Kentucky Wildcats Football Gets Approval to Build $45 Million Practice Facility

The University of Kentucky Wildcats have been among the worst programs in college football over the past three seasons.

They've won a total of nine games since the start of the 2011 season. They're also 11-33 over their past 44 games. In that span, they've also lost 28-of-32 SEC conference games.

That's a lot of losing, and much of it has to do with the program's lack of commitment to football.

That's changed dramatically over the past year starting with Commonwealth Stadium, which hosts UK's football games. 

The stadium was officially opened in 1973, and it hasn't undergone a major renovation since 1999, according to Olivia Senter of the Kentucky Kernel. So, last year the school approved the issuance of $110 million to use for the renovation of the stadium, according to Linda Blackford of Kentucky.com.  

In addition to the stadium renovations, UK is now pushing for another major football project: one that involves building a brand new football training facility. The school has approval to proceed with a $45 million project that would give UK a new practice center on campus, according to Jennifer Smith of Kentucky.com.

The costs for the facility's construction will be privately funded, and, as Smith reported, "UK already has raised $23 million in private donations, UK spokesman Dewayne Peevy confirmed."

The reported plans for the facility are to include team meeting areas, high-performance and weight room spaces, locker rooms, lounge facilities and a study area.

The amount of money being spent on UK football right now is a clear indicator that it is committed to building a program capable of winning more than nine games in three years.

Hopefully, it will be enough for them to eventually compete in the SEC.

Jason Marcum is a student in the B/R advanced sports media program. You can find more of his work at Stripe Hype and follow him on Twitter @UK_Fans