New football facility puts Kansas on par with the big boys

"It's pretty unreal," quarterback-wide receiver-punter Kerry Meier said. "We almost have too many things. And that can't be a bad thing. It's got everything we need and then some. Hopefully, it boosts everything about Jayhawk football as far as recruiting and everything."

The head coach's office is larger than a lot of apartments and includes an enormous private shower.

"You need to have a place in college football that you have access to everything you need when you need it," Mangino said. "When you need to be in the weight room, you're there. When you need to use the auditorium for meetings, it's there. When you're having two-a-day practices and you have a lot of kids who need taped or treatment, the tables are ready. They're not sharing them with others who are waiting."

It may not sound like a big deal, but having to pile onto a bus, all dressed out in uniform, and ride across campus for a home game had coaches and players muttering under their breath for decades. Now they'll get dressed and march right onto the field just as their counterparts -- and recruiting rivals -- at places like Oklahoma.

"The thing the kids will really enjoy more than anything else is coming over here and actually relaxing in their complex and being able to concentrate on game day," Mangino said.

"A lot of times coming (to the stadium) on the bus on game day, there are people stopping traffic to try to sell tickets. Our buses are sitting in the traffic waiting while somebody is trying to scalp some tickets."

Wide receiver Marcus Herford believes Kansas now deserves to be mentioned with college football's elite.

"I always felt like KU was a big-time program," Herford said. "It was just a matter of turning the program around and getting the facility to show it."