WSUWildcat said:
talhadfoursteals said:
If you look hard enough, you can find master plans for the university. In one that I saw, it stipulated that at some point the university was going to build a track and field facility. When or where? That is the question (in another, there was a plan to build a new stadium where University Village currently sits).
As for the North Endzone plaza, last year at this time we heard from the AD that they were really close, just needing another million or so to do the job right. However, I heard in the spring that the department went away from the "plan" established and now want to add a lot more, that'll cost more. What worries me is that we haven't heard much about it for almost a year. There was speculation that there would be a ground breaking sometime this Fall, after football, and that it would be done before the next football season. Well, if that were the case, we would be hearing a lot more from athletics. Agreed, I want them to do this right, but we have been hearing about this endzone project for almost a decade and it seems like it is never going to get done.
At the first coaches luncheon in Sept., the AD mentioned the north endzone plans, I don't recall any of the details nor did it seem imminent unless significant additional funds were raised.
If he isn't reporting on it, then it is back in the planning phase. They must have added a bunch of stuff to the original plan. Early next year will represent a decade that this "North Endzone" plan was first brought up.
Imagine if our AD, 10 years ago, at the same time of introducing this plan also decided to put effort into building a strong student following. If he would have invested time, money, and effort into filling a student section and building a student group, I'd wager, he'd probably have some more options showing up, young alumni or alumni, who would be willing to dig a bit deeper to support Wildcat Athletics or projects. To me, since the early 2000s, it seems as if Weber has lost an entire generation of students due to lackluster efforts in recruiting, marketing to, and investing in students. I know that this isn't merely Jerry's fault WSUSA, SAAC, and SAA all can be blamed, but Jerry has had chances of his own, but hasn't acted on them.
10 years later, the university struggles mightily to retain students. Having a strong student following for university athletics would be another reason for staying at the school. Yet, we don't have one and athletics doesn't even try to communicate a message to a virtual captive audience. To me, each year, they waste another opportunity. He needs money to move projects forward. He is hitting up the same tired group of ancient alumni, who he is finding more and more likely on the wrong side of the grass. Regrettably, there aren't a lot of alumni taking these past supporters places. We have the most students in the history of the school and there is virtually no message enticing these students to participate. Weber students just go to class and then work and home. Nothing to connect them to the university. We are just like SLCC. Utah State is visiting this Friday and there is nothing on campus. Thankfully, there will be a decent crowd because of word of mouth, but once again, imagine if our AD who has been here for a decade, would take the initiative to communicate a message of participation to our students? If he did, I think he would be shocked at the results. USU raised tens of thousands of dollars from USUfans.com...a freakin message board raises money for them. The vast majority of their membership are individuals who graduated between 2002 and 2012. I would argue that we have experienced as much athletic success over the past decade but monetarily we have been damned. 10 years ago, they had a budget barely above ours, now it is twice ours. In the same amount of time, ours has virtually stayed stagnant. I gotta give Jerry credit for maintaining a competitive department with a budget that hasn't grown, but imagine if he invested in students and young alumni over the past 10 years. I think he would have more money and more support. A lost decade...
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LUCK, IT IS PREPAREDNESS MEETING OPPORTUNITY.
