The athletic department has come together under the roof of the brand new Jacobsen building located at the north end of Cyclone Stadium.

“This will be the first time that the entire athletic department will be under the same roof since the 1950s,” said Tom Kroeschell, director of media relations for the ISU athletic department.

Although that is not precisely so (the basketball teams are remaining in Hilton Coliseum), all of the other departments have moved their offices to the new building, bringing about a higher level of efficiency.

“The different sports will be able to work closely to build a more cohesive athletic department,” said Jackie Nunez, head volleyball coach at ISU.

The appearance of the building is as major a factor as any aspect of the building. “We are able to showcase our facilities to our recruits and our guests, as they are now on a professional level,” said Dan McCarney, head football coach.

“Instead of hiding and making excuses for our facilities, we can easily take pride,”McCarney said.

“I think that it will be a great recruiting tool,” agreed Cathy Klein, women’s head soccer coach. “It is one of the premiere athletic buildings in the country, and it illustrates Iowa State’s commitment to athletics on a whole.

“It gives us an advantage in the recruiting environment because of its professional environment.”

Previous to the Jacobsen building, the offices were spread out in different areas of the campus. The ticket office was the last thing to move into the building, which occurred last week.

Klein’s office was in State Gym, and says that the Jacobsen center is the best place her office has been housed in.

Nunez was located in the Rec Center, which she said wasn’t exactly a bad thing. “We were located in the same building as our practice facility, which was nice,” Nunez said.

“But it is much more beneficial to have the athletic department all under the same roof in a tremendous facility.”

McCarney said that the new building has brought added enthusiasm to his duties. “I look forward to coming to work every day with the new facility,” McCarney said.

The new building brings in extra technological advances that can benefit the strategical preparations a coach needs to make.

Computers and cable access in each room are a definite plus. “I can come to the building and scout Nebraska’s squad thanks to the two satellite dishes the building has,” Nunez said.

“We are now able to use the additional positives to our advantage to improve the overall effect of the athletic department,” Nunez said.