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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #41
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 04:04 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I don’t understand the money issue all the time. All I hear Is Rice needs more and more money. Rice has an endowment of $6 Billion and the University cannot chip in an additional $10 m per year (0.1 %) to athletics. That is peanuts. What is UH endowment, < $1 billion, and they are being successful in mens sports.

You obviously don't have a clue how endowments work or what they're used for. JK's priority from the outset has been to establish sports and athletic-specific endowments of which there were none when he arrived. (Note-- Stanford has a $500MM general purpose athletic endowment, largely funded by two of their alums who made fortunes in the dot.com world.) The Baseball Endowment was the first one established at Rice, but it's still funded at less than $1MM. Obviously, the football coach endowment is a MUCH bigger deal, and my guess is initially funded at something above $20MM (recognizing that Rice allows a 4.5% - 5.0% annual payout on endowments).
10-27-2019 04:24 PM
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texowl2 Offline
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Post: #42
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 12:16 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I don't think the BOT or Leebron are particularly anti-athletics. Certainly not a BOT chaired by Bobby Tudor, and before him Bucky Allshouse. As far as Leebron, I am aware of situations that I am not at liberty to disclose openly, where he has stuck his neck out for athletics in ways that to my knowledge no prior Rice president has ever come close to being willing to do. If you want to know more, PM me and if I know you and can trust you, I will give you details. Maybe something similar happened to get Rice Stadium built, but I don't go back that far.

But it is not the job of the BOT or Leebron to micromanage the athletic department. Their priority is and should be preserving the endowment. To spend a bunch of money on athletics, they need to have a plan, and that plan needs to be realistic. The problem is that, for the longest time, there has been no coherent plan or vision coming out of athletics. I have actually had conversations with BOT members who told me, "Look, if they would just give us a coherent plan, we would approve it. But they don't give us anything." It is the job of the AD, not the BOT or president, to develop and sell that plan.

"Throw another $10 million a year at athletics and we can show you how that will get us into the XII or SEC or ACC--or even American," might be a plan that the BOT could approve. But you need to put some meat on those bones and make the business case for how and why that can happen, and nobody has done that. I think Chris was on the way to that, but he left the project very much incomplete. Ranger Rick promised that--I was given specific assurances that such a plan was in the works by the son-in-law (that's the correct relationship, isn't it?) at lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in The Woodlands early in Rick's tenure, but I never saw it. Did any of you? I had hoped that Joe would come onboard with something like the Rice version of the Stanford vision--maybe "Stanford lite"--and that we would be well along on implementing it by now, but that hasn't happened either.

Here's the way I think I would approach it now.
1) We are going to make a significant effort to increase the athletic endowment massively. This is a big part of Stanford's success, and without something similar we can't hope to be Stanford, or even "Stanford lite." This is going to require substantial modification of the current university position regarding corporate donations to athletics.
2) At the same time, we are going to make a substantial effort to increase butts-in-seats and other current revenues. I would propose some sort of matching by the BOT--for every $X in additional revenue, the BOT will agree to increase the annual subsidy by $Y. At least in the short run, this is going to require what some call "body bag" football games. There simply isn't anything else that will yield revenues. I prefer to call them "money bag" games because a) we desperately need the money, and b) I've not really seen compelling evidence that we bring many more people home in body bags from such games as we do from others. I'd do two year with LSU, TexasU, aTm, or any of the SEC schools who schedule breathers in their penultimate weekend before their rivalry games. I'd also plat UH every year and make a massive effort to build that into a cross-town rivalry--sort of USC-UCLA lite. With 8 conference games, that leaves one date to fill, and I'd alternate between local FCS teams who can bring a crowd and similar academic institutions (Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, Vandy, service academies). I'm not that big on former SWC mates--having them come in and blow us out doesn't help recruiting, and they never drew that much when we were in the same conference, and really haven't done very well since. I'd love to play some of the Ivies, but that would almost certainly have to be a road trip because of their travel restrictions.
3) In the arena, the goal would be to dominate CUSA. The ultimate goal is, of course, to get out of CUSA. But we're not going to attract any attention going 3-9, 1-11, 2-11, 0-12 in CUSA. To get out we are going to have to a) average 9-10+ wins per year in football, b) go to the dance--men and women--in basketball at least every other year, and go as far as sweet 16 frequently, c) get baseball back to Omaha on a regular basis, and d) maintain at least what we have (thank God we have that) in women's sports. Conceptually, I'd say get football to where Navy has been over the past decade, get basketball to where Gonzaga has been over the last decade (although the last couple of years may be hard to match), get baseball back to where Wayne had it from about 2000-2010, and keep women's sports where they are now. No Rice teams have ever done this--nothing even remotely approaching it. But that's where we have to go. We can't do it exactly the way those schools did, or the way TCU did, but we can learn from every one of them.

For too long, the paradigm has been, "Losing is okay if you have a good enough excuse," and, "If you don't know where you are going, the path of least resistance will get you there." We need to have goals, we need to be willing tonight through resistance to get there, and winning has to be a huge part of those goals.

Joe is a competent administrator. We need one of those, but he/she needs to be the #2 person in the department. At the top we need a visionary leader who can formulate a plan and make a business case for that plan to the BOT. We don't have that, and other than possibly Chris we never have had that, at least not since I have had any association with the university. Stanford, Duke, and to lesser extents Vandy and Northwestern, had those visionary leaders back when the landscape of college athletics shifted dramatcially. We had Bo Hagan, Red Bale, and Augie Erfurth. Bobby was better than them--he was at least a competent administrator--but he was not a visionary.

Remember when our big plan was the EZF? How many football games have we won since it opened? What about the bubble in the west parking lot? Will it ever open?

Ok. I get its the ADs job, but who the #+-$## hires him. It is melting down and the BOT sits back and just watches, it is not our fault. Harry Truman would be appalled while Nero applauds....
10-27-2019 04:33 PM
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Owl 69/70/75 Offline
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Post: #43
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 04:33 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Ok. I get its the ADs job, but who the #+-$## hires him. It is melting down and the BOT sits back and just watches, it is not our fault. Harry Truman would be appalled while Nero applauds....

Well, it's not like things were going well in the 50 years before Joe was hired. The problems of Rice athletics are long and deeply seated. My criticism of Joe is that, given his Stanford background, I had high hopes that he would recognize the need for a major paradigm shift and would pursue it aggressively. Instead, he has been more of an administrator.
10-27-2019 04:38 PM
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waltgreenberg Offline
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Post: #44
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 12:16 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I don't think the BOT or Leebron are particularly anti-athletics. Certainly not a BOT chaired by Bobby Tudor, and before him Bucky Allshouse. As far as Leebron, I am aware of situations that I am not at liberty to disclose openly, where he has stuck his neck out for athletics in ways that to my knowledge no prior Rice president has ever come close to being willing to do. If you want to know more, PM me and if I know you and can trust you, I will give you details. Maybe something similar happened to get Rice Stadium built, but I don't go back that far.

But it is not the job of the BOT or Leebron to micromanage the athletic department. Their priority is and should be preserving the endowment. To spend a bunch of money on athletics, they need to have a plan, and that plan needs to be realistic. The problem is that, for the longest time, there has been no coherent plan or vision coming out of athletics. I have actually had conversations with BOT members who told me, "Look, if they would just give us a coherent plan, we would approve it. But they don't give us anything." It is the job of the AD, not the BOT or president, to develop and sell that plan.

"Throw another $10 million a year at athletics and we can show you how that will get us into the XII or SEC or ACC--or even American," might be a plan that the BOT could approve. But you need to put some meat on those bones and make the business case for how and why that can happen, and nobody has done that. I think Chris was on the way to that, but he left the project very much incomplete. Ranger Rick promised that--I was given specific assurances that such a plan was in the works by the son-in-law (that's the correct relationship, isn't it?) at lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in The Woodlands early in Rick's tenure, but I never saw it. Did any of you? I had hoped that Joe would come onboard with something like the Rice version of the Stanford vision--maybe "Stanford lite"--and that we would be well along on implementing it by now, but that hasn't happened either.

Here's the way I think I would approach it now.
1) We are going to make a significant effort to increase the athletic endowment massively. This is a big part of Stanford's success, and without something similar we can't hope to be Stanford, or even "Stanford lite." This is going to require substantial modification of the current university position regarding corporate donations to athletics.
2) At the same time, we are going to make a substantial effort to increase butts-in-seats and other current revenues. I would propose some sort of matching by the BOT--for every $X in additional revenue, the BOT will agree to increase the annual subsidy by $Y. At least in the short run, this is going to require what some call "body bag" football games. There simply isn't anything else that will yield revenues. I prefer to call them "money bag" games because a) we desperately need the money, and b) I've not really seen compelling evidence that we bring many more people home in body bags from such games as we do from others. I'd do two year with LSU, TexasU, aTm, or any of the SEC schools who schedule breathers in their penultimate weekend before their rivalry games. I'd also plat UH every year and make a massive effort to build that into a cross-town rivalry--sort of USC-UCLA lite. With 8 conference games, that leaves one date to fill, and I'd alternate between local FCS teams who can bring a crowd and similar academic institutions (Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, Vandy, service academies). I'm not that big on former SWC mates--having them come in and blow us out doesn't help recruiting, and they never drew that much when we were in the same conference, and really haven't done very well since. I'd love to play some of the Ivies, but that would almost certainly have to be a road trip because of their travel restrictions.
3) In the arena, the goal would be to dominate CUSA. The ultimate goal is, of course, to get out of CUSA. But we're not going to attract any attention going 3-9, 1-11, 2-11, 0-12 in CUSA. To get out we are going to have to a) average 9-10+ wins per year in football, b) go to the dance--men and women--in basketball at least every other year, and go as far as sweet 16 frequently, c) get baseball back to Omaha on a regular basis, and d) maintain at least what we have (thank God we have that) in women's sports. Conceptually, I'd say get football to where Navy has been over the past decade, get basketball to where Gonzaga has been over the last decade (although the last couple of years may be hard to match), get baseball back to where Wayne had it from about 2000-2010, and keep women's sports where they are now. No Rice teams have ever done this--nothing even remotely approaching it. But that's where we have to go. We can't do it exactly the way those schools did, or the way TCU did, but we can learn from every one of them.

For too long, the paradigm has been, "Losing is okay if you have a good enough excuse," and, "If you don't know where you are going, the path of least resistance will get you there." We need to have goals, we need to be willing tonight through resistance to get there, and winning has to be a huge part of those goals.

Joe is a competent administrator. We need one of those, but he/she needs to be the #2 person in the department. At the top we need a visionary leader who can formulate a plan and make a business case for that plan to the BOT. We don't have that, and other than possibly Chris we never have had that, at least not since I have had any association with the university. Stanford, Duke, and to lesser extents Vandy and Northwestern, had those visionary leaders back when the landscape of college athletics shifted dramatcially. We had Bo Hagan, Red Bale, and Augie Erfurth. Bobby was better than them--he was at least a competent administrator--but he was not a visionary.

Remember when our big plan was the EZF? How many football games have we won since it opened? What about the bubble in the west parking lot? Will it ever open?

Leebron is the most pro-athletics President Rice has had since at least Hackerman back in the early-to-mid '70s, and probably further back than that. And he attends (at least for parts) almost all home games for both women and mens sports when he's in town. And this myth that the BOT is anti-sports is a total joke. And it's not just Tudor and Bucky. The majority of the BOT are avid Rice sports fans.
10-27-2019 04:41 PM
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ExcitedOwl18 Offline
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Post: #45
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 04:38 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 04:33 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Ok. I get its the ADs job, but who the #+-$## hires him. It is melting down and the BOT sits back and just watches, it is not our fault. Harry Truman would be appalled while Nero applauds....

Well, it's not like things were going well in the 50 years before Joe was hired. The problems of Rice athletics are long and deeply seated. My criticism of Joe is that, given his Stanford background, I had high hopes that he would recognize the need for a major paradigm shift and would pursue it aggressively. Instead, he has been more of an administrator.

There is a very, very strong argument to be made that the 2000-2010 was better than the 2010-2020 decade.
10-27-2019 04:43 PM
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Post: #46
RE: AD Replacement Thread
The endowment by statute cannot be spent on facilities... and there is some internal push-back on paying for things like salaries that are in excess (or sometimes even competitive) with academic pursuits. The BOT's job is to protect the endowment, first and foremost, by a mile. Second is to protect academics... again, by a mile.

I agree 100% that $5-10mm shouldn't be an issue and that it could make a huge difference in the outcomes... but the BOT needs a plan and it seems they haven't been given one they like.

This is one of the many reasons why I've argued for someone like RU... whom as an alum can connect to non athlete students and alums... and as an MD can connect with the sciences, the BRC and the Medical center.... which is much more aligned with the goals of the BOT and COULD push them to be more amenable.

Before anyone starts, take RU 'the resume' out of my comments and just look at it from the perspective of aligning priorities. If you don't buy into that idea, then the conversation stops. If you buy into the idea, now you have to have someone who can fill that bill, and the list is unbelievably short... and every person on it will have some shortcomings. Thus far, it seems we've had no trouble finding football coaches. The shortcoming has been someone who can align the priorities of the university and non-athlete students and alums with athletics.
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2019 04:45 PM by Hambone10.)
10-27-2019 04:43 PM
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texowl2 Offline
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RE: AD Replacement Thread
Ok. So the BOT and leebron are pro athletics not sure i believe. Is it just too far gone which i think?
10-27-2019 04:55 PM
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Post: #48
RE: AD Replacement Thread
Leebron and the athletics supporters on the BOT appear to be "pro-athletics" in the sense that they're not for dropping out of Division I, and are otherwise a sufficient enough obstacle to those elements at Rice that very much are anti-athletics to keep things at stalemate. Well, big whoop. That's not enough.
10-27-2019 07:34 PM
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Post: #49
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 04:55 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Ok. So the BOT and leebron are pro athletics not sure i believe. Is it just too far gone which i think?

Not pro to the extent that presidents and boards are at, say, SEC schools. But certainly not anti.

I still think if they were presented with a reasonable plan, they would open some purse strings. But without a plan, there's nothing really for them to do.
10-27-2019 07:41 PM
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Post: #50
RE: AD Replacement Thread
I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else? a
(10-27-2019 07:41 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 04:55 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Ok. So the BOT and leebron are pro athletics not sure i believe. Is it just too far gone which i think?

Not pro to the extent that presidents and boards are at, say, SEC schools. But certainly not anti.

I still think if they were presented with a reasonable plan, they would open some purse strings. But without a plan, there's nothing really for them to do.
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2019 09:13 PM by OldOwl.)
10-27-2019 09:11 PM
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Owl 69/70/75 Offline
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Post: #51
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?

What did it say?

I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.
10-27-2019 09:23 PM
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Post: #52
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?

What did it say?

I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.

When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:

* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century

Not really plan details.
10-27-2019 09:31 PM
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Post: #53
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?

What did it say?

I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.

When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:

* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century

Not really plan details.

This is the strategic plan for 2019-2023. The meat starts on the seventh page of the PDF (labeled as page 5). Goals 4, 5, and 6 are most pertinent for this discussion as they're meant to improve competitiveness. Goals 1-3 are about making current athletes happy and successful as students (somewhat related towards minimizing dropouts/transfers). Goals 7-10 are about revenue.
10-27-2019 09:41 PM
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Owl 69/70/75 Offline
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Post: #54
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?
What did it say?
I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.
When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:
* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century
Not really plan details.

So platitudes, not a plan.
10-27-2019 09:42 PM
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Tomball Owl Offline
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Post: #55
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 09:42 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?
What did it say?
I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.
When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:
* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century
Not really plan details.

So platitudes, not a plan.

From fanklyconfused’s link, looks like I was remembering bits and pieces of the 4 pillar speech. I hadn’t seen the details of the 2019-2023 plan.
10-27-2019 10:04 PM
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Owl 69/70/75 Offline
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Post: #56
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 10:04 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:42 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?
What did it say?
I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.
When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:
* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century
Not really plan details.
So platitudes, not a plan.
From fanklyconfused’s link, looks like I was remembering bits and pieces of the 4 pillar speech. I hadn’t seen the details of the 2019-2023 plan.

I think I remember it now. I think I remember being disappointed. I don't think it had any kind of plan to achieve those things. And I don't see much that has been done on them.
(This post was last modified: 10-28-2019 09:01 AM by Owl 69/70/75.)
10-27-2019 10:13 PM
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Post: #57
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 10:13 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 10:04 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:42 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  What did it say?
I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.
When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:
* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century
Not really plan details.
So platitudes, not a plan.
From fanklyconfused’s link, looks like I was remembering bits and pieces of the 4 pillar speech. I hadn’t seen the details of the 2019-2023 plan.

I think I remember it now. I think I remember being disappointed. I don't think it had any kind of pain to achieve those things. And I don't see much that has been done on them.

I think marketing has made a tangible and pleasant step forward. Does that move the needle? Probably not, but it is a part of the plan that was executed.
10-27-2019 11:56 PM
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Post: #58
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 11:56 PM)Intellectual_Brutality Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 10:13 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 10:04 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:42 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:
* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century
Not really plan details.
So platitudes, not a plan.
From fanklyconfused’s link, looks like I was remembering bits and pieces of the 4 pillar speech. I hadn’t seen the details of the 2019-2023 plan.
I think I remember it now. I think I remember being disappointed. I don't think it had any kind of plan to achieve those things. And I don't see much that has been done on them.
I think marketing has made a tangible and pleasant step forward. Does that move the needle? Probably not, but it is a part of the plan that was executed.

I was thinking about that as I wrote it. Yes, marketing has made some good changes. At least the people there now are a lot more pleasant to deal with. But that has not really translated to butts in seats, which is the ultimate objective. In fact, we've gone the other way. I'm just glad the old 15,000 rule has been modified.

I still think the corner-turner for Rice is getting basketball to make money. Right now it's a black hole financially. And I think we can turn it faster than football. My issue there is I'm not sure we can turn it around in Tudor, given its inherent limitations, particularly if we can't make the lights and scoreboard and sound system work. But Gonzaga certainly built a top-notch program with facilities that aren't much, if any, better. The trick is getting non-conference TV games. And that is pretty much an "anybody, anywhere, any time" scenario, once you get established as a program that people want to watch.
(This post was last modified: 10-28-2019 09:11 AM by Owl 69/70/75.)
10-28-2019 09:05 AM
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Tomball Owl Offline
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Post: #59
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-28-2019 09:05 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 11:56 PM)Intellectual_Brutality Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 10:13 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 10:04 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:42 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  So platitudes, not a plan.
From fanklyconfused’s link, looks like I was remembering bits and pieces of the 4 pillar speech. I hadn’t seen the details of the 2019-2023 plan.
I think I remember it now. I think I remember being disappointed. I don't think it had any kind of plan to achieve those things. And I don't see much that has been done on them.
I think marketing has made a tangible and pleasant step forward. Does that move the needle? Probably not, but it is a part of the plan that was executed.

I was thinking about that as I wrote it. Yes, marketing has made some good changes. At least the people there now are a lot more pleasant to deal with. But that has not really translated to butts in seats, which is the ultimate objective. In fact, we've gone the other way. I'm just glad the old 15,000 rule has been modified.

I still think the corner-turner for Rice is getting basketball to make money. Right now it's a black hole financially. And I think we can turn it faster than football. My issue there is I'm not sure we can turn it around in Tudor, given its inherent limitations, particularly if we can't make the lights and scoreboard and sound system work. But Gonzaga certainly built a top-notch program with facilities that aren't much, if any, better. The trick is getting non-conference TV games. And that is pretty much an "anybody, anywhere, any time" scenario, once you get established as a program that people want to watch.

Couldn’t get the National Anthem to work before the VB game on Sunday. The VB Owls has to lead a decent crowd in an a cappella version. Nice job by the VB team!
10-28-2019 09:23 AM
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tanqtonic Offline
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Post: #60
RE: AD Replacement Thread
(10-27-2019 10:04 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:42 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:31 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:23 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  
(10-27-2019 09:11 PM)OldOwl Wrote:  I thought Dr K already developed a plan for athletics? Was it not approved or are you referring to something else?
What did it say?
I remember something that was basically a maintenance plan. But maintaining the status quo won't get it done. We need quantum improvement. And a plan to get there, plus the motivation to get us there.
When he addressed the faithful shortly after his arrival, I remember him talking about, in no particular order:
* goal of top 25 finishes in all sports
* market research/data collection to understand current and potential fans
* the need to increase ticket revenue
* the need to move Rice athletics into the 21st century
Not really plan details.

So platitudes, not a plan.

From fanklyconfused’s link, looks like I was remembering bits and pieces of the 4 pillar speech. I hadn’t seen the details of the 2019-2023 plan.

What bothered me about the pdf link was the photos. They all had this jagged criss-cross white lines over the full-page and half-page photos.

Why in the hell would you want to have anything in a Rice Sports Plan document that might make someone think of a cracked, and barely holding together window?

Whoever thought that 'neat' and should be included in a *Rice* Sports Plan document should be rapidly demoted to something where they have zero input into design issues.
(This post was last modified: 10-28-2019 10:56 AM by tanqtonic.)
10-28-2019 10:09 AM
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