SEARCY — Instead of having to cancel workouts because of dangerously hot weather conditions or lightning, the Harding Bisons football team has been able to run plays and do drills, making good use of the school’s new indoor practice facility so far this fall camp.
While the interior and the lobby are not complete at Harding University’s new $5.2 million Huckeba Field House, the 133-yard playing field is up and running with preparations for the the start of the 2019 season.
“We had two days already in fall practice where we had lightning,” third-year Harding coach Paul Simmons said. “We had no place to go in the past. We’ve had some days when the heat index was 120 degrees. We were able to move inside for part of practice and get a lot more quality reps.”
Simmons said Huckeba Field House complements the rest of the school’s football facilities.
“We already had some really first-class facilities,” he said. “When we built the Jim Citty Field House, that took us to another level, as far as our weight room and locker room and training room. This was kind of a natural next step.”
That step in 2011 was a big one, and the new practice facility is named in honor of former Bisons football coach Ronnie Huckeba, who served as head coach for 10 seasons, amassing a record of 69-40. He worked at Harding for
31 years.
“We really feel like this gives us all the things that we need to give our guys every possible advantage,” Simmons said. “It’s really exciting. Exciting is probably an understatement.
“Every time I walk into that building, I’m so thankful. I can’t believe it.”
The Huckeba Field House was paid for by donations from the Bison Brotherhood — former players, Harding alumni and friends of the Harding football program.
“When I took the job as head coach, one of the most important things was for me to be able to make the old Bisons — all the guys who came before me, proud,” said Simmons, who played at Harding in the early 1990s. “We didn’t have much. Those guys put a lot of sweat and blood into this program. I want those guys to be proud of us, of how we do things, how we treat one another, how we work, how we compete and how we handle adversity.”
Simmons said he’s shown the facility to some Bison alumni, and they were moved to tears.
And the facility being paid for by the Bison Brotherhood is important to Simmons, he said.
“A vast majority of them are players, but also those who didn’t play here but know how much we’re fighting to do things the right way and how much we love these kids,” he said. “That’s just a great testament to what this program has meant over the years to so many people. We’re really proud of that.”
A tour of the new facility was given Wednesday following a luncheon inside the Clifton L. Ganus President’s Suite atop First Security Stadium. The suite, named in honor of the former Harding University president, was opened last fall following a renovation and combination of the former president’s box and the athletic director’s box. Ganus, 97, still attends Harding football games.
Huckeba, who retired as head coach following a 13-1 season in 2016, said he is honored by having the indoor facility in his name.
“It is extremely humbling to think of that building being named after me,” Huckeba said. “Your first thought is, ‘I don’t deserve this.’”
Huckeba said he thought back to when the Dr. Jim Citty Football and Athletic Training Complex opened and something that Citty said.
“His statement was that he didn’t feel like he deserved it, but he was willing to stand on the shoulders of those who came before him and made all that possible, and I would have to say the same thing,” Huckeba said. “There’s been a lot of energy, blood, sweat and tears, and people who have put their heart and soul into Bison football way before me and will be way after me. If I have, in some way, contributed to the culture of the program, then I’m happy about that. It’s been a tremendous blessing in my life.”
The Huckeba Field House is 77,146 square feet, and the apex of the roof is 60 feet.
“We can do everything in there except punting,” Simmons said. “We have a net for kicking. We have a first-class lobby that isn’t finished yet. When it’s finished, it will tell the story of how the building came about and some of the history of Bison football.”
Harding is touting the facility as the largest indoor practice field in NCAA Division II. Simmons said there aren’t many indoor facilities this big in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
“We’re already feeling the impact on recruiting,” Simmons said. “We’re going toe-to-toe with some of the FBS schools that don’t have near the facilities we have. We feel like this is one more thing that gives us a chance to compete with some schools that play at a higher level than we do.
“We’ve done our research. There are very few Power 5 teams that have [a facility] this big.”
Power 5 schools play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Pac 12, Big 10 and Southeastern Conference, as well as independent Notre Dame.
In addition to the renovations with the football program, Harding Athletic Director Jeff Morgan said other renovations have taken place for the athletic programs on campus.
About four years ago, Rhodes Field House, the basketball and volleyball facility, was renovated, with new locker rooms, a practice court and a hospitality suite overlooking the court.
“The football facility has been a huge piece of what’s been going on the past year,” Morgan said. “It’s been a great addition, not only to our athletic facilities but our campus. It’s a beautiful building.
Also, lights were added this summer to the softball field for the coming school year.
“It’s gone unnoticed by a lot of people,” Morgan said. “That’s a game-changer for our softball team. Last fall, we planned to fundraise to get lights for the softball field. Fortunately, that went pretty quickly.”
Morgan said lights will allow games to start later and help the players with their class schedules.
“They can practice later, which allows them to have a regular class schedule,” he said. “Mainly for games, it gives us the opportunity to start games later. With the lights, it will be 300 more class hours, is what we figured up, for our softball players to be in class on game days. That’s a huge addition that has gone under the radar.”
The Bisons football team starts the 2019 season Sept. 5 at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. The home opener is Sept. 14 against Arkansas-Monticello.
The Huckeba Field House will be dedicated Oct. 19, when the Bisons host Southwestern Oklahoma for homecoming.
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.