Indiana University Athletics
Quoted: Fall Camp Practice #18 - Lucas Oil Stadium
8/22/2019 2:38:00 PM | Football
Head Coach Tom Allen
On his first impression of Lucas Oil Stadium…
"It's beautiful. They've done a great job and it has a great feel to it. It's first class all the way. I didn't get a chance to coach in here at the high school level, they hadn't built it yet, but I've watched a few games here, but this will be my first time on the field here and it's awesome."
On the importance of getting the team in the stadium…
"It's important. It really is from the perspective of walking in here, but it's the reality of catching punts, catching kicks and catching passes. The lighting is different. Being able to know what it is going to feel like, going to look like, being able to find the ball when you're tracking it, especially on special teams. Those are the things that really matter and just the familiarity helps, so it feels like the next game and not something new."
On coaching his first game in Lucas Oil Stadium…
"The Big Ten Championship game is played here, so our season starts here and the regular season ends here. That's the goal, that's what we set and that's our objective. Just being able to get in this venue, it's a beautiful place. This is kind of my second home. I was born in New Castle. I spent nine years in Indianapolis and at Ben Davis, so this a special to me and it feels great to be home."
On the closeness of the season…
"We were just talking about it on the way over. You get on the buses, it has that Friday feel where you're headed to the location you're going to be playing at. It's hard to imagine that it's already back again, 2019. We got games tomorrow, that start the college season. It's here. It's definitely a fun time. Can't wait."
Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass
On the state of Indiana Athletics…
"It's an optimistic time of year, we're all just starting out undefeated and we're really excited about Indiana Athletics all across the board. Particularly our premier sports, men's basketball and football. I feel like the foundation is getting laid to get where we want to be and we are optimistic about the future. Getting ready to start football today and men's basketball before you know it. I know there is keen interest in those two and we're optimistic about both."
On the importance of Indiana Football in Indianapolis…
"I love having Indiana Football up here, particularly when it's a Ball State home game. We want to keep as many of our home games in Bloomington to create a tradition of people coming down there for games. I asked Coach Allen how many times he would like to play in Lucas Oil Stadium in a season and his response was twice, a nonconference game and a conference championship."
On the expectations of Indiana Athletics this season…
"I think it's sort of lazy for an administrator to say if we don't win this many games, if we don't qualify for this postseason tournament, if we don't do this or that, they go on automatic pilot, 'It's not my fault, I set it and that's where it is". Things happen, quarterbacks go down, weird games happen, injuries occur. So, it's no secret that I'm ambitious and I want to be at a championship level, but I think it's short-sided to set, what are ultimately, arbitrary goals."
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