It is my opinion that W&M (the school and/or the Athletic Department) does not value the Men’s Basketball program, certainly not to the extent that I do. As a result, we under-invest in the program and our recent success has come despite, rather than as a result of, the infrastructure put in place by the school.

In FY 2013, W&M spending on basketball was significantly less than Hofstra, Northeastern, JMU, Drexel and Charleston. While the UNC-W budget was comparable, I have no doubt that the beginning of its Keatts era was preceded by a significant boost in their spending as well.

As I think a part of the Competitive Excellence exercise, it was determined that a significant boost in W&M spending on basketball is required for us to compete for championships. Basically that would mean a 50% increase in operating budget from 2015 to 2020 (NOT adjusted for inflation), not considering the capital budget which is where a practice facility would be included. Nor is it a very ambitious list since it addressed recruiting and coaches salaries but not buying a decent OOC schedule, whether that be OOC home games or pre- or post-season tournaments.

(One part of that goal has already been met: the increased funding for summer school scholarships. However, I understand that objective was met by the efforts of boosters outside the College, not by the College itself.)

Even worse, that was a wish list from the basketball program, not a commitment from the College.

Here is the key paragraph from the Report of the Committee on Competitive Excellence:

"Each sport program – its coaches, alumnae or alumni, and friends – must be aware of its spending and facility needs, and, therefore, the fundraising goals to provide its respective operational necessities. The athletic director should outline targets for new resources that need to be raised above and beyond current giving levels to the programs by area."

I am aware of no plan to achieve greater funding for the basketball program. I see no timetable with measurable benchmarks to motivate increased giving. I have heard no feedback on progress against our goals.

If such a plan exists, it has been poorly communicated because I am a prime target that should have been approached to increase my (small) contributions.

If it does not, its absence is telling.

I believe we need an organized basketball boosters entity to work with the College to establish goals and work to achieve them. I hear at various times that the “boosters” have addressed a problem or that “seven or eight basketball alumni” will fund a trip. This ad-hoc approach is no way to establish a winning program.

I believe there is untapped financial support for the MBB program that is waiting for clear direction from the College and a commitment that increased funding for basketball does indeed go to basketball.

I'm with you.

Here here

One Tribe. One Family.

Since we are talking about giving on this thread, I just looked and saw that One Tribe One Day is March 28. Reminder to all that this could help if people donate and you can designate donations to specific causes.

You really don't even need a booster club. If someone wants to spear head this, just get in touch with Nick Georges, Al Albert, or Bobby Dwyer. They will be happy to coordinate getting something set up for giving or start a campaign if enough interest is there. We did some things for Baseball a while back and got a booster club together. Bobby's crew has been involved the entire time and it works well.

I know that a number of the posters to this board are able to contribute to Tribe athletics at a much higher level than I. In addition to CEOs, attorneys, and physicians, our Alma Mater produces penurious teachers like myself. I contribute at a level appropriate to my limited means, but even I would be willing to to squeeze out a few more bucks for this effort. Over the last few years I have become pretty attached to the basketball program, so count me in.

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FWIW, I sent out feelers to my crew and they'd all contribute to a basketball equivalent of QB Club. The main concerns they have are the use of funding, but they all also say that they've felt football has always had a higher production value at W&M. If that's due to the QB Club vs. the absence of a similar club, they're on board with the new organization.

On a more personal level, my folks are both alumni and we travel to some basketball road games. My mom almost cut the basketball team out completely after the dismal support at Louisville. Maybe there wasn't a lot of alumni fans traveling there, but both Jack and Omar (and Mike?) were almost locals and had significant support there that was not organized in any way. I brought about 10-15 people with me because my extended family is in that area, but we had to buy tickets through UL because W&M returned their allotment. I was told that was because we didn't think we'd be able to sell 200 tickets, but it seems like that's the kind of thing a basketball booster club can help with. I know we have a skeleton crew at W&M that burns the candle at both ends, but maybe some kind of booster club can take on that kind of organization so our 3-5 people for all sports don't have to.

I want to reiterate that I'm not at all knocking our SID department. Spencer, Ryan, and the rest of them do great work, but they're responsible for everything for every sport. Anything we can do to help them out seems like it would be worth it.

I'd 100% be in for a basketball version of the QB Club. If I could find the time, might even be willing to help organize in some way - although maybe wishful thinking with an 8 month old .

I'm in for a booster club for mbb


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On this note. Before the NCAA selection get together as Trask yesterday, Keatts, the coaches and the players had a pre-game. This invite only gathering included trustees and administration, but the main focus was the "shot makers" club. Keatts explained his desire for this small, trusted group when he came to UNCW. He pointed out that anyone of them could give him a call, and he would answer at any time if possible. He thanked them individual, and asked each one present to speak for a moment and introduce themselves to the crowd.

This group contributed funds, raised funds and were the UNCW "insiders" related to UNCW men's basketball. If Keatts found this group to be this valuable to his success, I have no doubt the positive impact it could have at William and Mary. We have a larger, sports specific group for men's basketball, but the shot makers are the core of our men's basketball program.

Hope you guys can make this happen. The CAA needs a strong MBB program at William and Mary.

I am not proposing an "insider's booster" club. Hopefully we do have deep-pocketed boosters who can up with big bucks for the big capital outlays.

I am proposing more of a grass-roots effort which would

work with the Athletic Department to identify areas where additional funds can be of immediate use to the program (OOC, pre- and post-season tournaments, recruiting budget, etc.)
create a more supportive environment for team at home and away games
foster the understanding within the Athletic Department that MBB is an important and hitherto under-funded program (if you want to read lobby and/or interest group here you may).

I have increased my support of W&M significantly over the last few years - and all towards MBB. I have not lowered my other giving to the College or the Tribe Club. However, since basketball is my sport and W&M is my alma mater, I am most passionate about the MBB program and want to see if I can do more to help.

Given the information available to me right now, I don't know if I am throwing money into a black hole or if we have a plan and are working against that plan.

Deep-pocketed boosters have access to that information - right now I don't.

As an analogy, realize that I am a life-long Redskin fan. That means through the Edward Bennett Williams, Jack Kent Cooke and Daniel Snyder eras. EBW was OK but only under Jack Kent Cooke was the infrastructure in place for a winning program. Now under Daniel Snyder it's back to Bedtime for Gonzo. I have lost my emotional commitment to that team because the owner/organization do not carry about winning; why should I care more than they?

If W&M is wants a winning MBB program then I'm all in. (And yes, I am OK with us retaining our strict academic standards, even if that means that we need to get the kids back in class as early as possible in March. And even if that means our suspended players don't magically come back from suspensions in time for the CAA Tourney - thank you Delaware. And even if that means no COA on principle - not because we're too cheap but because of principle. If that means we have kids giving articulate responses in the losing post-game press conference or leaving school early to work as investment bankers, well, hell, that's W&M).

If W&M and the Athletic Department don't want a winner then I need to re-direct my passion and money elsewhere.

honest question: do other schools do the same thing with donations? I mean spread them out over the whole department?

(03-13-2017 05:02 PM)soccerguy315 Wrote:  honest question: do other schools do the same thing with donations? I mean spread them out over the whole department?

At UNCW you can donate to the Seahawk Club which can be used at the discretion of the club for any athletic need. But, each sport also has its' own fundraising club that donors can give to specifically for that team.

(03-11-2017 09:26 PM)LeadBolt Wrote:  I'm in for a booster club for mbb


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Same here. I agree that it's something that should have existed many years ago.:

All of W&M's mens basketball scholarships are now fully endowed...money does not have to be raised for mens basketball scholarships anymore.

I doubt if other CAA schools can say the same thing. Yes, we need a basketball-only facility and higher coaches and recruiting budgets, but things should not be exaggerated. Lots of programs would like to have their 13 scholarships fully funded from endowments.

(03-19-2017 05:54 PM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  All of W&M's mens basketball scholarships are now fully endowed...money does not have to be raised for mens basketball scholarships anymore.

I doubt if other CAA schools can say the same thing. Yes, we need a basketball-only facility and higher coaches and recruiting budgets, but things should not be exaggerated. Lots of programs would like to have their 13 scholarships fully funded from endowments.

I would think that having all endowed scholarships for a major sport should free up funds for recruiting, coaches, facilities, etc., wouldn't you?

(03-19-2017 05:54 PM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  All of W&M's mens basketball scholarships are now fully endowed...money does not have to be raised for mens basketball scholarships anymore.

I doubt if other CAA schools can say the same thing. Yes, we need a basketball-only facility and higher coaches and recruiting budgets, but things should not be exaggerated. Lots of programs would like to have their 13 scholarships fully funded from endowments.

That's huge! Congratulations!

The scholarship thing happened a couple years ago, right? That would have a press release if it just happened.

For jmu I will give you 2 different groups and another idea you can look at for info. Note: these 3 examples are from the 3 most successful sports (right now) at JMU and I doubt it is a coincidence.

In football we have the Alpha Dogs which got started by Withers in his 2 years at JMU. This is a group of wealthy donors that the football program can go to and ask for funds to get things they want. Examples for things they have done include new uniforms (black uniforms), new helmets (black, purple, white), and new lockers in the locker room.

For women's basketball we have the Crown Club. This group has been around for a much longer time and is more of a grassroots type of setup. This is a group of donors that provide smaller donations to help the women's basketball team get extra money to put in their budget for whatever they need. This group is also a fan group that puts together bus trips to away games for fans to go on.

I know of 1 other happening at JMU that could be tied into this discussion. The softball team wanted to have padding added to the outfield fence at the new stadium. After asking the athletic department and getting denied, the coach went and asked the parents of the players and some donors to give money so they could get the padding. It was taken care of within a month.

I'm not sure exactly which type of setup you are looking for with your donations, but I think you could look into each idea a little and see which one would do what you want the best.