Post by Athletic Department Monitor on Jul 6, 2004 7:08:00 GMT -5
5. What are your plans to promote FIU Athletics to: a. the University Community, b. the surrounding community, c. media outlets in Miami, and d. corporate sponsors?
Answer: We have made a lot of inroads there. I think our coverage in The Miami Herald has improved. And beginning Aug. 22, Don Strock will be hosting a weekly radio program “Strock Talk” Wednesday evenings on WAXY-790 AM, to start promoting FIU football.
As for corporate sponsorships, we have already more than tripled what we’ve done in the previous year. For the first time, we are going to be able to count on some corporate sponsorship to augment our budgets. It’s not going to happen over night, but we’re definitely making some improvements.
Don Strock has a radio program, however it isn't well publicized. I don't know about corporate sponsorships and don't see very much in the Herald. He has failed a, b, and c. I don't know about d. +0 pts. [10]
6. Do you have a tentative timeline for FIU football as far as: a. releasing the inaugural schedule, b. completion of the renovations to the football field, and c. possible date for entering Division I-A?
Answer: Regarding Division I-A, we’ll take a wait-and-see attitude as to how our program progresses. As far as the schedule, currently we have nine confirmed games and we want to schedule 11. We hope to make an announcement of our completed schedule some time in the fall. We will have more information on the renovation of the football field reasonably soon.
We have a football stadium and are an I-A team. Overall we have exceeded expectations. +5 pts [15]
7. A proposed rule for the entrance into DIV 1A football would require schools to have: a. 15,000 avg. attendance, b. 80-85 football scholarships, c. sponsoring 16 sports: minimum of 6 men and 8 women, and d. a total of 200 scholarships awarded. Do you foresee FIU having difficulties in meeting these requirements?
Answer: I believe the two biggest challenges for us are going to be the size of our stadium and the 15,000 attendance. We are capable of drawing 15,000 fans with our Alumni base and our student population, but, we are a young University. I don’t care how much money you put into something, you can’t buy tradition and we are still developing ours. That will be our biggest challenge in the earliest stages. Down the road, I see this as being less of an issue.
Good, valid answer. [Drawing 15,000 fans should not be a problem if the Athletic Department marketing group gets off dead center. If the problem is the present staff fire them. If they need more staff hire them. There is no justification for the non-performance of the Marketing Group in the Athletic Department.] +5 pts [20]
8. Do you believe that FIU football will remedy the lack of fan support that is currently affecting all of FIU athletics or will it take other measures, if so, what are they?
Answer: Football is really going help in that area. We’ve already seen it. We have sold around a thousand season tickets in football -- more than we’ve ever sold in any other sport in our history. Corporate sponsorships are up and a lot of that can be attributed to the interest and exposure opportunities football creates. I believe football will not only draw, but it would also help all the other sports because of the awareness it will create.
Has football helped raise attendance in other sports? I don't think so. I am not interested in watching any other FIU sports. 0 pts [20]
9. A new study suggest that if a university athletics department does not graduate at least 50% of its athletes, it should not be allowed to participate in the championship for any sport. What is FIU status as far as graduation rates and how do you feel about the proposal?
Answer: The proposal has merit, except for one issue – the manner in which the NCAA calculates graduation rates right now is just not a true reflection of academic success as it is retention rates. For example, at my previous institution we had a young woman in soccer that was a 3.9 student over her first four semesters, but she decided to transfer because the school did not have a Physical Therapy program. This woman reflects as a failure in our graduation rates. That’s wrong!
Between 82 and 90 percent of student-athletes who complete their four years eligibility here at FIU are earning degrees. The issue is that we have a lot of student-athletes who transfer or leave the institution for whatever reason and that reflects negatively on our graduation rates. Until the calculation of graduation rates is really studied, it would be unfair to have anything based on graduation rates.
Good answer. Has it been resolved or is it still an open issue with the NCAA? +5 pts. [25]
10. Are there any upgrades planned to Golden Panther Arena and our Soccer field?
Answer: The soccer field needs to be replaced and we are looking into that. But right now we are waiting to see what the NCAA’s take is on the synthetic grass, which we are planning to put on the football field. If that gets approved for Division 1 soccer, then we might look at that as option for our field because of the durability of the turf itself. As for the Golden Panther Arena, we are going to hold off on that right now. It’s a good on-campus facility. Until we start drawing to a point where we need to expand and add amenities, there are other priorities at this time.
Good answer. I read that artificial turf is scheduled to be installed on the soccer field.
[In the 5-year or 10-year plan I would like to see the size of the Panther Arena increased or that we build a new Basketball / Hockey Arena. I think we could develop a good hockey program. There are many colleges that play at the non-scholarship club level using students as coaches and that would be a good place to start. Transportation would be an issue, however I think clubs would like to come down to Miami. A hockey club doesn't have a large number or students and typically play weekends so it would involve perhaps 5 trips. Typically clubs receive some support from the student organization. Initially a modest amount of support would also be required from the athletic department]. +5 pts. [30]
Answer: We have made a lot of inroads there. I think our coverage in The Miami Herald has improved. And beginning Aug. 22, Don Strock will be hosting a weekly radio program “Strock Talk” Wednesday evenings on WAXY-790 AM, to start promoting FIU football.
As for corporate sponsorships, we have already more than tripled what we’ve done in the previous year. For the first time, we are going to be able to count on some corporate sponsorship to augment our budgets. It’s not going to happen over night, but we’re definitely making some improvements.
Don Strock has a radio program, however it isn't well publicized. I don't know about corporate sponsorships and don't see very much in the Herald. He has failed a, b, and c. I don't know about d. +0 pts. [10]
6. Do you have a tentative timeline for FIU football as far as: a. releasing the inaugural schedule, b. completion of the renovations to the football field, and c. possible date for entering Division I-A?
Answer: Regarding Division I-A, we’ll take a wait-and-see attitude as to how our program progresses. As far as the schedule, currently we have nine confirmed games and we want to schedule 11. We hope to make an announcement of our completed schedule some time in the fall. We will have more information on the renovation of the football field reasonably soon.
We have a football stadium and are an I-A team. Overall we have exceeded expectations. +5 pts [15]
7. A proposed rule for the entrance into DIV 1A football would require schools to have: a. 15,000 avg. attendance, b. 80-85 football scholarships, c. sponsoring 16 sports: minimum of 6 men and 8 women, and d. a total of 200 scholarships awarded. Do you foresee FIU having difficulties in meeting these requirements?
Answer: I believe the two biggest challenges for us are going to be the size of our stadium and the 15,000 attendance. We are capable of drawing 15,000 fans with our Alumni base and our student population, but, we are a young University. I don’t care how much money you put into something, you can’t buy tradition and we are still developing ours. That will be our biggest challenge in the earliest stages. Down the road, I see this as being less of an issue.
Good, valid answer. [Drawing 15,000 fans should not be a problem if the Athletic Department marketing group gets off dead center. If the problem is the present staff fire them. If they need more staff hire them. There is no justification for the non-performance of the Marketing Group in the Athletic Department.] +5 pts [20]
8. Do you believe that FIU football will remedy the lack of fan support that is currently affecting all of FIU athletics or will it take other measures, if so, what are they?
Answer: Football is really going help in that area. We’ve already seen it. We have sold around a thousand season tickets in football -- more than we’ve ever sold in any other sport in our history. Corporate sponsorships are up and a lot of that can be attributed to the interest and exposure opportunities football creates. I believe football will not only draw, but it would also help all the other sports because of the awareness it will create.
Has football helped raise attendance in other sports? I don't think so. I am not interested in watching any other FIU sports. 0 pts [20]
9. A new study suggest that if a university athletics department does not graduate at least 50% of its athletes, it should not be allowed to participate in the championship for any sport. What is FIU status as far as graduation rates and how do you feel about the proposal?
Answer: The proposal has merit, except for one issue – the manner in which the NCAA calculates graduation rates right now is just not a true reflection of academic success as it is retention rates. For example, at my previous institution we had a young woman in soccer that was a 3.9 student over her first four semesters, but she decided to transfer because the school did not have a Physical Therapy program. This woman reflects as a failure in our graduation rates. That’s wrong!
Between 82 and 90 percent of student-athletes who complete their four years eligibility here at FIU are earning degrees. The issue is that we have a lot of student-athletes who transfer or leave the institution for whatever reason and that reflects negatively on our graduation rates. Until the calculation of graduation rates is really studied, it would be unfair to have anything based on graduation rates.
Good answer. Has it been resolved or is it still an open issue with the NCAA? +5 pts. [25]
10. Are there any upgrades planned to Golden Panther Arena and our Soccer field?
Answer: The soccer field needs to be replaced and we are looking into that. But right now we are waiting to see what the NCAA’s take is on the synthetic grass, which we are planning to put on the football field. If that gets approved for Division 1 soccer, then we might look at that as option for our field because of the durability of the turf itself. As for the Golden Panther Arena, we are going to hold off on that right now. It’s a good on-campus facility. Until we start drawing to a point where we need to expand and add amenities, there are other priorities at this time.
Good answer. I read that artificial turf is scheduled to be installed on the soccer field.
[In the 5-year or 10-year plan I would like to see the size of the Panther Arena increased or that we build a new Basketball / Hockey Arena. I think we could develop a good hockey program. There are many colleges that play at the non-scholarship club level using students as coaches and that would be a good place to start. Transportation would be an issue, however I think clubs would like to come down to Miami. A hockey club doesn't have a large number or students and typically play weekends so it would involve perhaps 5 trips. Typically clubs receive some support from the student organization. Initially a modest amount of support would also be required from the athletic department]. +5 pts. [30]