Since the passing of the athletics fee in the fall, Nicholls State athletics has begun improvements to many facilities around campus that have not been updated in almost 20 years. More than $1.6 million in improvements are on tap for certain Nicholls facilities with most of the money coming from donations acquired by the university and athletic department.

Athletics Director Rob Bernardi said with the donations the department is able to find ways to use the fee money geared to the mission statement of the fee: equity, facilities and safety.

“Since our first priority is the students, the amount of donations we’ve received from outside the university has helped us ensure that our athletes will be safe, and have adequate facilities to be the best they can,” Bernardi said.

Bernardi said the first fruits of the fee will be seen this July when two new 36-seat charter buses will arrive in Thibodaux, putting the old bus “Big Red” officially out of commission.

Besides the busses, almost every sport will have some sort of facility upgrade in the coming months.

Until this year, John L. Guidry Stadium was the only facility that had seen more than one upgrade since its first game in 1972.

Hurricane Andrew caused more than $150,000 in damages to the press box in 1992, the one that is seen today was upgraded after the 1999 football season.

Now the stadium will see yet another upgrade with the addition of the new synthetic playing surface donated by Archie Manning and AstroTurf which began earlier this week. The entire project should be completed in time for the annual Manning Passing Academy held at Nicholls in the summer.

After housing Hurricane Katrina evacuees in fall 2005, the floor of Stopher Gymnasium was no longer able to be played on and instead of playing at different sites earlier in the season, the Colonels basketball teams played on the floor from the Thibodaux Civic Center.

After the season, a new floor was installed along with new chair-back seats on the north and south ends of the gym. Soon the second level seats will be gutted and replaced with newer ones, and a new workout room will also be built to accommodate the athletes that use the gym such as the volleyball, tennis and basketball teams.

Nicholls State soccer will also have a new place to call home as a $450,000 new complex will house locker rooms, coaches offices, meeting rooms and a concession stand. All materials used for the construction are being donated by Pipeline Construction and Maintenance, Inc.

Ray Didier Field was leveled and raised before the start of the season, along with the addition of new bleachers and a sprinkler system. In the fall a new brick backstop and protective netting will be installed behind home plate for safety purposes.

The Colonels Softball Complex had its infield worked on along with a new press box, speaker system and concessions stand.

Finally, Chabert Hall, where most of the teams weight train, will get new equipment along with the addition of bathrooms to the building.

Bernardi said all the money spent by the department first must be approved by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee along with a special Student Government Association committee to ensure the money is being spent wisely.

“We want the students to know that everything we use for the fee is in the best interest of the student athletes,” Bernardi said

With the growing trend of schools needing to have bigger and better facilities, Bernardi said he believes Nicholls will never be able to compete with other schools in the country dollar-for-dollar, the quality of work is most important to garner athletic success.

“We’ll never be able to compete with the Michigan’s, USC’s and even the Texas schools, but as long as we provide a safe and competitive atmosphere, then I think we’ve done our job,” Bernardi said.