Auburn AD John Cohen provides the latest on men’s basketball’s need for an independent practice-only facility

AUBURN — Is Auburn men’s basketball any closer to getting a new, independent practice-only facility? From speaking with Director of Athletics John Cohen, it seems like the answer is yes, but to what extent remains unclear.

In 2021, the plan was in motion for Auburn to get a practice-only facility that would be a new building essentially added onto the current practice facility portion of Neville Arena. It would be strictly for men’s basketball. The basketball facility was approved by Auburn’s Board of Trustees in February of 2022, and architectural Goodwin Mills Caywood was hired in April of that year.

But then in September of 2022, head coach Bruce Pearl said publicly that the practice-only facility plans were being put “on hold.”

This decision was made as NIL was ramping up in college athletics. The opportunity to build a new facility might create competition for money from donors, or at least that was the public message.

“Would I love a better teaching space? Would it be easier on our student athletes to be able to, you know, have us not have to share time with everybody? We’re making it work,” Pearl said in 2022. “But when we do it, we’re gonna do it right.”

When the plans were approved by the BOT in February of 2022, the Auburn basketball program was about to win their second regular season SEC championship under Pearl. And now, heading into the summer of 2024, the program is coming off winning their second SEC Tournament championship under Pearl. At the same time, the Tigers haven’t found prolonged NCAA Tournament success since the Final Four, going 2-3 over the last three seasons.

In football, Auburn’s Board of Trustees recently approved an initiative to add a video board to Jordan-hare Stadium’s north end zone. Ground is expected to be broken in the summer of 2024 and the project is expected to be completed by the beginning of the 2025 season. The project will be financed by athletics department funds.

And in baseball, Auburn Athletics finalized plans for a previously approved $30 million Plainsman Park renovation project that began in the summer of 2023 and is ongoing today.

So, where do things stand with the men’s basketball practice-only facility now?

Auburn Live recently spoke with Cohen about it.

“I’m making plans with Coach Pearl and his staff, and our staff, to enhance his facilities for sure,” Cohen said. “Things like board approval, architectural final plans, final funding, have to happen before we’re prepared to make a comment. We’re like where we’re positioned right now to help both our basketball programs by enhancing their facilities.”

Sources have indicated to Auburn Live that the current plans include likely renovating the current space inside the practice portion of Neville Arena to create more office space and lounge area for the men’s basketball coaches, and potentially adding more practice court space, among other things. Women’s basketball, volleyball and gymnastics would all be moved around within different facilities on campus.

Again, nothing has been officially voted on by the Board of Trustees or approved, but sources indicate that’s the current direction things are headed versus building an entirely new building. Cohen said “nothing is off the table” at this time.

“We have plans, but none of those plans can be shared until the Board of Trustees says you can proceed. We’re not just there just yet,” Cohen said.

“I do recognize that from a scheduling standpoint, we have to make some adjustments when you have gymnastics, volleyball, women’s basketball and men’s basketball all occupying a similar space. That’s not good for our student-athletes, that’s not good for our coaching staffs. We know that we have to make some adjustments.”

One of the chief issues on the men’s basketball side is the need for players to enter a practice-only facility at any time and develop their game. That isn’t an option right now for Auburn men’s basketball players. Cohen recognizes the importance of that specific issue.

“The most important thing we do is student-athlete development both on the court, on the field, and off, and one of the things that’s difficult for me is if kids can’t get shots anytime they want because of scheduling conflicts, that’s a problem for me,” Cohen said. “Student-athlete development is critical to our success.”

In terms of priority, Cohen pointed out that Neville Arena is the newest facility among the trio of Jordan-Hare Stadium and Plainsman Park, saying “there’s a chronology there, there’s a timeline.” Neville Arena opened in 2010. Cohen added that the Plainsman Park renovations were headed down the track and on their way to approval before he arrived.

Cohen also pointed out that premium seating opportunities and ways to create revenue for the athletics department are paramount right now.

“The other thing we’re looking at, and again, we’re in the first stages of this, but if you look at premium opportunities in football that create revenue and you look at the overall size of our stadium, it’s a really small number,” Cohen said.

“Our premium areas are really small percentage of the overall capacity of the stadium compared to the rest of the SEC. We feel like, preliminary stages, but we feel like that’s a great opportunity. To answer your question, we want it all done. Baseball is progressing, we want to get it done with football, but we also know that we have a challenge in the arena that has to be addressed quickly.”

Back to NIL, Cohen continues to say that collective needs are, and will, influence potential facility builds moving forward. Cohen believes that because of NIL needs, projecting financial numbers and start dates for facilities has become more difficult.

“When you look at On To Victory and what they’ve been able to do, and thank goodness for On To Victory, but let’s be real here, the same people that OTV are isolating and the generosity of our fanbase, our donors, even our students, it all comes from the same pot,” Cohen said. “Again, I think there’s some massive shifts that are heading this way in the next 12 months. That’s not just my belief — those have to be considered as well. In terms of facilities, there are new considerations that have to be addressed. That’s the biggest one.”

With four conference championships in the last seven seasons, men’s basketball is unquestionably one of the most successful programs on campus. At the same time, Pearl just finished up the second year of his eight-year contract that runs through 2029-30, if Pearl decides to coach out the duration of his contract.

When asked if there’s any urgency to completing the practice-only facility for the men’s program, Cohen said he’s “confident” progress is coming, but “we’re not quite there yet.”

“All these things are an absolute priority, finishing what was already started with baseball, the scoreboard for our fans, video board for our fans to have a better game day experience, the potential of a north end zone project, and the arena,” Cohen said. “I don’t think any one of those is more important than the other because all of them are necessities.”

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