If you want to know one of the biggest scourges on black college sports today, look no further than the president or chancellor of your college. They may be visionaries in program development, lobbying the state for funding and working the valuable alumni networks, but when it comes to athletic development, far too many campus leaders are behind the curve.
Ask yourself the following questions about your president’s relationship with collegiate athletics.
• How often is your president at sporting events other than homecoming or rivalry games? – If your president doesn’t bother to show up other than to glad hand and accept checks, he/she can’t possibly be emotionally invested in the branch of the school that is the emotional lifeline of the institution. And it could be a sign that they don’t know the game, which means that they can’t tell progress from regression on the fields and courts.
• Is your president mentioned in news stories concerning athletics? – If your president is mentioned as a comment source for a sports story outside of a hiring, firing or new facility, your school has a major problem. The AD can’t do his/her job, and the president takes the credit for progress without being the culprit for failures.
Continue reading at: HBCU Sports Blog.
Ask yourself the following questions about your president’s relationship with collegiate athletics.
• How often is your president at sporting events other than homecoming or rivalry games? – If your president doesn’t bother to show up other than to glad hand and accept checks, he/she can’t possibly be emotionally invested in the branch of the school that is the emotional lifeline of the institution. And it could be a sign that they don’t know the game, which means that they can’t tell progress from regression on the fields and courts.
• Is your president mentioned in news stories concerning athletics? – If your president is mentioned as a comment source for a sports story outside of a hiring, firing or new facility, your school has a major problem. The AD can’t do his/her job, and the president takes the credit for progress without being the culprit for failures.
Continue reading at: HBCU Sports Blog.
Yes and No. Ammons hired AD Hayes but then put CFO Hardee in charge of finances in Athletics. What we need is somebody with a strong business and marketing acumen experienced in bringing in dollars from corporations, sponsors, alumni, private donors, etc.
ReplyDeleteI hope the RN does an article on the FL Classic and how the 2009 game currently doesnt have a title sponsor because State Farm has taken their money to another HBCU classic.
12:42 AM, I have nothing to add to your comment. You are right on target. I am so disappointed in our Athletic's website. I've expressed my feelings and recommendations to Ms. Hardee & Bill Hayes, but they have totally ignored me. I'm a long time financial supporter (booster member, season ticket holder, and send checks earmarked for specific athletic programs), but I guess they take people like me for granted. Just look at FAMU's Athletic webpage: no bios on the players, no pictures of the varions facilities, no questionaire for interested athletic prospects, etc., etc. Is it that difficult to create & maintain an athletic webpage? Somebody please help me understand.
ReplyDeleteA million thanks to RN for posting this. My sense is that most academicians do not realize the marketing potential of sports. I attended a conference some years ago with the VP of PR for the Univ. of Florida; he spent the majority of his presentation discussing the fight he regularly has with faculty trying to convince them that sports is their best marketing tool.
ReplyDeleteThis is particularly true for HBCUs. Most are jealous of sports, some are too smart and sophisticated to be fans. This is why I do the HBCU Sports Blog and HBCU Sports Talk Radio, to present perspective not only on the sports, but the sports culture at our institutions.
I'll be discussing this topic on the show tonight. Would love to hear from you guys and your experiences with FAMU.
No one is jealous, we just don't need to raise our children to entertain especially first. We have issues, but we seem to think that everything for us is as simple and easy as our PWI counterparts. Sport culture is important, so is academics. This is the academy.
ReplyDeleteWhy shouldn't it be as easy? Why should we think it to be more difficult than what other institutions do? We just need a heightened dedication.
ReplyDeleteI agree; it is the academy. But it is a business and sports has an important role in marketing the business.
Bill Hayes is our AD.
ReplyDeleteObviously we don not care about athletics at the school.
Jarrett-
ReplyDeleteWhat station is your radio show and what is the address to your HBCU sports blog?