University of Oregon – Football Complex
Using the Latest Technology to Educate, Motivate, Train and Recruit Athletes
When the University of Oregon set out to build the Hatfield-Dowlin Center—a new, state-of-the-art football center—they knew it had to be a model of efficiency and effectiveness. The design team had four areas to address:
- Education. The building and adjoining practice fields would focus intensively on teaching the game of football.
- Fitness. A weight room, 40-yard timing track, cafeteria and nutrition center would help student athletes achieve their personal best.
- Motivation. Winning takes more than fitness and skill. The building would need to help the student athletes want to do their best, as well as help them get to know each other and work together closely.
- Recruiting. The team wanted to make sure they had all the tools they could muster to bring in the best athletes from all over the country.
Eric Day, assistant video coordinator for Oregon Football spends a great deal of his time securing, organizing and helping coaches and players view video clips of games and practice sessions. As such, the video systems within the Center are designed to optimize the creation and playback of these clips. “We installed a broadcast production system using fiber optic cables, 4K cameras, nonlinear editing and a 70 x 70 SDI switcher that runs through the entire facility and onto the practice fields,” explains Eric Boyd, Systems Integration Manager for Diversified.
A playback network using Crestron DigitalMedia technology extends into two team theaters, nine position meeting rooms, 12 coaches offices, and three coaches meeting rooms, as well as a large dining room, players and coaches locker rooms, a recruitment center, players and recruitment lounges, a media interview room, and the weight and fitness rooms. The DM network includes ten matrix switchers ranging from 8×8 to 32×32 in size. Boyd comments, “Because of how we connected the systems and the availability of the content, any room can, and does, become a teaching space.”
