Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 11:52 am
"Quote:
with heavy emphasis on the GOB network "
"I thought that is where the money and resources at Ole Miss came from. "
Delta, it is, but its not nearly what could be raised if our Athletics Dept. and administration would tap into resources that are there for the taking, if done correctly. Ole Miss can raise 50 million or more for a new law school, 30 or more million for a new alumni house, etc. etc. etc. with ease. But, when it comes to athletics, we will simply not have any type of organized, comprehensive fund raising campaign for facilities and other athletic needs. The AD's idea of athletic fundraising is to call a few of the same ol GOBs to find one or a handful of big donors to fund a specific project --- on a project by project basis, to get us what we need (bare minumum) as cheaply as possible.
UM is completely missing the boat on raising money from the common fans (or as Boone calls us "the cap and t-shirt crowd"). Alabama, for instance, does a great job of raising money for athletics throughout its fan base, including many of the common folks who did not even attend the school. Such an approach to fund raising by the liberal elites at UM is looked upon with the same scourge as a disease. Also, there are many potential big donors who are "off-limits" to athletics fund-raising due to perceived continuing and competing academic needs.
Certainly, academics must come first. Ole Miss is an institution of higher learning first and foremost. But, what has been demonstrated time and time again at other public, state schools all across the country, is that great athletics programs and great academics go hand in hand and can co-exist. Highly successful athletics programs are great recruiting tools for the school, get alumni back to campus, get non-alums involved with the school, and aid tremendously in creating momentum for academic fund raising. This approach apparently has not sunk in yet at the University of Mississippi. Many of our fans and alums (and unfortunately our administration) are still stuck in the "little ol Miss" syndrome, thinking we can simply do no better. The truth of the matter is that we CAN do much, much better and simply use size as an excuse. The UM community is so used to past mediocre results, that we now view the current administration in too high esteem for what would be relatively modest accomplishments at any other school outside of Mississippi.
In response to why we would not proceed with a new basketball arena and utilize a combination of state and private funds to build it, our AD was recently quoted as saying that we will not request any state funds for such athletic needs, as the money can be better spent elsewhere by the state. And while that may be true to a degree, every other college in the state gets significant state funds for athletic facilities. Overall, such is a pervasive mindset at UM, as less than 20% of UM's total budget presently comes from the state of Mississippi. Ole Miss is rapidly approaching being almost completely privately funded. While such is a good thing to an extent, at what point do we stop being a "public" school and become a "private" school? One has to wonder, is that the goal?
with heavy emphasis on the GOB network "
"I thought that is where the money and resources at Ole Miss came from. "
Delta, it is, but its not nearly what could be raised if our Athletics Dept. and administration would tap into resources that are there for the taking, if done correctly. Ole Miss can raise 50 million or more for a new law school, 30 or more million for a new alumni house, etc. etc. etc. with ease. But, when it comes to athletics, we will simply not have any type of organized, comprehensive fund raising campaign for facilities and other athletic needs. The AD's idea of athletic fundraising is to call a few of the same ol GOBs to find one or a handful of big donors to fund a specific project --- on a project by project basis, to get us what we need (bare minumum) as cheaply as possible.
UM is completely missing the boat on raising money from the common fans (or as Boone calls us "the cap and t-shirt crowd"). Alabama, for instance, does a great job of raising money for athletics throughout its fan base, including many of the common folks who did not even attend the school. Such an approach to fund raising by the liberal elites at UM is looked upon with the same scourge as a disease. Also, there are many potential big donors who are "off-limits" to athletics fund-raising due to perceived continuing and competing academic needs.
Certainly, academics must come first. Ole Miss is an institution of higher learning first and foremost. But, what has been demonstrated time and time again at other public, state schools all across the country, is that great athletics programs and great academics go hand in hand and can co-exist. Highly successful athletics programs are great recruiting tools for the school, get alumni back to campus, get non-alums involved with the school, and aid tremendously in creating momentum for academic fund raising. This approach apparently has not sunk in yet at the University of Mississippi. Many of our fans and alums (and unfortunately our administration) are still stuck in the "little ol Miss" syndrome, thinking we can simply do no better. The truth of the matter is that we CAN do much, much better and simply use size as an excuse. The UM community is so used to past mediocre results, that we now view the current administration in too high esteem for what would be relatively modest accomplishments at any other school outside of Mississippi.
In response to why we would not proceed with a new basketball arena and utilize a combination of state and private funds to build it, our AD was recently quoted as saying that we will not request any state funds for such athletic needs, as the money can be better spent elsewhere by the state. And while that may be true to a degree, every other college in the state gets significant state funds for athletic facilities. Overall, such is a pervasive mindset at UM, as less than 20% of UM's total budget presently comes from the state of Mississippi. Ole Miss is rapidly approaching being almost completely privately funded. While such is a good thing to an extent, at what point do we stop being a "public" school and become a "private" school? One has to wonder, is that the goal?
