http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story…1154&ran=119003
Wonder when we will do this to gauge things?
Hope that we see us set provisions as they did one day to start playing I-AA. I think being in the A10 is a great option for us and we should exploit it with the I-AA football that is there.
We have already done this a couple of years back.
Correction ShowDawg we have NEVER done this. We hired a consultant a few years back, but nothing this serious.
[b] In June, ODU’s Board of Visitors voted unanimously for the school to begin playing football at the NCAA I-AA level in 2009 if certain provisions were met by next June . One of those provisions was the hiring of a consultant to measure area support. A university committee featuring members from the athletic department as well as ODU’s fund-raising, auxiliary services and material-management departments studied more than a half-dozen candidates with national profiles. [/b]
ODU voted to start play in 2009 if certain provisions are met. We have NEVER seriously approached football in this manner. Our AD and the school administration has never thrown their weight behind a football cause. The consultant we hired IMHO was simply a way for the AD to say “see we looked into now shutup about football”. As I have stated before, until I receieve a letter from the school asking me if and how much I can give to a football program the money and support excuse rings hollow.
I do agree with you VB for once we need to be proactive and think LONG term here. No football will doom us as a mid-major outside of the big conferences. The time to seriously approach football was 10 years ago. Since we did not do it then we need to do it now. Approach this like ODU… throw a date out there… even if it is 5 or 10 years away and put provisions in place that must be met to make it a reality. If they did that, watch the support grow. Atleast we now have a Chance that understands football’s importance to the alumni, students, businesses and community. Now if we can either get Judy on board or out the door maybe we have a shot of making it happen.
Old
Dirty bastard
University
is getting football? Now that damn Judy has no excuse.
"if certain provisions were met by next June "
Check back with me when this hurdle is passed."
The consultant we hired only had to run the numbers and gauge interest in the business community to find out all you needed to know.
Are they planning on staying AA or moving up to the D I level of “bleeding your Athletic Dept. dry” if you are not one of the top 60 teams that will eventually break away from the NCAA.
I want football as much as anyone but I am also a numbers ($$) man and it does not add up in this community at this time or in the near future. Also, I am one of the top 100 donors to the Athletic Department by priority rank which should tell you a lot about our funding.
[i]Originally posted by stonecoldken[/i]@Aug 25 2005, 02:32 PM [b] Old Dirty bastard Universityis getting football? Now that damn Judy has no excuse. [/b]
Having football is a money decision, pure and simple. There is now a “Football Account” that you can contribute to and build this program. The balance so far is $1025. Vote with your checkbook.
Nugget that account would grow bigger and faster if the AD put some dates or leadership around it. I have more money that I could give, but I am not going to give it and watch the AD sit on it. I refuse to up my giving and help them fund women’s volleyball in a midmajor conference. They will get more money from me when we do something with football. I could easily give more but since we don’t have football I spend much of that money going to see other schools play football. As I stated above NO ONE… not a single person has ever contacted me, asked me or approached me as an alumni asking if I wanted football and what I would do to assist. Case closed.
Nuggett,
Why has this information not been passed around prior? I have asked the question before if their was an account towards this where money could only go towards football.
VB,
I don’t know much about it but I do know it is new, I heard about it from the AD so it is real. I think you have a chicken or the egg problem here–no $$ from you 'till they “officially” start the ball rollling and the ball probably won’t roll until there is significant “measurable” interest. I find no fault in either position but that doesn’t move us forward.
[b]Nugget that account would grow bigger and faster if the AD put some dates or leadership around it. I have more money that I could give, but I am not going to give it and watch the AD sit on it. I refuse to up my giving and help them fund women's volleyball in a midmajor conference. They will get more money from me when we do something with football. I could easily give more but since we don't have football I spend much of that money going to see other schools play football. As I stated above NO ONE... not a single person has ever contacted me, asked me or approached me as an alumni asking if I wanted football and what I would do to assist. Case closed. [/b]
Bingo!!!
I sent a few dollars last year that I marked “Football Fund” just to see how the athletics department would respond. I received a generic thank you letter saying that they appreciated my support.
I found it interesting that the athletics department did not deny having such a fund.
As others have stated, I would gladly increase my support to the athletics department if they would step up to the plate and announce that this fund actually does exist!
ODU has a great local recruiting area for football. There is probably 20+ NFL guys that are from within 15miles of that campus.
Bruton Smith (owner of the Lowes Motor Speedway among other things) has offered to pay Tennessee and Va Tech $20 million each to play a football game in the 160,000 seat Bristol Motor Speedway. If one of them bails someone tell him the 49ers will field a team. If he fronts us the money you can have your football team.