Is USF recuiting you?

[Guest BasketBull.]

How many stars would you give yourself as a booster recruit?  

CNNSI: The next wave of fundraising

D-1 coaches adding recruitment of boosters to duties

Posted: Sunday May 6, 2007 11:01PM; Updated: Sunday May 6, 2007 11:01PM

CINCINNATI (AP) -- There's a different kind of recruiting on college coaches' schedules these days.

Aside from the responsibility to lure blue chip high school athletes to their program, coaches increasingly are asked to help athletic departments draw in top-dollar boosters to help supplement athletic department revenues.

"Those who have never been a head coach, and want to be a head coach, be careful what you ask for," Cincinnati football coach Brian Kelly said. "You can't just bring the playbook into the office every day anymore. You've got to be well versed on dealing with the defensive line as well as the important donors. We're paid way too much money to not understand that."

Athletic departments are relying more and more on coaches' ability to recruit boosters, who donated $845 million to Division I teams in 2004-2005, since ticket sales, advertising revenue and other incomes like television contracts rarely cover programs' expenses.

At Ohio State, the Buckeye Club raised $8.9 million in 2005-2006, all of which went to funding the school's $12.7 million in athletic scholarships. Xavier University's All for One Club, by comparison, solicited just $260,000 during the same period.

"The landscapes of college basketball and college athletics doesn't favor a place like Xavier," coach Sean Miller said. "We don't have a huge football program and we're not in one of the six big conferences."

Still, the funds from boosters helped Xavier fund scholarships, pay for charter jets to games, and cover part of Miller's salary.

While wooing boosters is hardly a new concept, some universities are looking for new ways to get coaches involved with potential boosters. Over the winter, Cincinnati offered its coaches an additional incentive to connect with big donors -- coaches can put the money they raise directly in their team's coffers, rather than turning over the money to the athletic department.

Already basketball coach Mick Cronin has proposed his own Tipoff Club exclusively for basketball boosters. He'd like to see some of his pet projects become reality, including a timeshare on a charter jet to use for recruiting trips.

"Sometimes recruiting forces me to be in two places in the same day," Cronin said. "In the Big East, private planes are almost a must-have to compete."

So what do boosters have to gain by making sizable donations? There are perks, of course, like dinners, golf outings, naming rights and game tickets. At Xavier, boosters mingle with players and staff on chartered flights to away games. Cincinnati's new football locker room, dubbed the Jacky Lee Team Room, was partly paid for with a $300,000 donation from Lee, a former Bearcats quarterback.

And it's all tax deductible since athletic programs are considered nonprofit organizations, although Congress recently began to question that status in light of escalating coaches salaries.

While that discussion happens, coaches like Cronin continue to take meetings with potential boosters, knowing that it's undeniably part of his job and something that will help his team stay competitive.

"The demands on our time are unbelievable," Cronin said. "Believe me, my wife reminds me. I genuinely enjoy getting to meet people."

[E.T.]

I give myself 2 Stars **  8-)

Within 10 years, I plan to be a 5 Star *****  

Go BULLS !!!

And all of us need to be Booster Recruiters also . . .

We need to talk with our employers and explain the benefit of USF's Club Seating for Football. With only a $1,000 donation, they can get club access for up to 8 tickets. This is a great season before the big push and possible donation levels going up for certain areas. This season will most likely have 2 ranked teams in Tamplona alone.

And we know that UM 'canes will be visiting twice.

And we're not talking sitting on a tin plank in Gainesville  

Talk with your employers and become the company's "Director of Football Operations".

Get your "Game Plan" ready and meet with them !

STAMPEDE !!!