GoUSFBulls.com USF Athletics strategic plan to be unveiled

[Raetus]

3 minutes ago, candalina said:

If USF is going to get an OCS, they are not going to get it by people thinking their money is only good for an OCS. Did you read the strategic plan? Did you see how far behind revenue goals they are? We want to be good? We want an OCS? 

If we want to be good, we have to show recruits that we care about USF Football. If we can do that/show a good experience for fans/recruits at the games, we will get better recruits. Better recruits = better team = more wins = more fans = more money = better chance of getting an OCS. 

If every alumna of USF donated $100, we would be 1/4 of the way to an OCS. Do the math. 

Where in my post did I say the only thing I would donate toward was an OCS?

Also, yes I read the strategic plan.

[Edit] Also, why are only female graduates donating $100? [/Edit]

Edited May 26, 2016 by Raetus

[Sellular1]

If the 300,000+ alumni each gave $100 a year the OCS would be built tomorrow, financed and paid in full in less than 4 years.

[Triple B]

3 hours ago, Raetus said:

Where in my post did I say the only thing I would donate toward was an OCS?

 

I kind of understand where they may have gotten that with statements like these:

I'll more than take all the hate that will come my way for saying this, but I'll just be honest and say that I don't see the value in season tickets or mega donations (for sports), at the moment.

I feel zero impetus to blindly donate money without receiving something quality in return.

If USF thinks that they're going to raise the requisite support necessary to compete with more storied universities without offering something of merit in return, they're crazy

 

It may not have been the way you meant to come across ...

[Triple B]

3 hours ago, candalina said:

If USF is going to get an OCS, they are not going to get it by people thinking their money is only good for an OCS. Did you read the strategic plan? Did you see how far behind revenue goals they are? We want to be good? We want an OCS? 

It's got to sink in that getting athletic contributions up is probably a much higher priority right now than an OCS in regards to P5 attraction. We'd have to triple our contributions to even become an AVERAGE AAC program in that department. That's pretty pathetic.

[Raetus]

4 hours ago, Triple B said:

 

I kind of understand where they may have gotten that with statements like these:

I'll more than take all the hate that will come my way for saying this, but I'll just be honest and say that I don't see the value in season tickets or mega donations (for sports), at the moment.

I feel zero impetus to blindly donate money without receiving something quality in return.

If USF thinks that they're going to raise the requisite support necessary to compete with more storied universities without offering something of merit in return, they're crazy

 

It may not have been the way you meant to come across ...

I completely disagree. I merely said that USF has to offer me value to earn a substantial donation and so far, I'm not seeing it. Don't get me wrong, I fully meant to imply that USF has not done enough to cater my donation, but I never implied that an OCS is the only thing that would pique that interest. Statements like these fully support that:

Also, it doesn't have to be strictly for a stadium, either; if they put forth something that I want, I'll be all about it.

I'd pay $2500 for a parking pass that let me park in whatever zone I want up-to 5 times a year and was good for 15 years -- that'd be worth it to me.

That's what it will take to get significant money out of me -- something that I actually want.

Personally, I don't even care if we have an OCS stadium or not. If they want to build it, then it's something I would support and would find value in. If they don't, I'll continue to spend money on season tickets in other states and countries. What I won't be doing is writing a check for $10,000 to USF Football and say "Spend it well, boys and girls... I trust you." It's just not something I'm interested in. I'm never going to be a mega donor, so maybe the effort would be better spent catering to others, but I think a large degree of the disparity you see in the level of support between USF and the targeted universities comes from a severe lack of effort in the fundraising sector. Maybe it's because I've handled fundraising efforts for large entities before, but the current way of garnering donations is extremely limiting.

When was the last time you saw USF reach out to the alumni base to find business owners or decision makers willing to render services for free or discounted to raise funds for USF Athletics? I've never had anyone reach out to me for something like this. You know who does do this? Girl Scouts of America. Make A Wish Foundation. Joshua House. Ronald McDonald House. Call Publix and ask them if $1 from every sub sold on game day can be donated to USF Athletics. How about asking people at the register if they'd like to donate a dollar to support USF Athletics? Garner support from the local community and businesses. Small things like that are things that corporations jump on in a second. I'm a small business owner and I'd have no problem rendering services for free to support USF Athletics -- the fact that the effort isn't being put in on the other side, though, tells me that it's wasted effort.

My point is that USF's fundraising and branding problem isn't because of poor product on the field -- it's from a lack of leadership in that department. Sure, if the product gets better, the ticket sales will go back up, but we weren't flush with money even during the best years. With Big East money, #2 Ranking, and sold-out stadiums, we still weren't at the level of support that is desired. 

But, there's some new blood in the back offices and we'll see where it goes. As I currently have no children, discretionary income is more flush than I imagine it would be if I had kids. This is probably the time of my life where a university like USF should be targeting me the most as I'm sure I will inevitably plan to spend my money differently during a child's formative years, which would mean certain donations and ticket purchases would be lessened. Right now, donations to a university that I didn't go to and don't actively follow are beating out USF for my support, which is what I find to be sad.

[usfgrad84]

I think you are touching upon several very good points. Some of the issues you are bringing are definitely reflect why general community support, outside of the alumni base (and even among many alumni) is lacking. 

Although I don't USF athletics can or should participate in some of the same type of fund raising activities as Girl Scouts, Ronald McDonald House, etc, I love some of the creative ideas you discussed. 

Rather than take heat for a post such as you made, if I was Harlan or anyone in a leadership position for fund raising these are exactly the things I would want to be hearing so we could understand why donations are lacking and also to brainstorm some creative solutions. 

I have always said that for USF to rise to a truly prominent position it will be lead by football (no secret there), but it has to be about more than winning and going to bowl games. I believe there are 3 ingredients needed on the field and a couple of things needed to be done off the field. 

I believe we need to win, win in dynamic, exciting ways and have a nationally recognized true marquee player. I think we have at least 2 players that can be. And the offense to get there. 

The off the field keys are having an athletic department that can handle any increased exposure and PR success brings (when we were rising to #2 in 2007 my personal opinion is the administration did a horrible job and had no clue how to handle success). The other is to have a nice well organized game day experience. 

If we show the community our games are THE place to be and a can't miss entertainment experience it will jump start everything else. If Marlon Mack is being mentioned on SportsCenter weekly and becomes a household name in a top ten offense you have something to market. The rest will fall in place. It's the Flutie effect. 

[Raetus]

2 hours ago, Bausfkid said:

Way off the strategic plan topic, but what if people just gave without any expectation of getting something back? 

My donations to USF come with a charitable mentality.  I expect nothing in return.

Go Bulls!

I'm more than happy to donate to USF charitable causes and have done so in the past. Things such as cancer research and music education for youth are both USF ventures that I actively support and donate to. In my opinion, there's nothing charitable about USF Football or NCAA football in general.

[Raetus]

2 hours ago, usfgrad84 said:

I think you are touching upon several very good points. Some of the issues you are bringing are definitely reflect why general community support, outside of the alumni base (and even among many alumni) is lacking. 

Although I don't USF athletics can or should participate in some of the same type of fund raising activities as Girl Scouts, Ronald McDonald House, etc, I love some of the creative ideas you discussed. 

Agreed. I don't think I've mentioned or even know the winning combination when it comes to fundraising, which is probably why I don't work in collegiate fundraising. But what I'd like to see is some out-of-the-box thinking in this regard instead of copying and pasting ideas from other universities with different histories and demographics and wondering why it didn't work.

[Triple B]

2 hours ago, Bausfkid said:

Way off the strategic plan topic, but what if people just gave without any expectation of getting something back? 

My donations to USF come with a charitable mentality.  I expect nothing in return.

Go Bulls!

 

1 hour ago, Ned A Starr said:

Amen!

You two mopes are a pain in the ass at times but if we had a majority with that outlook, USF would be a lot better off... 

You don't build an Athletic program with gimmicky "fundraising", it's built by people like youse guys who care and want to see the program succeed. The fundraising, immediate value return stuff, is fine as an add-on but the foundation is made up of those willing to give through thick and thin. Maybe there really are a ton out there that just haven't been tapped into by previous and current Athletics but, as has been noted, I think it's more about the psyche of the target demographics. MH and crew has their work cut out for them.

[John Lewis]

1 hour ago, Raetus said:

In my opinion, there's nothing charitable about USF Football or NCAA football in general.

A general Bulls Club scholarship fund gift helps the education of over 470 student athletes and is charitable.