She's about to be a senior at Notre Dame. As we pulled up to park, she said to me, "I'm always depressed to see Rice Stadium." I asked her why. She said, "It looks so sad and neglected."

I got depressed.

That's why we need $5 million more a year.

(05-19-2013 11:07 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  That's why we need $5 million more a year.

I did my part by buying a lottery ticket last night. But it didn't work out.

I was born in August of 1950.... My Dad took the SID job in June... the stadium opened Sept 28 as we faced Santa Clara.... can you imagine how I feel? I coach a game every year [ St.John's vs. Kinkaid] each year at HRS and see each Owl home game. I cry when I walk in and see "The Jess Neely and Joe Davis scoreboard" I am SICK of this downward spiral ! PLEASE can someone put some $ to athletics! If I had it I would gladly give it ! Why cannot the University support Athletics like the rest of the University ? I must be naive ! Rice fight never dies

President Leebron and his wife were also at the game, arriving around the fourth or fifth inning. Can we hope they are taking notice?

If Rice is interested in having a brand that communicates excellence, Rice Stadium hurts that brand. Badly.

Everything you do increases the value of your brand or decreases it.

(05-19-2013 11:50 PM)son of SID Wrote:  I was born in August of 1950.... My Dad took the SID job in June... the stadium opened Sept 28 as we faced Santa Clara.... can you imagine how I feel? I coach a game every year [ St.John's vs. Kinkaid] each year at HRS and see each Owl home game. I cry when I walk in and see "The Jess Neely and Joe Davis scoreboard" I am SICK of this downward spiral ! PLEASE can someone put some $ to athletics! If I had it I would gladly give it ! Why cannot the University support Athletics like the rest of the University ? I must be naive ! Rice fight never dies

It takes money and it takes attitude. Right now, we have neither.

(05-20-2013 10:04 AM)Barrett Wrote:  If Rice is interested in having a brand that communicates excellence, Rice Stadium hurts that brand. Badly.

Everything you do increases the value of your brand or decreases it.

Do you mean the architecture of the stadium? Or do you mean its neglect?

Personally I think the stadium is a great piece of architecture. I don't think it needs to be replaced -- it has great bones -- but it does need a lot of work and improvements.

I'm talking about the stadium's physical neglect. I'm talking about how, when there are more than 15,000 people in the stadium, it becomes painfully clear that Rice doesn't have the infrastructure to serve those 15,000 people. I like the stadium's bones, but it's clear that Rice doesn't really care about it.

It's interesting to me that she could feel that way just from the parking lot. We never went into the stadium so she didn't see any of the bad parts. I guess the deterioration has been so gradual I don't see it from far off. But she could.

(05-20-2013 10:13 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  It takes money and it takes attitude. Right now, we have neither.

Agree - it does take both and they often go hand-in-hand. So, as supporters of Rice athletics (which there appear to be many on this forum), why not donate to Rice University and designate the funds to sports programs? According to RiceOwls.com, here are some places to start:

http://www.riceowls.com/owlclub/home.html

http://www.riceowls.com/owlclub/capital-fund.html


I wouldn't think donations would have to be 5-, 6- or 7-figures to get the ball rolling and grab the attention of administration (participation rates shouldn't be discounted!). If enough people start to donate to athletics, this would send the message that athletics is important to the Rice community and well-supported by fans.

As financial support increases, programs become stronger and more successful, which in-turn generates a positive environment, which leads to increased donations/support, etc. It appears that the Reckling Park-Rice baseball program is a great example of this. And most likely the Rice tennis teams will continue their upward trajectory upon completion of the new tennis facility. So, maybe football could be next?

Seems I see this discussion on this board about every 4-6 months. Unfortunately, based on past experiences, I think it is completely out of our hands.

(05-21-2013 12:13 AM)CrabCake Wrote:  I wouldn't think donations would have to be 5-, 6- or 7-figures to get the ball rolling and grab the attention of administration (participation rates shouldn't be discounted!). If enough people start to donate to athletics, this would send the message that athletics is important to the Rice community and well-supported by fans.
As financial support increases, programs become stronger and more successful, which in-turn generates a positive environment, which leads to increased donations/support, etc. It appears that the Reckling Park-Rice baseball program is a great example of this. And most likely the Rice tennis teams will continue their upward trajectory upon completion of the new tennis facility. So, maybe football could be next?

To get done what really needs to be done, the number has to hit 7 figures, but you are right that any start is far better than no start. To give you an idea, McKinsey said that donations to Rice athletics were in the $1.3 million range, whereas for the average D-I program they were in the $4.5 million range. Because of small size of the alumni association, we are never going to close that gap entirely, but any improvement helps. The participation rate was behind Chris's thinking about club and intramural sports. The more students you get participating actively in sports of some sort, and the better you support those programs, the more potential donors you have among future alumni.

Another place that Rice falls way behind D-I as a whole is corporate sponsorship. McKinsey aggregated the number with other sources, so it's hard to pick out exactly what the shortfall is, but based on some more recent NCAA data I would make educated guesses that it is about $500,000 for Rice compared to $2.5-3 million for D-I as a whole. At the time of McKinsey, I struck up a friendship with a Kinesiology prof somewhere in Illinois, Illinois-Chicago I think (we have not stayed in touch, but I'm thinking of trying to relocate him). When I sent him a copy of the McKinsey report, his first reaction was that the revenue numbers could not possibly be right, that there was no way that ANY D-I program could be getting as little from corporate sponsorship as McKinsey was showing from the combination of corporate sponsorship and several other sources. Unfortunately, I think McKinsey did have it right. Part of the problem is the Rice policy that athletics cannot solicit non-athletic donors. The policy is based on the expectation that there is a fixed pool of money to donate, and therefore athletics donations reduce non-athletics donations. Todd talked Leebron into letting him solicit corporate donors for the Rice Stadium improvements, at least partly (according to Todd) by showing him a study which said that athletics donations actually INCREASE non-athletics donations, the opposite of the Rice assumption. I have never found the study, and I don't know whether Todd made it up and blew smoke by Leebron or what. Given what I know about how big-time programs work, the "study" conclusions make sense to me. The big-time schools with the suites get their big-time donors in there, get them lacquered up with a few drinks, and then the president comes by and puts the squeeze on them for some new project. I've seen this many times. It would make sense for Rice to do the same. But....

But... We still remain a school who plays D1 football rather than a D1 football school. The leaders of our school and the major donors will never let football appear to be more important or emphasized more than our academic reputation. Unfortunately they do not understand that both can co- exist.

speaking of money...they must be trying ease the deficit via the surcharge for the Aggie/Rice football game tickets.Suprised there has been no reaction on this board.

(05-21-2013 10:07 AM)addickesowl Wrote:  speaking of money...they must be trying ease the deficit via the surcharge for the Aggie/Rice football game tickets.Suprised there has been no reaction on this board.

I just looked up picket prices last night. Probably worthy of it's own thread.