| One of Coach Larry Porter's first orders of business when he was hired was to improve the strength and conditioning department at the U of M. Porter knows the importance of a quality strength staff, and he has put together a staff that is second-to-none.
Ryan Cidzik, who is the director of the football strength and conditioning program, joined the Tigers after two seasons in the NFL, the first with the Cleveland Browns and most recently with the New York Jets. Cidzik earned his bachelor's degree from Susquehanna, and his master's degree of exercise science is from Louisiana Tech. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and a USA Weightlifting Certified Level-1 Club Coach.
Cidzik added Brian Hill, who most recently worked at Tulane, as his assistant in the spring. Hill earned his bachelor's degree from Southwest Oklahoma State University in 2005, and later earned his master's degree from Northwestern State University in 2008. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and a USA Weightlifting Certified Sports Performance Coach.
Cidzik and his staff train the Tigers in a 13,000-square foot state-of-the-art football weight room that opened in 2011. The weight room, which was made possible by private funds, is dedicated solely to the Tiger Football team. The spacious and impressive weight room can handle multiple groups at once and features a multitude of power racks as well as various free weights and machines. There is also an area for cardio training as well as specific machines dedicated to rehabilitation of the student-athlete.
With the opening of the football weight room, Tiger student-athletes have four fully-equipped weight rooms for meeting their full training potential. In addition to the two strength dens at the Murphy Complex, there are also weight rooms at the Larry O. Finch Basketball training facility and the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
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