’Nova’s new facility houses Talley’s memories, name
RADNOR » As a youngster growing up on Martin Avenue in the Bryn Mawr section of Haverford Township, Andy Talley and his friends had limited options to go swimming.
They could go over to Darby Creek or make the roughly twomile trek to Villanova University and sneak in the pool there. As often as possible, Talley and his friends chose the latter.
“They used to leave (the pool) unattended in the summertime,” Talley said.
Little did Talley know then that some 60 years later Villanova would name a building in his honor on the very spot where he and his friends used to beat the summer heat on the sly.
The plan that began as the West End Zone Project in Villanova Stadium some 15 months ago was officially christened as the Andrew J. Talley Athletic Complex Friday afternoon. The irony of the location of the facility, where the Butler Annex once stood, was not lost on Talley.
“When they dug down to build the foundation for the new building they found the old pool, the one I used to sneak into,” Talley said. “It was amazing. No one knew it was there.”
The state-of-the-art $18 million building, which connects the athletic department in one complex that includes the Jake Nevin Field House, is a fitting tribute to the man who built a program from scratch 32 years ago into one of the premier programs in the Football Championship Subdivision.
“It’s an amazing honor,” said Talley, who will retire at the end of the season.
The facility was built using private donations, 25 in all. The biggest was an anonymous gift of $10 million that came with a request — naming the facility in honor of Talley.
“That was at the direction of the anonymous donor behind the project, but really gained immediate support of everyone in the Villanova community for all that Andy has represented over the years,” athletic director Mark Jackson said. “This is a guy who should walk into the (College Football) Hall of Fame when his career ends here, hopefully with another championship under his belt.
“It’s not just about the X’s and O’s, and all the success he’s had on the field, but it’s everything else that he’s done, the community involvement, the way his kids have graduated, the success in the classroom and maybe, most importantly, the way he has saved lives through the Be the Match program.”
Talley’s accomplishments are many. With 254 career wins, 226 at Villanova, he is the winningest active coach in the FCS and FBS. He’s won one national championship (2009), been to the FCS playoffs 11 times, including three trips to the semifinals and six conference championships.
His “Get in the Game, Save a Life,” which is tied in with the national “Be the Match” program has registered more than 61,000 people and had nearly 260 transplants for people with blood born cancers.
And that is why so many people, including Hall-of-Famer and Villanova product Howie Long, donated to the project. Although Long did not play for Talley, he and his wife, Diane, a 1982 Villanova graduate, felt compelled to be part of the project. The couple donated $1 million to the weight room that will be known as the “Howie Long Strength & Conditioning Training Center.” The Longs were among the many dignitaries present for Friday’s ceremony.
“From the minute we got out of the car we talked about driving by Sullivan Hall or the Jake Nevin Building and I used to think back to the Jake Nevin building,” Long said before the ceremony. “I ran my 40-yard dash in the pouring rain because we didn’t have a facility that would accommodate that. I ran, literally, from the corner outside the doors by the stairwell to the other corner and then to the other corner of the stairwell. To see where this has come and the excitement that this kind of a facility generates for not just football, but all sports, is really a pleasure for us.”
Added Diane Long: “It’s not just for the athletes who are in here, but for everyone who goes to every game. Whether it’s field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, they all take away a bit of what’s here.”
While it is a football-centric building, the three-story Talley Center is not a facility exclusive to football. It will also house the school’s sports medicine operations, the equipment room, academic support, a 100-seat meeting room and an athletes lounge, which overlooks Villanova Stadium.
“The design of this building allows all of our athletes to enjoy it,” Jackson said.
Down the road, the area that used to house the football offices and locker room under the stands in Villanova Stadium will be transformed into locker rooms and offices for several other programs such as softball, field hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse.
“From my heart, this building really means the establishment of Villanova football forever because Villanova football was responsible for this building,” Talley said. “It gives all student-athletes a terrific home, but specifically football with the locker room, weight room, coach’s offices, meeting rooms and academic advisement all in one place. It’s one-stop shopping looking into the stadium.”