The Iowa State Athletic Department is planning on making several improvements to its athletic programs.

In January, Iowa State received preliminary approval from the Iowa Board of Regents for a $9 million indoor practice facility for the football team.

And that is just one of several major improvements in the works. In addition to the much-needed practice facility, the Athletic Department plans to build a new football video scoreboard at Jack Trice Stadium that would feature a larger video screen, and also is planning the construction of permanent lights.

These new improvements are a great idea for ISU athletics, which have been far behind other schools in these areas. The addition of an indoor practice facility will ensure that bad weather won’t be a problem any more for practices. No longer will the team have to work out at the rec.

Iowa State is currently one of two teams in the Big 12 without a video board, something a team with two consecutive bowl appearances shouldn’t be without. The current pixelated scoreboard is a disgrace to a university of science and technology like Iowa State. And new Big 12 contracts with Fox and TBS make having permanent lights a necessity.

The cost of the lights will be paid for in part by an increase in student activity fees. Those fees will go from $18 to $21. As a sweetener to the deal and an incentive to students, Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde said more lower-level basketball seats will be offered to students at Hilton Coliseum. Students have wanted this for a long time, and in the past the Athletic Department didn’t make the move. Finally it has.

Some may have a problem with using student fee money to finance athletic improvements that will not benefit all students, since some do not go to games or even care about sports. But this use of fees – a promise of past GSB administrations the current administration is keeping – benefits students a lot more than other projects, like the newly constructed commuter lot building.

These improvements are a benefit to the entire university, whether people realize it or not. Let’s face it – football is a big deal on this campus. Most students love football. And more importantly, most ISU alumni love football. The football program is what gives Iowa State a lot of name recognition and prestige amongst recruits, potential students and donors. Better facilities for the football team will benefit the football team, which in turn benefits the university. Most of the projects will be paid for by private donations. In turn, no squabbling is necessary about “budget cuts” and “is this really the most important thing right now?” If state money was being used to fund the improvements, there’d be room to argue. As it is, though, the Athletic Department is upgrading the ISU athletic programs’ facilities, something that will benefit the university for years to come.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Charlie Weaver, Omar Tesdell