Thoughts on Fundraising
A hot topic around Ole Miss message boards these days has been the topic of fundraising and facilities expansion. This is a topic that I have observed and have formed some fairly strong opinions about.
Currently, Ole Miss is raising money for the much anticipated Basketball Practice Facility. Of course, work on the expansion of Oxford-University Stadium is underway, but due to underestimating the cost of the project, it was delayed and is not expected to be completed until the beginning of next baseball season.
Obviously the basketball facility is the cause of most of the uproar about fundraising at this time. First, the start of active fundraising was tied to the launch of the most recent capital campaign and the infamous daytime fireworks episode. In conjunction with that announcement, the UMAA Foundation is said to have sent out nearly 60,000 brochures and donation request forms to potential donors. To date, the project is still behind in raising the necessary funds to start construction.
The question that comes immediately to my mind is “Who should we blame?”.
The answer: All of us.
- The administration bears some of the blame due to their slowness to act, lack of active methods of fundraising, and over reliance on the “big money” donors who are beginning to feel as if the University is simply trying to squeeze every penny out of them possible.
- The coaches also bear some of the blame for this. How is Andy Kennedy to blame? In an odd sort of way, it is very possible that interest in raising funds for the facility dropped as the losses in the SEC accumulated this season. Ole Miss fans are notorious for looking for excuses not to support our athletic programs and losing provides the easiest excuse of them all.
- Last, but certainly not least, the fans. Yes, us. Ole Miss fans have an annoying habit (myself included) of demanding a lot of things and expecting someone else to pay for them.
More on my thoughts about Ole Miss fans… The Ole Miss fan is a strange breed. We pride ourselves on being “classier” and more “upscale” than our rivals in Starkville, Auburn, Baton Rouge, and other places around the country. We often talk about our love for Ole Miss and the spirit that surrounds the school and campus. Yet, so often, when we are asked to give our time, money, and energy to supporting our athletic programs, the response is so often “Let someone else do it” or “I’ll donate when they call me and ask me for money”.
We need to look around the SEC and ask ourselves if we are really committed to being a big time competitor in the Southeastern Conference arms race. When Alabama wants to expand, they don’t have to wait for the money to start - they have fans so desperate to be a part of the mystique of Alabama athletics that they donate thousands just to be on the waiting list for a season ticket. There’s no last minute scrambling to find people to donate - their donors are calling and pledging money before plans are even discussed. The same goes for our SEC brethren in Knoxville, who have such a demand for tickets that they can charge $1,000 per season for endzone seats in their nosebleed upper deck. Florida? Don’t get me started on their Bull Gators who will drop a hundred thousand dollars or more for a burnt steak with a big “F” branded onto it.
Even lowly SMU had a group of donors step up to donate $100,000 each per season to ensure that the money was always there to pay the salary of new football coach June Jones.
So, Ole Miss fans, this is our chance to make the leap into the big time. Let’s get the basketball facility paid for and so overwhelm the administration with donations that they don’t even have to wait to start the next big project.
