By Richard Skinner • Enquirer contributor • April 19, 2010
This weekend, the result of that meeting will be unveiled.
The meeting Basalyga attended that day two years ago was to advise him that NKU and Highland Heights had come to an agreement that the school would annex property for a state-of-the-art on-campus soccer facility.
This weekend, the first major event will be held in the $6.5 million complex when NKU hosts the John Toebben College Showcase on Friday and Saturday. The event will feature 10 teams, including NCAA Division I national powers Indiana, which has won six national championships, and Akron, which was last year's runner-up. There will be three games on Friday and two on Saturday.
Also participating are 2008 NCAA Division I runner-up Ohio State, 2009 Division I NCAA Tournament participant Butler, Cincinnat, Kentucky, Xavier, Wright State and NAIA power Rio Grande.
Soccer is a fall sport, but teams can practice 24 days in the spring and play five competitive matches. Basalyga said he's been working on bringing a high caliber of teams to NKU since he learned the facility would be built and that the schools jumped at the opportunity.
"The best time to get big schools to play is in the spring, and when they found out how nice the facility was supposed to be and how big it is they wanted to play," said Basalyga, who has built NKU into an NCAA Division II national power. "We had already been playing UK, UC, Wright State and Ohio State in the spring and it wasn't hard getting Indiana and Akron when they found out about the facility and the event."
The new field is located adjacent to the Bank of Kentucky Center and has seating for 1,000 - with backs on all the chairs. There also are locker rooms and a fully equipped athletic training facility. The field has artificial turf, but Basalyga said it closely resembles grass and plays like grass.
"Notre Dame and Michigan are the only ones to have a facility like this, from what I understand," Basalyga said.
NKU athletic director Scott Eaton said the move to build the facility was made easy by to the parcel of land and the school's mission to do things first class.
"Internally, the decision was made to use the land and money that was gained, and it turned out perfect for us," Eaton said. "It's really a community collaboration, trying to bring the community onto campus.
"It just takes us to a whole another level. Our student union and even our housing and out athletic facilities, it's done first class."
The event is being used as a fund raiser for the NKU men's soccer team, and proceeds will go toward travel and scholarship expenses.
The official opening of the facility will take place during the soccer season, on Sept. 12.
Basalyga said he's hopeful that several high school boys' soccer players participating in the adidas Blue Chip Showcase that will be held in Oxford Friday through Sunday will be able to attend.
"It gives them a chance to see soccer on a variety of levels: Division I, Division II and NAIA," he said.
Basalyga said it was important to name the event after Toebben, a leading advocate for soccer in Northern Kentucky who died in 2003. Toebben coached at various high schools and at Thomas More and NKU, where he led the Norse from 1990-2003, and also built the Town & Country Sports Complex in Wilder. Toebben also has an event named after him in the fall season.
"Moving it from the fall to the spring and making this as blown up as we can is a real tribute to John," Basalyga said. "He is soccer in this part of the state. He had a vision where soccer could be in this area and what he did at Town & Country and this facility we just built, I know he would look at this as a great event. What's going on here this weekend, he would be very, very happy and his family will be too."
It's not a bad result for that meeting Basalyga walked into two years ago, not knowing what it was about.
"We all flipped out when we were told what was going on," Basalyga said. "This is big time".
This weekend, the result of that meeting will be unveiled.
The meeting Basalyga attended that day two years ago was to advise him that NKU and Highland Heights had come to an agreement that the school would annex property for a state-of-the-art on-campus soccer facility.
This weekend, the first major event will be held in the $6.5 million complex when NKU hosts the John Toebben College Showcase on Friday and Saturday. The event will feature 10 teams, including NCAA Division I national powers Indiana, which has won six national championships, and Akron, which was last year's runner-up. There will be three games on Friday and two on Saturday.
Also participating are 2008 NCAA Division I runner-up Ohio State, 2009 Division I NCAA Tournament participant Butler, Cincinnat, Kentucky, Xavier, Wright State and NAIA power Rio Grande.
Soccer is a fall sport, but teams can practice 24 days in the spring and play five competitive matches. Basalyga said he's been working on bringing a high caliber of teams to NKU since he learned the facility would be built and that the schools jumped at the opportunity."The best time to get big schools to play is in the spring, and when they found out how nice the facility was supposed to be and how big it is they wanted to play," said Basalyga, who has built NKU into an NCAA Division II national power. "We had already been playing UK, UC, Wright State and Ohio State in the spring and it wasn't hard getting Indiana and Akron when they found out about the facility and the event."
The new field is located adjacent to the Bank of Kentucky Center and has seating for 1,000 - with backs on all the chairs. There also are locker rooms and a fully equipped athletic training facility. The field has artificial turf, but Basalyga said it closely resembles grass and plays like grass.
"Notre Dame and Michigan are the only ones to have a facility like this, from what I understand," Basalyga said.
NKU athletic director Scott Eaton said the move to build the facility was made easy by to the parcel of land and the school's mission to do things first class.
"Internally, the decision was made to use the land and money that was gained, and it turned out perfect for us," Eaton said. "It's really a community collaboration, trying to bring the community onto campus.
"It just takes us to a whole another level. Our student union and even our housing and out athletic facilities, it's done first class."
The event is being used as a fund raiser for the NKU men's soccer team, and proceeds will go toward travel and scholarship expenses.
The official opening of the facility will take place during the soccer season, on Sept. 12.
Basalyga said he's hopeful that several high school boys' soccer players participating in the adidas Blue Chip Showcase that will be held in Oxford Friday through Sunday will be able to attend.
"It gives them a chance to see soccer on a variety of levels: Division I, Division II and NAIA," he said.
Basalyga said it was important to name the event after Toebben, a leading advocate for soccer in Northern Kentucky who died in 2003. Toebben coached at various high schools and at Thomas More and NKU, where he led the Norse from 1990-2003, and also built the Town & Country Sports Complex in Wilder. Toebben also has an event named after him in the fall season.
"Moving it from the fall to the spring and making this as blown up as we can is a real tribute to John," Basalyga said. "He is soccer in this part of the state. He had a vision where soccer could be in this area and what he did at Town & Country and this facility we just built, I know he would look at this as a great event. What's going on here this weekend, he would be very, very happy and his family will be too."
It's not a bad result for that meeting Basalyga walked into two years ago, not knowing what it was about.
"We all flipped out when we were told what was going on," Basalyga said. "This is big time".
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