New Kentucky football indoor practice field to be named in honor of Rich Brooks
For much of his Kentucky football coaching tenure, Rich Brooks campaigned for significant facility investment.
Now, 14 years after his final game as Kentucky’s coach, the Wildcats’ renovated indoor practice field will be named in honor of Brooks and his wife. UK unveiled the “Rich and Karen Brooks Field” Monday.
The new practice field is part of the $5 million renovation to the Nutter Field House, UK’s indoor practice facility. UK is also building a new $20 million indoor track and field facility. With the indoor track no longer needed at the Nutter Field House, UK was able to expand the football practice field, which previously was not regulation size.
The Nutter Field House renovation is on track to be completed in time for preseason practice, which starts in August.
Brooks now has fields named after him at two different programs. The field at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, where Brooks coached from 1977 to 1994, is named in his honor.
Brooks took over Kentucky’s program in 2003 while the Wildcats were on NCAA probation, which included scholarship reductions. After starting his UK tenure with three consecutive losing seasons, Brooks ended the Wildcats’ bowl drought in 2006. He led the Wildcats to four consecutive bowl berths before retiring.
“I will remind you that I also had ‘Ditch Rich’ bumper stickers and T-shirts sold in the parking lots at football games at both (Oregon and Kentucky),” Brooks said in a UK news release announcing the practice field naming. “So, before the success happened, there was a hard road to climb. So, there is humility that does come along with the honor of having such a special thing done in our game.”
When Brooks retired, UK’s football facilities were well behind much of the SEC. Folding tables were set up on the former indoor practice field and track to host recruits during game weekends.
UK began improving its football facilities after Mark Stoops was hired as coach in 2013. The program spent $150 million combined on a stadium renovation and the construction of a new training facility.
“I honestly would not have anticipated (Stoops’ success), but I didn’t know they would get the facility upgrades,” Brooks told the Herald-Leader last year in an interview about Stoops becoming the program’s winningest coach. “… He was doing a really good job with what he had, and then with the facility upgrades, Kentucky joined the arms race in football and it’s paid off because he’s continued to recruit a lot of talent.”
The donation to the Nutter Field House renovation calling for the field to be named in Brooks’ honor was made by Brett and Billie Jo Setzer.