More Barn Talk

Taking some air out of Tubby Smith's honeymoon in Minnesota is his still mostly unexplained comment in the New York Times suggesting the Gophers should eventually abandon Williams Arena.

On his show on the Big Ten Network--which I watched last night, not sure when it first aired--Tubby took another shot at The Barn. He was asked a simple question: Compare Kentucky's Rupp Arena to Minnesota's beloved Williams Arena. This question came after the program did a all-access look at the arena from the posh lounges to the roof. Tubby's answer?


He smiled for a second and then said the main difference is that of capacity. Rupp Arena can hold about 23,500 crazed basketball fans. The University of Minnesota spent $2.3 million to add "barn lofts" in 1997 which brought the capacity of The Barn to 14,625. What I didn't konw until recently is that from 1950 to 1971, Williams Arena had the largest capacity of any collegiate basketball arena in the country. The current capacity puts the Gophers in the ballpark of our Big Ten foes, though in the bottom third. Ohio State's Value City Arena has the largest capacity in the conference, according to Wiki, at 19,500. Indiana's Assembly Hall and Wisconsin's Kohl Center have the second and third largest capacities in the conference.

The only three Big Ten schools with smarller capacities than Minnesota's are Northwestern (8,117), Purdue (14,123) and Michigan (13,751).

I'm sure these numbers will do little to calm some who are up in arms about Tubby's suggestion that The Barn might not have long-term staying power. Jon Marthaler at The National Anthem Before A Cubs Game picked up on the stadium issue in a post yesterday. Here's part of what he wrote: "I love Tubby, but I would support the firing of any and all Gopher coaches, administrators, or faculty members if they want to get rid of the Barn"

I couldn't disagree more with Jon. First, I'm glad Tubby is speaking his mind. Joel Maturi and Robert Bruininks didn't make him the highest paid University of Minnesota employee to simply nurture young kids on the basketball court. No, hiring Tubby Smith was a money-making proposition. If he can turn the men's basketball program into a perennial power, the University coffers will grow. And that will benefit the basketball program an other non-revenue generating sports.

What Tubby said in the New York Times was "sooner or later" the Gophers will have to move out of Williams Arena. Once the powerhouses in the Big Ten start building 25,000-seat, Rupp-like arenas, our Barn will be outmatched and put the Gophers at a financial disadvantage, no matter how much everyone likes to wax nostalgic about the place. Replacing Williams Arena shouldn't be a top priority for whatever facilities commision makes these decisions, other projects are more dire. But talk of upgrading our basketball facility shouldn't be brushed under the rug as heresy either.

Sooner or later, Tubby is right. We can whine about it and tell him to stop speaking his mind or we'll fire him .... or we can listen to what he has to say. Perhaps at the end of the day a compromise will be found. But make no mistake, Tubby didn't bring this up on accident.

Replace The Barn?

That's what Tubby Smith suggests the University of Minnesota needs to do sooner or later in this feature article in the New York Times.

"How much longer can you play in the Barn?” he said. “I know it’s sacrilegious to mention that, but it’s going to be 80 years old next year. How many 80-year-old buildings are still being played in? I’m sure it’s a long-term project, but what do you do in the meantime? We can’t play here forever.

“For now, we can make this a great environment, which it has been in the past.”

I'm on the fence about this. I always loved going to Williams Arena. I love the raised floor. I love the atmosphere when the team is playing well. But is our beloved Barn a recruiting detriment? I tend to see it as an advantage--history, uniqueness. But do recruits see a historic building or a relic of days gone by?

In the article, Tubby is paraphrased as saying he's happy to wait until the football and baseball stadiums are completed. But Tubby also knew this mere mention of this could strike a nerve--note "sacrilegious." Rightly or wrongly, I envision a big effort to keep The Barn as the home for our basketball program.

What do you think?