Why Will Stein is planning changes to Kentucky football training center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Stein plans targeted upgrades to UK’s July 2016 practice facility to boost training.
- AD cites replacing strength equipment and adding machines Stein used at Oregon.
- North-side concrete work cuts spring-game capacity; north work done by July.
When Mark Stoops was hired as Kentucky football coach 13 years ago, there was a clear need for immediate improvement to the program’s facilities.
The excitement around Stoops’ hire helped pushed through a $126 million renovation to the stadium and construction of a new $45 million training facility. Those changes, along with a $5 million renovation to the indoor practice field in 2022, helped bring Kentucky’s facilities in line with the rest of the Southeastern Conference.
When Will Stein was hired to replace Stoops in December, he did not face the same need for new facilities that Stoops had more than a decade earlier.
Stein still has plans for improvements, though.
“I mean, we’re always pushing the envelope,” he told the Herald-Leader in a one-on-one interview this week. “That’s our job: to do that and have real reasons why we want to. Not to ask just to ask. In the age of NIL and (transfer) portal, I think people’s facilities started to just get old. Not that they were bad.
“This (practice facility) is 10 years old. Let’s update it. So that’s what we’re in the process of doing in specific spots, which is exciting for us, while also trying to keep building all other facets of our program.”
Stein did not share specifics about changes he was pushing for inside UK’s training facility, but the program has already used its social media accounts to highlight the addition of a robotic quarterback machine that helps players get more reps catching passes.
In an interview with the Herald-Leader after Thursday’s Board of Trustees athletics committee meeting, UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart pointed to the weight room as one area where improvements are planned.
“It’s more strength and conditioning and those kinds of things that help us, and some pieces of equipment that (Stein) used at Oregon that are really, really unique, and that they help us train smarter and better,” Barnhart said. “Some of our strength and conditioning equipment, we need to change it out. And thankfully, it’s been used a lot.”
While the training center is primarily used by the football program, other Kentucky teams occasionally use the weight room when it is available.
The conversations with Stein about changes he wants to make to the facility are not unusual after a coaching change, Barnhart said.
“Just upgrading to what each coaching staff has a unique feel for what they want to do,” he said. “Some of those fit right in, and some of them you need to adjust. And so we’re gonna need to adjust on a few things. That’s OK. That’s part of it. And that gives us a chance to take a look and say, ‘OK, what do we need in some of our other strength and conditioning? Is there an economy of scale that we can do some good with that and maybe move some things around and make sure we’re taking care of?’ We’ve got four weight rooms (in the department), so to have a chance to look at all that in all pieces is really, really helpful in all that.”
Work is already underway on planned maintenance at Kroger Field.
All the seats on the north side of the stadium have been removed for work on the concrete. That project is expected to be completed in July. The same work will be done on the south side of the stadium next offseason.
Because of that project, Kroger Field will not be at full capacity for Stein’s first spring game, scheduled for April 18.
Any work done in the practice facility, which opened in July 2016, will not be as visible to fans but will have more immediate impact on the team’s success than the planned stadium changes.
“I’m undefeated right now,” Stein said. “So, it’s good to ask.”