By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

When Concordia University Wisconsin embarked on a major renovation of its campus about four years ago, its lone intention was to take advantage of its picturesque location on Lake Michigan.

At no point in the early stages of that campus makeover did school President Patrick Ferry even consider what those alterations would yield.

Growing up a die hard Denver Broncos fan in Colorado and then spending 17 years of his professional career at the Lutheran University in tiny Mequon, Wis., Ferry couldn't help but continue his love for football.

So it was that when the Rams made it clear a couple of months ago that they were searching for a new training camp home and Wisconsin was a viable option, Ferry and the rest of his team at Concordia Wisconsin decided to throw their hat in the ring.

After visiting with Rams officials on their whirlwind tour of various campuses and some negotiation, the Rams announced Concordia Wisconsin as their new summer home on Tuesday.

"We have seen a lot of positive progress with regard to our campus facilities," Ferry said. "The last three or four years has been a very significant transformation. We are certainly delighted that the Rams are going to be coming to Concordia for training camp."

The fact that the Rams will be spending their training camp in Concordia, though, is almost purely coincidence. When the university decided to start making improvements around the campus, a NFL franchise was hardly a glint in its eye.

Living in Packers-crazy Wisconsin, which also has served as the long time home of the old "Cheese League", Ferry has a deep understanding of the state's passion for football, particularly the NFL.

The renovation of the campus began with a major aesthetic adjustment to a key piece of land. By most accounts, one of the major draws of Concordia is its scenic perch on the shores of Lake Michigan.

The first step to that end was a restoration of the school's half mile shoreline along the lake.

"That really gave us great momentum for some of the other projects that have highlighted our unique location here. It really is a beautiful campus. It really is very picturesque, aesthetically extraordinary setting

Soon after, though, numerous other projects were undertaken with funding mostly from private donation. The scope of those projects varied in size from something as simple as adding air conditioning to the field house to accommodate the likes of President Bush and the even more popular Hank Aaron on their trips to Concordia to give commencement addresses.

That very field house will serve as the potential indoor facility for the Rams should inclement weather strike during a practice this summer.

In addition to that simple adjustment, Concordia has added a sports and fitness complex to the field house which houses one of the finest athletic training facilities in all of college sports. They also added a weight room and cardiovascular theatre to that extension.

More recently, Concordia added a pair of synthetic turf fields and just completed a brand new residence hall overlooking Lake Michigan, all in the past year.

Oddly enough, through all of those additions, the thought of attracting a NFL team never really came to the forefront even though those specific changes made Concordia a logical destination for any team looking for top notch facilities and environment.

"In a way it's kind of intriguing because some of the specific things we have done in recent years almost as if bringing a NFL team to our campus was part of our strategy," Ferry said." We look back on the improvements we made with athletic facilities; the new residence hall that we built right on the lake, so many little things like that it was almost as if we were planning on trying for this at some point. It was purely coincidental but once we learned the Rams were interested in coming up here, we were aggressive about letting them know that we thought it would be the right kind of place for them to be."

When the Rams formed a search committee to find a training camp spot, they originally had planned to tour Wisconsin-Whitewater, an old training camp site in Madison-Wisconsin and even a trip back to Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill.

While Concordia came into the picture late, it also had the most to offer. In addition to a beautiful location, it had the two synthetic turf fields, an indoor facility, a top notch training facility and a new state of the art residence hall which just happens to overlook Lake Michigan.

Ferry gathered his management team and began putting together a pitch for the Rams delegation. For just about any facet of what the team needs to function during camp, Concordia had at least one person prepared with answers.

Quickly, Concordia became the favorite and the Rams began working on the logistics. A group of team officials will be in Mequon beginning today with meetings through Friday night to work out some of those final details.

Clearly, the Rams will benefit from going to a remote place where football can be the focus and, of course, the chance to escape the sweltering St. Louis summer.

The benefit for Concordia will come in less tangible forms, particularly in the form of public relations and some economic benefit for the town.

"We recognize from a business perspective, the real benefit to Concordia is in the public relations and marketing aspect of this," Ferry said. "We hope we will break even with the day to day operational expense of the camp, but what we'll gain in marketing and public relations is extremely valuable."

In the first season as the Rams' summer home, a major part of the story will be the new camp location which Ferry hopes will lead to the type of exposure that could expand to St. Louis and perhaps lead to increased interest from prospective students in the area.

Regardless of how long the Rams-Concordia connection lasts, Ferry is sure of one thing: his school has come a long way.

"As this was going on we felt like if the Rams decided to stay at home or go somewhere else, we would likely think about it again in the future," Ferry said. "But we are really happy the Rams are coming."