Reese upgrades?

[kalm]

@ kalm For the most part I agree with the list of priorities for the AD. I would disagree with the order. Fundraising should be #1 - it makes everything else like hiring/keeping good coaches much easier. I would definitley add public relations to the list. The AD should be one of the 3 most recognizable faces at the university along with the football and basketball coach (see Bill Moos).

The biggest disagreement that I have is with the "check" that you gave for fundraising. Aside from the huge gift that Roos gave and the money that the fundraising offfice (Hughes/Simonowski/Westphal) was able to piggy-back off of that, the fundraising in the athletic department has been miniscule - unless you count the money that Earlywine brought in from extra money games - and then was not allowed to use.

In case you havent figured it out, I am a basketball "homer" and want to see our bball team do well. Knowing what I know about the lack of commitment from the university and how that commitment has actually worsened in the last 3 years, I think it is going to be very difficult to make more than marginal improvement. I think the upside for the university of a winning bball program is so much greater than in 1AA football. I am not one of those crazies that thinks we should do away with football. I just think we have to find a way to invest more than we have in our bball team. As I stated earlier, I hope Coach Hayford can deliver on the promise of big fundraising dollars. I simply think the fundraising effort should be headed by the AD as it is at most D1 schools. I certainly dont want Coach Hayford thinking about fundraising from October until March.

Good points. I would like to see our B-Ball program get back to where it was in the early to middle part of the last decade. And I would agree that fundraising has to get better and I hope that Coach Hayford can spark some of that. Disagree about the football comment - I actually feel like doing well in both "money" sports is vital to the exposure and growth of the University.

I also agree with Kalm in his assessment. Things have been pretty decent but that can always get better, and one area we need to improve on is fund-raising. I've felt that way for a long time.

Agreed, and I will admit to being a glass half full, low expectations, realist. :mrgreen:

It would be interesting to see some numbers on fundraising levels over the years. With state cuts and a down economy I would like to see how poorly we are really doing in that regard. It would also be nice to see some evidence that Chaves isnt playing an active role before we throw him under bus even further.