CSNbbs

As has been mentioned in other threads, the BOV will be meeting this Friday. I think it is crucial we contact the BOV members and make our message completely clear to them prior to their meeting: COA NEEDS to happen. I'm sure many feel you have already been vocal enough in your desire for JMU to implement COA but in my opinion this is the best shot we have to effect a change, so we really need to drive the idea home.

Basically, we need to spam the hell out of these folks from now until 1:00 pm on Friday when the BOV meets. Just stay level-headed in your communication (so no "FIRE ALGER AND ADD COA OR I WILL NOT DONATE!"). To those who have already contacted the BOV members, Bourne, or Alger, it may be wise to post in this thread what you sent to them. That way others can borrow certain points or arguments for their own communication.

The JMU website has almost zero contact info for the BOV members but I found a list compiled by JMUDuke25 from a previous thread:

EDIT: If you have any contact info for any of the BOV members that is not listed here, please share it.

(09-22-2015 08:41 PM)JMUDuke25 Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-22-2015 08:16 PM)JMU2004 Wrote: [ -> ]Is there a way to gain an audience with the BOV? I see no way of contacting them....

Michael Thomas:
thomas_michael@bah.com

Mike Battle:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mike-battle/2/494/264
http://brmi.com/team/#our_team

William T Bolling:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/william-t-b...86/120/377
http://www.rcmd.com/people/william-t-bill-bolling
Office Phone - 855 280 7282

Warren Coleman:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/warren-coleman/72/b35/ab
http://www.hdcva.com/about-us/profiles/p...n-coleman/
804.282.6550

Vanessa Evans-Grevious:
vevans@ronbrown.org
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/vanessa-eva...s/5/26/383
https://www.ronbrown.org/section/about-u...sa-m-evans
General Company Phone - (434) 964-1588

Joseph Funkhouser:
http://www.funkhousergroup.com/management__support/
Link to email on that page

Jeffrey Grass:
http://www.buysafe.com/about_us/executive_team.html
jgrass@buysafe.com

Matthew Gray:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/matthew-gray/10/241/391
mgray@humanesociety.org

Lucy Hutchinson:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hutchinsonlucy
Should be Lucy.Hutchinson@capitalone.com

Maria Jankowski:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/maria-jankowski/5b/8b0/875
mjankowski@adm.idc.virginia.gov

Deborah Johnson:
I got nothing

David Rexrode:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-rexrode/4/859/111
Twitter: @DRexrode
drexrode@rga.org

Edward Rice:
I got nothing

John Rothenberger:
http://www.sesolutions.com/index.php/abo...anagement/
I think it's John.Rothenberger@sesolutions.com
703-251-4848

Craig Welburn:
http://welburnmanagement.com/our-people/craig-b-welburn

Will email all
Of them tommorrow.

I will as well.

One thing about COA from yesterday- Bourne made it sound like a conference decision and the conference meets over the next few months as well. Keep in mind that the new commissioner comes from the Big East. I am hoping that the combination of a few CAA schools already committing to COA, the JMU admin and BOV being aware of how important an issue this is for the fans/alumni, and the new commissioner will ultimately force JMU to commit.

Initial thoughts:
BOV members will tend to be business oriented, may not all be sports fans, and will likely need to be educated on what COA is and why it matters. Arguments that present why this is financially wise, affordable, and "fair" will carry far more weight than "OMG, our sports are going to suck!"

Some points I think may apply:
- COA is funded in part by the NCAA, and alumni are willing to contribute also.
- COA is not paying athletes, it covers financial costs of being a student as defined for financial need / FAFSA.
- COA closes the gap between current scholarships and the expense of being a student.
- Our coaches have specifically mentioned COA as a factor in deciding to leave.
- Because our peers offer it, recruiting will be impacted, hurting compeititveness and this impacts JMU financially thru less fan support/ticket purchases and alumni giving.
- May help to name peer state schools offering it: UVA, VT, VCU, GMU?, etc.

(04-06-2016 06:19 AM)JMURocks Wrote: [ -> ]Initial thoughts:
BOV members will tend to be business oriented, may not all be sports fans, and will likely need to be educated on what COA is and why it matters. Arguments that present why this is financially wise, affordable, and "fair" will carry far more weight than "OMG, our sports are going to suck!"

Some points I think may apply:
- COA is funded in part by the NCAA, and alumni are willing to contribute also.
- COA is not paying athletes, it covers financial costs of being a student as defined for financial need / FAFSA.
- COA closes the gap between current scholarships and the expense of being a student.
- Our coaches have specifically mentioned COA as a factor in deciding to leave.
- Because our peers offer it, recruiting will be impacted, hurting compeititveness and this impacts JMU financially thru less fan support/ticket purchases and alumni giving.
- May help to name schools offering it: UVA, VT, VCU, GMU, Longwood, Radford, ODU, RU, Liberty, etc.

FIFY

MIke Battle does not need to be schooled on cost of attendance, in the past week coach brooks had a long conversation with him on this topic. If we send emails to him I would encourage everyone to point out the obvious and try not bully the guy. Your are not going to ever bully him and more importantly he is a former athlete and is so on board with getting COA. Just point out the obvious and let him know where JMU nation stands on the issue. Battle is the athletics guy on the BOV and going forward is the most important man in fighting this issue.

(04-06-2016 07:34 AM)Bogey Wrote: [ -> ]MIke Battle does not need to be schooled on cost of attendance, in the past week coach brooks had a long conversation with him on this topic. If we send emails to him I would encourage everyone to point out the obvious and try not bully the guy. Your are not going to ever bully him and more importantly he is a former athlete and is so on board with getting COA. Just point out the obvious and let him know where JMU nation stands on the issue. Battle is the athletics guy on the BOV and going forward is the most important man in fighting this issue.

I emailed Mike. No response, but I understand that. He is a volunteer and has other considerations to handle.

Be polite, voice your concerns, and advise him of your personal consequences should JMU continue down this road.

(04-06-2016 09:14 AM)JMU2004 Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-06-2016 07:34 AM)Bogey Wrote: [ -> ]MIke Battle does not need to be schooled on cost of attendance, in the past week coach brooks had a long conversation with him on this topic. If we send emails to him I would encourage everyone to point out the obvious and try not bully the guy. Your are not going to ever bully him and more importantly he is a former athlete and is so on board with getting COA. Just point out the obvious and let him know where JMU nation stands on the issue. Battle is the athletics guy on the BOV and going forward is the most important man in fighting this issue.

I emailed Mike. No response, but I understand that. He is a volunteer and has other considerations to handle.

Be polite, voice your concerns, and advise him of your personal consequences should JMU continue down this road.

Same is true with Warren Coleman. Great guy. He was a former athlete at JMU and attends every football game. He is a huge JMU Football supporter and I would imagine that he knows everything there is to know about COA. What I don't know is what his opinion is on the subject.

Warren also coordinates the lettermen's club for former athletes.

Here is some more info for those of you just now getting into communication with the administration and/or BOV.

Board Committees
There are five standing committees of the board of visitors: Advancement Committee; Athletics Committee; Audit Committee; Education and Student Life Committee; and Finance and Physical Development Committee.
The chairs of the five standing committees, along with the rector, form the board's executive committee. The rector chairs the executive committee. The executive committee may exercise most of the powers of the full board when the board is in recess.

If you didn't know, Mike Battle is the chair for the Athletics Committee.

Correspondence should be directed to:
Donna L. Harper, Secretary to the Board at harperdl@jmu.edu
Michael M. Thomas, Rector at Rector@jmu.edu
Robert J. Smith, Student Member at Student-Member-BOV@jmu.edu