodations, players have to go to several different locations for resources.
The locker room is near the swimming pool, practices are held at Mustang Memorial Field, the weight room is in a facility directly across from the stadium, and the treatment and recovery rooms are in Mott Athletics Center.
Madden Center will make it easier for players to fulfill their needs as everything will be available in one location, which could also help build team chemistry.
Redshirt junior long snapper Cruz Rubio also said that the center will help players get what they need in a more efficient way.
“Right now, guys are walking from the locker room down to the field in their full gear and everything,” he said. “Then they got meetings in some random classroom. Nutrition stations are going to be huge.”
Where the Mustangs stand now
It’s no secret that the Mustangs have struggled in the win column in recent years, but in one of the best FCS conferences in the country, the
Mustangs have continued to take incremental steps on the field.
Even in losses to top 25 programs like Sacramento State, Montana State and Idaho, the Mustangs showed they could compete with some of the best FCS teams in the country in stretches. However, inconsistency still plagues the team due to a lack of depth and a young team across the board.
With the new facility on the horizon, the team is hoping its resources will help draw in the talent necessary to keep taking steps forward and compete with other colleges.
“The John Madden Football Center is just gonna put us on par with all the colleges across the country,” Wulff told Mustang News in 2023. “It’s going to be one of those things where once it’s complete, it’s not going to only help the people on campus, but attract new, young football recruits to Cal Poly.”