Smart Storage Transforms Notre Dame Football Equipment Room into a Recruiting Area
With 11 consensus National Championships, 97 All-Americans, and 486 Fighting Irish players chosen by NFL teams in the Draft, it’s fair to say that Notre Dame’s football team is one of the most recognized and iconic programs in college sports history.
When it came to the organization of their football equipment room, the Fighting Irish were doing exactly that—fighting a battle with a less than ideal storage situation. The previous equipment room at the University seemed to be as old as Notre Dame’s tradition of excellence—a small, cramped space with wooden shelving and concrete floors. The aisles between the stationary shelves were wide, originally designed to accommodate a skid and a pallet—which wound up taking up most of the floor space. Plastic bins filled with gear and equipment were stacked around the room with little order—and even on the single countertop used for organizing equipment and folding uniforms.
“There was just so much wasted space—it just wasn’t functional for us,” said Ryan Grooms, Notre Dame’s Head Football Equipment Manager. “We wanted to expand and make this room as nice and functional as possible—I knew what the room’s capabilities were, and what the options could be.”