Despite the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Athletic Department being subject to a $200,000 budget cut for next year, the estimated $4 million George Chryst Stadium project is going ahead as planned.

The project includes renovation of the structure that hasn’t seen improvements since 1972 and will feature a new weight room, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and concessions stands. There is not a date set for breaking ground, but it will take more than any budget cuts to stand in the way.

For a project with a huge budget need, concerns arise as to where the money will come from.

Thomas Taylor, Director of Football Operations, said, “The project is being funded through donors and fundraisers, so funding is not coming from the university budget.”

The UW-Platteville Foundation handles all of the donations from private donors. Donors have the power to delegate where they want their money to be spent and the stadium project is an option for anyone looking to donate.

In areas such as department budget and project funding, the athletic department has more independence than other departments on campus, with opportunities to fundraise and accept donations through the UW-Platteville Foundation. The faculty of the athletic department function as lecturers in their departments but also function as team coaches, different from other departments around campus. The coaches are required to put in time for both coaching and instructional staff responsibilities their time equaling that of a full-time employee. Coach Ulz Daeuber, for example, is Assistant Head Coach for the UW-Platteville football team and teaches six classes throughout the course of the year including badminton, yoga, Pilates and fitness assessment and is football recruitment coordinator.

There are athletic staff that do concentrate their full attention to their field including Thomas Taylor who is the Director of Football Relations.

“I am different from a full-time employee and I get to work on the football program all day, every day,” Taylor said.

Director of Football Relations is a new position this season and Taylor is the first to occupy it. Tasks he is assigned to include communicating with other universities’ football programs to manage accommodations for away games and communicate with opposing teams.

The athletic department consists of both full-time instructors and administrative staff that are adapting to increased participation in athletics from student intramurals and official sports teams. As student enrollment sits at over 8,000 students and for Mark Molesworth, athletic director for UW-Platteville, it is hard to say how many students will choose to participate. Athletic staff such as Molesworth has to plan for the increased enrollment by expanding the department to accommodate this need.

UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis J. Shields released his plans for the final cuts on April 15, 2015, cutting $200,000 from the athletic department and intramurals. The original plan, which did not disclose an amount of money saved, was to cut the intramural program altogether – requiring UW-Platteville students’ approval.

The recent success of this past season of the UW-Platteville Pioneer football team has generated revenue from donors who believe in the success of the team. This has sparked the idea of building a new football complex for the athletic department that hosts games for the UW-Platteville football and soccer teams as well as the Platteville High School football team. On June 13, 2014, the UW-Platteville Athletic Department announced an estimated $4 million renovation to the Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium in celebration of George Chryst’s coaching career.

“I am ecstatic that the chancellor and University leaders share our vision about the necessity to renovate Pioneer Stadium,” Athletic Director Mark Molesworth said at the release banquet. “Pioneer Stadium was renovated in 2005 with the installation of the new turf and the interior landscaping, and then in 2012 the installation of a new scoreboard and video board, which were tremendous improvements. Unfortunately the supporting infrastructure is not up to par and this project will complete the renovation and provide an outstanding facility for Pioneer student-athletes for years to come.”

Molesworth said this before the devastating tornado ripped through Platteville on June 16, 2014, just after the renovation announcement was made. The tornado went directly through the stadium requiring the installation of new turf, stadium lights and landscaping that the university had not planned for.

The tornado also required the athletic department to reconstruct parts of the bleachers to bring them back up to code and install new turf, as it was not possible to clean certain areas of debris and glass in the stadium.

Molesworth feels that this project will help to further advance the Davis stadium to compete with other stadiums in the UW System. Donations for this project are coming from alumni members and local sponsors, and planning is ongoing.

“The George Chryst Stadium project is currently in the fundraising phase so I cannot put a date on when the construction will take place,” Taylor said.

There is no set date as to when the stadium renovations will begin as funds have not been put into place. The athletic department is drafting building plans, funds, architectural details and is also working with the family of George Chryst for design ideas that will be featured in the complex.

Like many other departments across campus, the athletic department staff finds itself in a position to change with the times. In an article from the Pioneer Spotlight from December 2014, Molesworth said, “Compared to when I first came here our staffing levels have improved significantly. We’re better staffed to do the things we need to do. Like most things, the world has changed. The requirements and things that have to happen now in order for us to be successful are very different than they were in 1996 when I became director.”