https://tribeathletics.com/news/2021/3/1...im-ad.aspx

Key takeaways: Funding is still an issue, we basically need to have this level of effort year after year to be sustainable. The initial reinstatement of thr Tribe 7 was through the 2020/2021 school year, they have now been fully reinstated, with no stated end date.

Overall, seems like good news. Reading between the lines it seems like if fundraising doesn't keep up we may have to cut sports at some point, but that's going to be true everywhere.

(03-10-2021 02:54 PM)TDenverFan Wrote:  https://tribeathletics.com/news/2021/3/1...im-ad.aspx

Key takeaways: Funding is still an issue, we basically need to have this level of effort year after year to be sustainable. The initial reinstatement of thr Tribe 7 was through the 2020/2021 school year, they have now been fully reinstated, with no stated end date.

Overall, seems like good news. Reading between the lines it seems like if fundraising doesn't keep up we may have to cut sports at some point, but that's going to be true everywhere.

I like the update and the candor from our AD.

This also shows - for better or worse - that our financial input does carry a strong voice with it. It’s obvious from the board here alone that many, many people were upset on the recent management and decisions of our leadership. Their voices made a difference,

(03-10-2021 03:30 PM)Sitting bull Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 02:54 PM)TDenverFan Wrote:  https://tribeathletics.com/news/2021/3/1...im-ad.aspx

Key takeaways: Funding is still an issue, we basically need to have this level of effort year after year to be sustainable. The initial reinstatement of thr Tribe 7 was through the 2020/2021 school year, they have now been fully reinstated, with no stated end date.

Overall, seems like good news. Reading between the lines it seems like if fundraising doesn't keep up we may have to cut sports at some point, but that's going to be true everywhere.

I like the update and the candor from our AD.

This also shows - for better or worse - that our financial input does carry a strong voice with it. It’s obvious from the board here alone that many, many people were upset on the recent management and decisions of our leadership. Their voices made a difference,

Well... their wallets made a difference.

(03-10-2021 04:58 PM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  Well... their wallets made a difference.

Now it is time for them to open them back up.
Put up or...

(03-10-2021 05:29 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 04:58 PM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  Well... their wallets made a difference.

Now it is time for them to open them back up.
Put up or...

Or should this read "Now it is time for us to open them back up...."?

Us v them. Them wasn't getting it done before.

(03-10-2021 05:29 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 04:58 PM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  Well... their wallets made a difference.

Now it is time for them to open them back up.
Put up or...

Appears the issue at hand is how to persuade donors to open wallets. The department's existing vision is to dominate the CAA. The actual product is CAA mediocrity, and in some seasons, worse. And it isn't selling. Our Tribe doesn't wander 40 years in the wilderness, but it sure does go through some dry CAA seasons. The recent basketball regular season success provides just enough hope to keep the College stuck in the same rut.

Much is made about whether "better" opponents would result in greater community interest, ticket sales, and donations. My suspicion is that the identity of the opponents is less important than the outcome of the contests. Five losing football seasons in a row won't result in much community interest, have fans stampeding to the ticket window, or make donors more enthusiastic. Perpetually losing in the quarterfinals, even semifinals of the CAA tournament takes its toll.

Maybe better "communication" from the department and fewer self-inflicted wounds results in some improvement on the donation front (although the down 36% up 13% dynamic leaves the hole pretty deep). No data presented to date indicates that cutting Olympic sports actually solves any funding problems, and it might hurt applications and enrollment, and even reduce donations.

Maybe it's the vision that needs reworking, placing Tribe athletics competition on a more level playing field week in and week out and with more Ws at the end of every year. Makes for an easier sales job.

(03-10-2021 06:31 PM)Florida tribe fan Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 05:29 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 04:58 PM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  Well... their wallets made a difference.

Now it is time for them to open them back up.
Put up or...

Appears the issue at hand is how to persuade donors to open wallets. The department's existing vision is to dominate the CAA. The actual product is CAA mediocrity, and in some seasons, worse. And it isn't selling. Our Tribe doesn't wander 40 years in the wilderness, but it sure does go through some dry CAA seasons. The recent basketball regular season success provides just enough hope to keep the College stuck in the same rut.

Much is made about whether "better" opponents would result in greater community interest, ticket sales, and donations. My suspicion is that the identity of the opponents is less important than the outcome of the contests. Five losing football seasons in a row won't result in much community interest, have fans stampeding to the ticket window, or make donors more enthusiastic. Perpetually losing in the quarterfinals, even semifinals of the CAA tournament takes its toll.

Maybe better "communication" from the department and fewer self-inflicted wounds results in some improvement on the donation front (although the down 36% up 13% dynamic leaves the hole pretty deep). No data presented to date indicates that cutting Olympic sports actually solves any funding problems, and it might hurt applications and enrollment, and even reduce donations.

Maybe it's the vision that needs reworking, placing Tribe athletics competition on a more level playing field week in and week out and with more Ws at the end of every year. Makes for an easier sales job.

We have no chance of "moving up" right now without significant success in basketball. Donors wont be showing up out of thin air. The usual suspects are probably maxed out. The one thing that we can do to energize the local and alumni fan base is win. "Dropping down" to Patriot or Ivy is an option, but why not first try to go big. Do the Kaplan renovation. It is likely to keep interest high for both recruits and the fans for a few years. A nice arena with alcohol will get the locals as well as young alums in the door. Williamsburg is not a hot-bed for social activities. This could really take off. If we get lucky, a synergistic cycle of better recruits and winning can turn into a pipeline of success both with regard to consistency on the court and the cash. If this experiment fails, we turn to plan B and drop down to another conference to hopefully be a consistent winner in a smaller pond. Otherwise, we continue in this purgatory.

(03-10-2021 05:29 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 04:58 PM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  Well... their wallets made a difference.

Now it is time for them to open them back up.
Put up or...

I’m sure they will. Tribe supporters have shown they can be among the most loyal and generous groups around - and really aren’t overly demanding in the process, whether that means voicing an opinion, buying game tickets or raising money for the sports of their interest (as you see with the men’s swimming program).

Sometimes the wallet can be the only way to effectively express an opinion or motivate others to listen.

(03-10-2021 07:26 PM)nogretheogre Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 06:31 PM)Florida tribe fan Wrote:  ... My suspicion is that the identity of the opponents is less important than the outcome of the contests. ...

... The one thing that we can do to energize the local and alumni fan base is win.

Yea verily!

We appear to have forgotten that in Coach Fischer's first season, the one before the pandemic when we had people in Kaplan Arena,
we had the best fan and student turnout in memory, with crowds of more than 4000 and once 5000 to lead the CAA in
attendance.

Ticket sales for both football and basketball won't solve the problem though. We wastefully depleted the reserve fund on the prior AD's watch. Dropping down to a lower conference won't solve anything either. In fact it may make things worse if our revenue drops further.

Not the sale of tickets themselves...its the fan attendance and alumni attention that matters. You have to build enthusiasm. A fun, winning atmosphere gets people and especially alums excited about Tribe sports. This is when the wallets come out.

Improving the arena environment and game-day-atmosphere does wonders for this. Winning is still needed, but hopefully a more raucous atmosphere improves recruiting to push the team to the next level.

(03-11-2021 07:56 AM)nogretheogre Wrote:  Not the sale of tickets themselves...its the fan attendance and alumni attention that matters. You have to build enthusiasm. A fun, winning atmosphere gets people and especially alums excited about Tribe sports. This is when the wallets come out.

Improving the arena environment and game-day-atmosphere does wonders for this. Winning is still needed, but hopefully a more raucous atmosphere improves recruiting to push the team to the next level.

Very much this. I've been harping on this for sometime. You make a good time, "place to be," experience at the venue and you will have a fan interest that withstands good and bad seasons. Sure, ultimately putting out a good product puts butts in the seats. But making a memorable experience will keep students, alums, and local families coming back and engaged. Putting out a ho-hum game day experience makes getting some extra studying in at Swem a viable alternative.

Nogre, I tend to agree with you for the most part, but a new arena/stadium doesn't do much unless you put a winning product in front of the fans. Bubba's point above is on the money. We had a much better fan turn out in the 70s when we had a consistent winning product under the first Parkhill and had big name teams playing at our place in hoops. Same with football. As for the Alumni, the biggest and most enthusiastic fan cohort is dying off. Getting the local fan base to attend regularly, year in and year out is key. Another part that makes sense is corporate sponsorship. It still amazes me that we had such loyal fans 40-50 years ago when Williamsburg was half the size and now we struggle to get locals interested.

And for another plug......everyone should be spending the nominal fee to join the QB Club virtually.

Can someone with a little more knowledge explain how the reserve fund was drained so bad? Was Huge dipping into it for projects or were regular donors being alienated or both? And how long did it take to build up that level of a reserve?

This is an old article from Grand Canyon U, but this is the kind of progressive attitude I'm talking about when trying to turn just going to a game into a can't miss experience. This is the amount of game day experience they were concerned with when they were still just a D2 program. A real effort was made to get students involved, to get kids and families part of the experience, to get alums involved and sticking around. The payoff now is that they are D1 and have one of the more raucous home court advantages in the country. When you can get fans feeling like they are actually a part of the program and important to the game day operations, it isn't difficult to get them coming back. Im pretty sure it is a much easier sell when soliciting donations as well.
https://news.gcu.edu/2012/10/ready-to-ge...gcu-hoops/

https://youtu.be/h1qrvMBfg4E

Unlike Grand Canyon, I do hope we never see William and Mary available on the New York Stock exchange... https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LOPE/

To some of the ticket sale discussion, USA Today actually keeps excellent data on public school athletics for all of D1. W&M does just under 1 million in ticket sales in recent years. https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances

NDSU seems to be the top FCS school at a little over 6 million, and then Montana is in the 5 million range. Overall, I think it's about building a strong fan culture, and getting them to be bigger supporters/donors. While 1 million is a solid chunk of change (and is actually better than most FCS schools, as well as some MAC/Sun Belt teams), ticket sales alone aren't gonna fill the budget.

(03-11-2021 08:54 AM)zablenoise Wrote:  Can someone with a little more knowledge explain how the reserve fund was drained so bad? Was Huge dipping into it for projects or were regular donors being alienated or both? And how long did it take to build up that level of a reserve?

It is more a function of increased scholarship costs without increased donations. I don't have specific figures in front of me right now, but TC donations remained fairly steady from 2015 - 2019, somewhere around $4m each year. They did take a dip FY 2020. With increasing scholarship costs and operating expenses, the status quo in fund raising from year to year can't keep up.

I would think that it is a combination of alienation and major financial downturn. Some of the alienation portion may return now that the source of the alienation is gone. But the financial downturn could take some time to turn around. What worked well before was the number of people(and alums) involved in all aspects of the college(from supporting athletics, to honorary gifts, to memorials, and lots of scholarship and research giving. As people start to get together again and finances begin to improve, the Tribe might see increased involvement again.

I think the current administration is aware of both alienated alumni and the financial stresses. As for the basketball program currently, it cannot be fixed overnight. The Tribe is basically 2 recruiting classes short due to the events from March 2019. It doesn't mean you have no chance to win, but it is much more difficult. Dane's real opportunity to build his program begins now. He did a good job with the talent he inherited in 2020, and I think the class of Connor, Jake and Yuri is a good one. With a transfer in or a grad student, he might be able to find success in 2021-2022, but a normal timetable would be 2022-2023 when he will effectively have all his own recruits playing the system he wants to play.

Bubba's mentioning the attendance in 2019-2020 really focuses an opportunity. People are going to have an opportunity to come to games again this fall and winter. Will they return with excitement and interest, or will they have changed their viewing and leisure habits following 1-3 years away(depending on their circumstances)? Hopefully the former.

(03-10-2021 06:31 PM)Florida tribe fan Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 05:29 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(03-10-2021 04:58 PM)WMInTheBurg Wrote:  Well... their wallets made a difference.

Now it is time for them to open them back up.
Put up or...

Appears the issue at hand is how to persuade donors to open wallets. The department's existing vision is to dominate the CAA. The actual product is CAA mediocrity, and in some seasons, worse. And it isn't selling. Our Tribe doesn't wander 40 years in the wilderness, but it sure does go through some dry CAA seasons. The recent basketball regular season success provides just enough hope to keep the College stuck in the same rut.

Much is made about whether "better" opponents would result in greater community interest, ticket sales, and donations. My suspicion is that the identity of the opponents is less important than the outcome of the contests. Five losing football seasons in a row won't result in much community interest, have fans stampeding to the ticket window, or make donors more enthusiastic. Perpetually losing in the quarterfinals, even semifinals of the CAA tournament takes its toll.

Maybe better "communication" from the department and fewer self-inflicted wounds results in some improvement on the donation front (although the down 36% up 13% dynamic leaves the hole pretty deep). No data presented to date indicates that cutting Olympic sports actually solves any funding problems, and it might hurt applications and enrollment, and even reduce donations.

Maybe it's the vision that needs reworking, placing Tribe athletics competition on a more level playing field week in and week out and with more Ws at the end of every year. Makes for an easier sales job.

I'd agree in general, but I think it is harder to win than people think. The CAA has had 9 different tourney champs with only UNCW(16 and 17) and Northeastern(15(sigh) and 19) being repeat winners. Every team other than Towson has been to at least 1 CAA final. Having a consistent chance each year is a program's best shot. No one ever dominated the CAA in basketball for an extended stretch(even in the 2000's, VCU, ODU, UNCW and George Mason traded the role of best). I would say that Northeastern or Hofstra has been the most consistent program(s) over the last 10 years in the league. Hofstra has one championship which they never got to play and Northeastern has 2. Had the Tribe finished the last 1:30 in 2014, only the Kevin Keatts run would have yielded any school more than 1 championship. UNCW has had a significant lack of success both before and after that run for a number of years.