Ring of Honor

Hey folks,

I know I'm slacking. I promised a story each day this week, and I am a couple behind. So, here is the next slew of them. This assortment includes everything from the UFC to swimming to my most successful piece in terms of circulation. The Mackey makeover story was picked up by the Indy Star and the online version of Gold and Black Illustrated as well as the Journal and Courier. It is by far and away the most investigative story I have ever done, and is easily the longest as well. I spent a solid two weeks just gathering information. Then I had to write the story and send it through edits. It turned out so large that it had to be broken into two separate stories. The second one directly follows it on this page. I'll be in Madison this weekend for the Purdue game and Halloween, so I'll try and have some more for you next week. Enjoy!

Rusty

Fight hasn't gone out of ex-Boilermaker
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

Jon Fitch has had quite a journey.

After earning his bachelor's degree in physical education and completing a year of graduate school in 2003, the former Purdue wrestler arrived in San Jose, Calif., with $3,000 and one thing on his mind.

Mixed martial arts.

Unable to afford a bed, Fitch spent the first month at his new home in a sleeping bag.

"If I ran out of money then I had to move home and get a job," Fitch said. "It's a huge transition from where I was and what I had. It was just something I had to do in order to do what I love, which is to train and fight."

Six years later, Fitch has gone from a mediocre college wrestler to one of the top welterweights in the world.

He was featured in the main event of UFC 87, where he was given a title shot against Georges St-Pierre. This would prove to be Fitch's only loss in 11 UFC matches. He holds a 23-3 overall record with one no contest.

Through all the troubles and all the success, Fitch still finds time to give back. He holds seminars like the one Friday at Rhyno's Gym in downtown Lafayette. The two-hour program was free to gym members. It focused on different aspects of mixed martial arts that Fitch has learned throughout his career.

As the seminar concluded, Fitch was bombarded with requests for autographs and pictures. Unaware that the session came with free autographs, one young man raced to his car and found the first thing he could for Fitch to sign: a tennis ball.

"It comes with the territory," he laughed.

While this isn't Fitch's first seminar in Lafayette, nor will it be his last, it comes weeks after mixed martial arts was sanctioned in Indiana on July 1. Fitch, who trains with the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, has kept his Indiana connections open.

Fitch is a long-time friend of Mo Amin, the owner of Rhyno's Gym. The two hope that by holding these events, awareness of mixed martial arts will increase to the point that a UFC event can be held in Fitch's home state.

"He actually helped me get more credibility with this gym," Amin said of Fitch. "A lot of my technique comes from him and his gym."

Fitch's seminar brought in about half of the approximately 30-40 members of Rhyno's Gym. However, Amin said his members seemed star struck.

"It makes me feel like I'm giving them an opportunity to come and train with somebody at this level," Amin said.

One in attendance was another former Purdue wrestler, Ben Wissel, who teaches wrestling classes at the gym and has known Fitch since his college wrestling days.

"There's a big gap there between everything he knows now and back then when he was just getting started," Wissel said. "It's been pretty cool."

Mackey makeover
$100 million extends arena's life
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

The largest facelift in Purdue athletic history began as a civil engineering class exercise.

Realizing a new basketball arena could be at least a $300 million project, athletic director Morgan Burke wondered how much it would cost to renovate Mackey Arena, which opened in 1967. So he met with civil engineering professor Bob Jacko in the fall of 2001 to see if it was possible for his students' capstone course to be Mackey Arena.

"(Mackey) was the item back in the early part of this decade ... about 2003 or 2004 ... that President Jischke and I said if we wait until 2025 we're not sure we'll ever be able to swallow the elephant," Burke said.

During the next four years, Jacko's students investigated Mackey Arena and other sporting arenas. At the end of each semester, Burke was provided with a detailed report of possibilities.

"I think they created the impetus that, hey it could be done," Burke said.

Burke then presented HNTB Architecture with a summary of the students' reports. Some modifications were made and all that was left was approval from the Board of Trustees, which was granted in 2007.

The overall cost has increased from the original estimate of $82.5 million to $100 million but construction is underway and on schedule despite some weather setbacks, according to Burke. The target date for the first game in renovated Mackey Arena is Nov. 11, 2011.

Sophomore guard Brittany Rayburn said women's coach Sharon Versyp used the Mackey Project as a sales pitch when recruiting the 2008 Miss Basketball from Attica. She had been coming to games in Mackey Arena for years and liked its basketball-only quality.

"When I went other places I'd look at the gym and see if they have a hollow floor," she said. "One thing I like about Mackey is we have a floor that doesn't move. I hate when you go into places and you have the portable floors and they've got dead spots all over them. It's not a huge factor, but it is definitely something you look at."

Before the Mackey Project could get underway, some preliminary measures had to be taken, starting with the relocation of the Grand Prix track.

Today, motorists along Northwestern Avenue can see multiple projects in progress. Two full-sized, lighted football practice fields will be inserted north of the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. The one closest to University Drive will be made of Bermuda grass while the field closest to Northwestern will have field turf. The targeted date for completion is Aug. 1.

The new student entryway, located in the southwest part of the athletic campus, will be completed by the first basketball game in November. By the middle of July, passersby will begin to see more excavation equipment working on office buildings in the lot.

Burke said that everything being worked on now should be complete by the basketball season. Then, work in the F Lot will begin, which won't affect anything inside the arena.

"We're taking a big house and renovating it while we're living there," Burke said. "That's going to be a challenge for people."

Assistant athletic director Steve Simmerman, who is in charge of facilities, said he never thought a project like this would happen.

"I've been at the university just over 25 years and worked in athletics all that time," Simmerman said. "I never thought I would see the expansion done to the football stadium, and to follow that up with Mackey and the facilities adjacent to that is beyond imaginable."

Despite the slumping economy, $26 million has been collected from private funding toward the original $32 million goal. Other funding will come from concession sales and premium seating.

The number of seats and the date they will be put on the marketplace are not finalized. But there are expected to be around 670 premium seats, 600 club seats and 70 courtside seats.

"You will have to be a John Purdue Club member to purchase club seating," said Kathy Amato, director of premium seating for the John Purdue Club. "We will have contracts for those seats."

One of the major criticisms of the Mackey Project was whether or not it could be done without compromising the arena's tradition. However, Burke and the athletic department have plans to preserve it.

"The Ring of Honor, which is what we're going to call the concourse, will tell the history of Purdue
basketball," Burke said. "It will be stunning. The idea is that concourse will tell that history, and I think it will tell it ... in a very tasteful way. It's meant to be a retro kind of deal where you walk back in time as you come into the arena."

Inadequate facilities limit Boilermakers
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

Athletic and academic success by Purdue student-athletes played a role in the decision to improve the school's athletic facilities.

Athletic director Morgan Burke hopes his master plan, which includes the current Mackey Arena Project, will enhance recruiting and help Purdue rise in the annual Directors' Cup standings.

The Boilermakers were ranked 38th out of 278 Division I schools in the final Directors' Cup standings released Monday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

The Boilermakers had finished 35th in each of the previous three years.

"We were about 80 points from the top 30, which essentially is having two more teams participate in postseason play so there is still work to be done," Burke said.

The Elite Eight berth by the women's basketball team led 11 Boilermaker teams with NCAA postseason appearances. The 2008-09 school year saw Purdue athletes claim two individual national championships, earn 20 All-America citations, 19 first-team All-Big Ten selections and 150 Academic All-Big Ten honorees.

The spring was also the first in 24 semesters during which the cumulative grade-point average for all 500 athletes was above 3.0.

"Back in the mid-90's, and we were 81st in the Directors Cup, it was like NASCAR and we were a lap down," Burke said. "If somebody went into the pits then you were going to catch them.
"Now we're on the lead lap. Now you've got to get by somebody, and that's not easy."

Racing analogies aside, Burke said that for Purdue athletes to exceed current levels of performance, "obvious deficiencies in the facilities had to be eradicated."

"We're getting top talent who can compete here athletically and academically on campus," he said. "Our yield rate on getting those kids to come is not where it needs to be."

If the Recreational Sports Center finally gets its long-discussed upgrade, baseball will probably be forced to move from Lambert Field, Burke said. Plans are in place to move baseball to the northwest site currently housing the Schwartz Tennis Center, the cross country course and the Grand Prix track.

Plans are also in place for lights at the soccer field and restrooms for softball.

Pending the success of Danny Hope's football team, and a demand for premium seating, a new deck to the east side of Ross-Ade -- creating a more balanced look -- could be in the foreseeable future.

Volleyball coach Dave Shondell agrees the Mackey Arena Project will help him and other sports in recruiting but that ultimately, state of the art facilities are not the primary factor when athletes choose a school.

"What really helps recruiting is winning matches and putting people in the stands," Shondell said. "You still sell your program on the people. Purdue is very well known for the type of culture that is here: friendly people, kind people, loyal Purdue fans.

"I still think that our hitch at Purdue is not going to be on material things. That's just the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes."

Connolly seeks World Championships berth
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

A familiar face has been swimming the lanes of the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

Former Harrison standout Jenny Connolly returned to Lafayette in early May to prepare for the next step in her already successful swimming career. The five-time Indiana state champion trained for the U.S. national championships under the supervision of Purdue men's coach Dan Ross.

The trials will be held at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis today through Saturday. Qualifying athletes (first and second place finishers) will then be eligible for the World Championships in Rome which begin on July 17. Connolly will be competing in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.

"I have a couple of goals, Connolly said. "I really want to make the team, obviously. I'm expecting a best time. I'm hoping that my yards time will transfer to the meters time. I think if I can drop just two seconds, which I did at Tennessee in yards, I think I can make the team."

Connolly's freshman season at Tennessee validated her decision to leave Lafayette in search for the highest level of competition. She earned five All-America citations and was selected to the SEC's All-Freshman team.

"I was ready for change, for a different scenery, for a different area," she said. "I love Lafayette and West Lafayette so much. It's been amazing, but I was just ready to move on to something different."

Connolly set Tennessee school records in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200 backstroke and was a member of two relay teams (200 medley, 400 medley) that also set school records.

But like most freshmen, Connolly was ready to come home at the end of the year.

"I didn't hesitate on coming home because I knew that I have a really good program here," she said. "I have a great coach here. Dan is amazing, and it's a great team to train with here. I knew I wouldn't be lacking on the training at all. So it was a win-win situation for me."

Connolly admits her training hasn't been easy and she has had to adjust to some new techniques.

"We wanted to get her as fit as possible," Ross said. "We did a lot of really hard stuff out of the water, weights and dry land. We tried to use a lot of the stuff she used at Tennessee so it wasn't totally new, but there still was a lot of new stuff she had to do. Basically, beat her up."