Two years ago, N.C. State’s Debbie Yow emailed the athletic director at the University of Kentucky and asked for a favor.
The Wolfpack athletic director had a plan to build a $15 million dormitory for basketball, and the school wanted to do it well, as Yow put it. Kentucky had built a $7.9 million dorm for its basketball players in 2012, equipped with personal chefs, a dining hall, flat screen televisions and other lavish amenities.
“Would you allow us to visit UK and learn more about how you guys have managed yours?” Yow wrote to Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart on June 15, 2015.