John Madden Football Center 'Will be a Game Changer'
5/1/2023 12:42:00 AM | Football
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SAN. LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- A groundbreaking ceremony for the $30 million John Madden Football Center, held Saturday at Mustang Memorial Plaza following the annual Spring Game, brought together over 300 people, many of them past and present members of the football team.
"Today we celebrate Cal Poly Mustang football's past, present and future," said Cal Poly director of athletics Don Oberhelman. "We honor those who came before us -- this certainly includes remembering those immortalized in Mustang Memorial Plaza behind me -- and building on the legacy of over 100 years of Cal Poly football and its many many championships.
"This history of excellence motivates our present," Oberhelman added. "The young men on the 2023 roster are the celebration of our present and a reminder that we are here to serve them. And with this groundbreaking, we celebrate our future."
Don Oberhelman speaks during groundbreaking ceremony Saturday.
The new facility will be built in the south end zone, where the bleachers have already been removed, and adjacent to Mustang Memorial Plaza, which pays tribute to the 16 football players and team manager who perished in a 1960 plane crash shortly after takeoff from the airport in Toledo, Ohio.
The main floor will provide student-athletes with a locker room, strength and conditioning area, athletic training and therapy, lounge space and a fueling station, multi-faceted outdoor space and equipment space. The second floor will be home to coaches' offices, meeting rooms, conference rooms and outdoor patios.
"This building symbolizes where we are headed, growing this program, being able to offer even greater support to our amazing student-athletes, competing for and recruiting top prospects, winning the Big Sky Conference and, of course, moving deep, deep into the FCS playoffs," Oberhelman said.
"This memorial was a very special place for Coach Madden as many of his friends and teammates were on that flight," Oberhelman added. "It is fitting that the future John Madden Football Center will be built right here beside these hallowed grounds."
Added Cal Poly President Dr. Jeffrey D. Armstrong, "This building is going to provide a critical home for our football team. It is going to be where they live, where they study, everything they do."
Serving as quest speakers at the ceremony were two survivors of that plane crash, quarterback Ted Tollner and center Dr. Gil Stork. Both Tollner and Madden played baseball as well as football at Cal Poly while Stork and Madden each earned a pair of degrees as Mustang student-athletes.
"John wasn't big on statistics, but the statistics speak about him," said Tollner, who coached football at San Diego State, BYU and USC along with NFL stints with the Bills, Chargers, Rams, 49ers, Lions and Raiders. "No phoniness on the part of John Madden. Winningest head coach in the history of the Raiders. His winning percentage for anyone who coached over 100 games was the highest of any coach who has ever coached in the NFL."
After serving 10 seasons as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Madden moved into the broadcasting booth, working alongside Pat Summerall and Al Michaels.
"There was nobody better than John because John had a rare gift of presenting the game that, whatever level of understanding of the game you had, he could relate to you," said Tollner. "He could relate to the joy and fun in it. There was some humor to it. John was an expert but he didn't act like one. Sixteen Emmys, 11 Super Bowls. 1979 to 2009, 30 years in broadcasting."
Four years after the plane crash, Stork began his teaching career at San Luis Obispo High School before embarking on a 51-year career at Cuesta College, serving as physical education and mathematics instructor, associate dean, dean of science and mathematics, vice president of student services, football coach and, ultimately, president of the college from 2010-18.
"Ted and I were among the 19 players who survived the plane crash," said Stork. "This particular plaza is so meaningful to all of us. I refer to it as my sacred place. I come here quite frequently just to walk around the circle, revisit with my teammates and appreciate the gratitude that I have about getting a second chance and having all the opportunities I have been afforded -- to complete my education, to have a family and have a career that these guys have never had the opportunity to enjoy. To have the Madden Center located right here is extremely important, not only important to the program but important to us individually."
Madden earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1959 and his master's degree, also in education, in 1961. He received an honorary doctor of science degree at the June 2021 commencement.
"John wasn't about excellence when he came here at Cal Poly early on," Stork added. "It was about playing football and having a chance to go on to the NFL. As a student, he was marginal and that's a very generous term. After his injury with the Philadelphia Eagles, he realized that that dream wasn't going to happen. So he came back and the university reluctantly let him back in. That launched the beginning of his development of an amazing career. He completed his master's degree and his teaching credential and started coaching down the highway at Allan Hancock College, where he was as an assistant coach the year of the plane crash.
"That lack of excellence changed and we saw that over the years as he continued his miraculous coaching career, where excellence was more important than the game of football. Excellence was about becoming an excellent person, about learning through the game of football how to be a leader, how to win gracefully, how to lose and be humble about that, how to be a coworker, how to learn to be dependent on somebody else but also also the importance of contributing to the cause. That is what was developed during that time.
"This facility is an example all about excellence, about bringing a level of excellence to this university and to the football program that student-athletes are going to embrace and develop a sense of tremendous pride in terms of what is being afforded to them. To anchor this facility on the south end with Mustang Memorial Plaza is going to capsulate and put an exclamation point on the meaning of excellence," Stork said.
Other speakers at the 35-minute ceremony included Virginia Madden (John Madden's wife), first-year Cal Poly head coach Paul Wulff and, representing the football team, nose tackle Josh Ngaluafe.
Virginia Madden recalled the days when John Madden, who passed away in December 2021 at age 85, returned to San Luis Obispo in 1959, seeking readmission to Cal Poly from physical education department chair Dr. Robert A. Mott to continue his pursuit of bachelor's and master's degrees as well as a teaching credential.
"He got a second chance from Dr. Mott," said Virginia Madden. "He went on to student teach, got his teaching credential and went on to coach at Hancock, San Diego, the Raiders and so on. I really want to stress that Cal Poly gave John a second chance.
"If it hadn't been for Dr. Mott and Cal Poly, I don't know where we would have been," Virginia Madden added. "Everything fell into place due to the second chance that Cal Poly gave John. I hope to God that Cal Poly is still giving second chances to worthwhile individuals."
Hired last Dec. 6 as Cal Poly's 18th head football coach, Wulff is eager to follow the progress of construction of the John Madden Football Center, scheduled to be completed in time for the 2024 season.
"Just cannot wait to see when this thing starts to grow and develop, what this is going to look like and the energy it's going to continue to bring to the football program," said Wulff. "It's going to elevate Cal Poly to a completely different level. It's going to be a game changer, but it's going to be even more than a game changer.
"It will allow student-athletes to perform and to grow to the highest level possible," Wulff added. "It's going to be a one-stop shop for our student-athletes and they will have the opportunity to take advantage of this facility and elevate themselves to the highest level. If they have aspirations to move on and play in the NFL, they will have all the resources right in front of them. Now Cal Poly will afford student-athletes the opportunity to be an elite academic student and to be an elite football player and that's something special.
"Enjoy the ride and watch this thing take off."
Ngaluafe has made 44 tackles in two seasons on the defensive front at Cal Poly. The River City High School (West Sacramento) graduate started all 11 games in 2021 as a freshman but missed the final seven contests of the 2022 season due to injury.
"The excitement is truly real," said Ngaluafe. "I am thankful for what John Madden has done for this program. He has truly set the bar high for linemen here at Cal Poly. I truly hope to reach his accomplishments and goals.
"To the football program's donors, I want to express how grateful we are for your efforts and the things you put into our team and this building," Ngaluafe added. "Without your contributions, we wouldn't be able to reach our goals. We are excited to continue our work for the support of donors like you. Thank you for investing in the football program. My teammates and I are forever thankful."
Architect for the project is Populous Architects, from the Bay Area, which has many former Cal Poly architecture students working on the project, including former Mustang track and field athlete Michael Lockwood, the partner in charge.
Contractor for the project is PCL, from Los Angeles, which has completed over 200 athletics projects -- most recently the Wasserman Football Performance Center at UCLA.
Support for the project is still needed, and naming opportunities are available. Contact Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development Ashley Offermann at 805-440-9792 or aofferma@calpoly.edu or Associate Athletic Director for Development Jenna Tognazzini at 805-756-0275 or jtognazz@calpoly.edu to discuss making an impact in Mustang Athletics.
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"John wasn't about excellence when he came here at Cal Poly early on," Stork added. "It was about playing football and having a chance to go on to the NFL. As a student, he was marginal and that's a very generous term. After his injury with the Philadelphia Eagles, he realized that that dream wasn't going to happen. So he came back and the university reluctantly let him back in. That launched the beginning of his development of an amazing career. He completed his master's degree and his teaching credential and started coaching down the highway at Allan Hancock College, where he was as an assistant coach the year of the plane crash.
"It will allow student-athletes to perform and to grow to the highest level possible," Wulff added. "It's going to be a one-stop shop for our student-athletes and they will have the opportunity to take advantage of this facility and elevate themselves to the highest level. If they have aspirations to move on and play in the NFL, they will have all the resources right in front of them. Now Cal Poly will afford student-athletes the opportunity to be an elite academic student and to be an elite football player and that's something special.
