OT - Sleeping arrangements for larger athletes

Submitted by Wendyk5 on

As I get closer to taking my son to college, I started to wonder, how do larger athletes sleep in the dorms? My son is 6' 2" and will hate having to move back into a twin bed from a full size. But what do the really big guys do, both football and basketball players? 

PopeLando

May 7th, 2018 at 9:17 AM ^

I really want to make a joke here. Like really really. Must...restrain...from joking...about college sex life...in front of parents...

BlueWon

May 7th, 2018 at 9:22 AM ^

they are basically Cal Kings cut in two length-wise (5" longer but 1" narrower than twin size beds).

Evil Empire

May 7th, 2018 at 9:39 AM ^

I am 6'1" and I remember being pleased with how roomy the XL Twin was compared to the regular Twin I had at home.  I also remember seeing guys like Trezelle Jenkins and Juwan Howard in person and wondering how they slept in dorm beds.  I guess they curl up.

ijohnb

May 7th, 2018 at 12:25 PM ^

kind of have to believe that the scholarship football and basketball players at Michigan are bestowed with adequate beds, and maybe even a free burger or two at their local hangout of choice.  I'm not sayin.  I'm just sayin.

In reply to by ijohnb

DairyQueen

May 8th, 2018 at 12:00 AM ^

If the amazon doc was any indication then, at least at michigan, the accomodations are moderate at best.

i remember seeing that basketball players (at duke or louisville, or something where its THEE sport of the school) actually had their own dorms built for them.

but football has literally 10x more players, and with basketball, usually about half of the team is off the charts abnormally tall, whereas football is more about weight, with much fewer tall ones, and virtually no one over 6'6"

so b-ball would be both logistically and economically much easier to accomodate

UMFoster

May 7th, 2018 at 9:22 AM ^

I think you can request larger beds depending on the school.  I remember in the Amazon Doc Harbaugh was talking to James Hudson on move in day and he asked him "Is that the extra long bed?"

jamesjosephharbaugh

May 7th, 2018 at 9:27 AM ^

in my experience most dorm beds are the XL twin size which is longer than the regular twin. Plenty long enough for a 6 foot 2 guy.  Call the campus housing dept to check, and if he needs the longer size i'm sure they'll be willing to accommodate.

https://www.dormsmart.com/All-About-Dorm-Bedding-Sizes-Including-Twin-XL-16.html

EDIT: OP didn't mention if their kid is going to UM or not, but this site indicates UM dorms use the XL twin size as a standard.

Also don't forget part of the college experience is the shitty dorm life.  The omg-thats-so-horrible change of going from a full size to a twin size bed is part of the whole thing.  

trust me your son won't be the guy wandering up and down the hall griping about having a twin bed. 

I suppose the really big guys - 6-8 and above, do what they've always done, and always will do...fold their legs up a bit while they sleep.  college or no college, regular beds and blankets will never be long enough for these guys and they just learn to make do.

Wendyk5

May 7th, 2018 at 9:30 AM ^

I'm not worried about my kid -- he needs some "adversity." I'm wondering about linemen and basketball players who are 7' and up. How the heck do they get decent sleep in a twin size bed? I know they're XL, but still. 

jamesjosephharbaugh

May 7th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^

I suppose also for the tall gals as well.  

but I assume this is just a life long issue that they learn to deal with.  The bed will never be long enough.

Although even the twin XL size has a diagonal of 7-5 so most beds should be big enough for most folks on the diagonal.

drjaws

May 7th, 2018 at 9:31 AM ^

sleep diagonally duh.

 

something something something hypotenuse and pythagorean theorem.  too early to be an intelligent smartass

MGoBat

May 7th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^

If the dorm allows it, build a loft system that can let your feet hang over the end. Some dorm beds have foot boards. Other posters are correct that UM has XL twins: 80" long.

901 P

May 7th, 2018 at 9:45 AM ^

Has anyone seen that kid from Romania who is currently playing basketball at some sort of academy in Ohio? Something this could be a serious issue for kids who are that big. If I had to guess, most schools will accomodate someone who is unusually tall, either 1) simply because they want to make things (reasonably) comfortable for students, and 2) I can imagine that schools would consider this to fall under health accomodations, the same way a student with asthma/allergies may be allowed to have a window A/C unit that is otherwise prohibited.

By the way, the basketball player from Romania seems to adapt pretty well to the challenges of being 7' 7".

saveferris

May 7th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^

Reminds me of the Andre the Giant documentary on HBO, Hogan was telling stories how Andre was always physically uncomfortable because the world wasn't design to accommodate a man of his unusual size.  He'd be on an airline flight to Japan for 12-14 hours and couldn't use the lavatory because he physically couldn't fit inside, all while taking up two seats and his head hitting the top of the fuselage.  No hotel bed was ever comfortable.  No seat at a restaurant was ever large enough.  I can't imagine how hard it must be for guys like this.

JHendo

May 7th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^

I'm 6'2" and in college was like 250lb and managed to survive the twin bed in tge dorms just fine. To be honest, the comfort/size of my bed was the least of my worries that year. While I seldom used it, my roommate and I bunked our beds and brought in a futon that converted to a fullsize bed when needed, so that may be an option.

JHendo

May 7th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^

Those situations, yes. But mostly when the roomie was too inebriated to climb up the bunk, if I just needed to spread out for some reason, or if we had visitors like your mom spend the night in our dorm room.

MGoStretch

May 7th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^

I'm 6'5", so at least shooting guard size (or a power forward if I was as gritty as Z. Novak).  South quad beds were no problem back in the day, I liked having my legs hang off the end.  Nonetheless, the struggle is real in other areas. Small cars? Airplanes? Low door frames? Nope.

XtremeUMich

May 7th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^

I'm 6'7" and did lofted XL twin in Bursley, but mostly slept on futon. The thing I really have to look out for is power assisted doors for handicap/wheel chairs. The one into the Media Center on North campus once scalped me so bad that I still have the scar from the chunk it took out.