Richie Grimsley has been around the block a time or two–not only has he been a member of the UNC Athletic Department since 1999 but he currently oversees day-to-day operations of UNC athletic facilities and any associated capital projects, improvements, and renovations. During his time at UNC, he has worked in the Athletic Ticket Office, Kenan Memorial Stadium, and Loudermilk Center for Excellence. Lots of college athletes may be considering careers in college athletics once they graduate and can learn a lot from Grimsley. Here's what he had to say about his experiences and current role with UNC athletics.
- What are you most proud of during your time in your current role at UNC?
During my 23 years at UNC, I have seen many changes to facilities and a lot of improvements, especially over the last 17 years during my time in the facilities department. We have made, across the board, improvements at all of our facilities during that time. Providing the best facilities for athletes to compete in and for fans to watch an athletic event is what I am most proud of.
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- What is the biggest challenge that you/your department faces?
I like to think of my biggest challenge as my biggest opportunity. As we continue to try to keep our facilities up-to-par with other universities throughout the country, and especially our peers that we compete with, fundraising is always tough. Especially when the economy is rough, it is challenging to go out and ask donors for thousands of dollars to improve our facilities. We are continuing to keep with Title IX, making sure that we are always self-evaluating to ensure that our female athletic facilities are equitable to our male athletic facilities.
- What is one thing that you think all recruits should know when considering UNC to further their athletic career, especially relating to facilities?
I would put our facilities up against any university in the country. As a whole, UNC has one of the best facility departments and collection of facilities in the country. We continue to constantly improve and build new facilities, especially with the support of the Rams Club, which is a tremendous support to the facilities department, to provide the best and safest facilities. We continue to plan to keep updating our facilities.
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- I know the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that facility operation looks drastically, but is there anything from the pandemic that you or your department have learned that you plan to permanently implement?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our cleaning practices changed. During the time when teams were competing without fans, the teams would stay in the Chapel Hill area, so we focused heavily on sanitizing, cleaning surfaces, and securing our facilities so people couldn't get in without going through the proper health and testing protocol. A lot of those practices have stayed in place. When teams started competing again, the student-athletes should take a lot of the credit because of their personal responsibility to stay healthy, in turn, ensuring their teammates and team as a whole could compete in competitions. The student athletes, teams, and the facilities department work hand-in-hand to keep everything as clean as possible.
- Do student-athletes have round-the-clock access to their sport's facilities?
Each sport varies slightly, and ultimately, this decision is up to the coaching staff, but across the board, most student-athletes can access their facilities at their pleasure. However, to keep in line with safety practices, there may be some parts of the facility that are off limits unless another person or staff member is present. Our new Bill Koman Practice Complex allows student-athletes from various sports to have a safe facility to practice and train outside of regularly scheduled practices.
- How does your department make sure that all athletes are adequately balancing academics and athletics?
Our Loudermilk Center for Excellence, which opened in 2011, has an entire floor primarily dedicated to our student-athlete academic center. Counselors, tutors, and individual and group study spaces occupy this area. Positioned in the heart of most of UNC's athletic facilities, this area is accessible to all student-athletes. Teams also have training sessions, learning courses, and leadership academies in this facility to enhance their academic and athletic skills.
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- Do student-athletes often make requests for certain accommodations in UNC's athletic facilities?
When building a new facility or renovating a current one, we certainly consult with coaches, who in-turn, get feedback with their athletes about their needs. Whether it's a massage chair or a certain kind of desk chair, we certainly take their feedback. Obviously, we don't have an unlimited pocketbook, so we have to be mindful of our budget, but more times than not, we are able to get athletes and teams what they need.
- I know the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center is currently being renovated and upgraded, but are there any other sports' facilities that are also currently being upgraded or being upgraded in the near future?
Along with the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, the Kenan Football Center is actively being renovated. Both of these facilities' renovations will hopefully be completed by Spring, 2023. Our next facility renovation is Finley Golf Course, which will begin this Fall. During this project, holes will be redesigned to accommodate two holes being eliminated to create a practice facility for the Men's and Women's Golf teams.
- What area of the UNC athletics part of campus are you most proud of?
I am proud of a lot of our facilities, but I am very involved with the Tennis facility renovation, right now. Up until this point, though, I am most proud of the Bill Koman Practice Complex. It has such versatility and can be used by any sport. During tours, when recruits for any sport visit this facility, their jaws drop. Every team uses this facility, it is right in the middle of campus, and it is a very impressive facility, overall. I am very proud of it.
Image Credit: UNC Athletics
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* Originally published on August 12, 2022, by Caleb Myers
