Williams & Blum pod - 8.1.21

Look up donations levels, your argument will keep us out of certain stratospheres; but we underperform versus peer institutions across P5. This FB program‘s trajectory and CFB state of affairs has moved passed the excuse stage.
A friend of mine, whom I go to Cyclone volleyball games with, was a Gold Club member for years. For various reasons, he opted out last year.
Never got a call or email from ISU inquiring as to why. No attempt to recover him.
No "excuse" for that...
 
I was talking to Big 10 fans in the office, one NU, two others hawk fans. They all said they wouldn't watch the SEC or super league. I would imagine there are plenty of Big 10 fans that see the SEC as a competitive threat and therefore won't support watching them. I won't watch any SEC games this fall. Together with ESPN, they are ruining college football.
 
A friend of mine, whom I go to Cyclone volleyball games with, was a Gold Club member for years. For various reasons, he opted out last year.
Never got a call or email from ISU inquiring as to why. No attempt to recover him.
No "excuse" for that...
Agreed, that is extremely disappointing. I‘ve stated elsewhere, and more than once, that the AD could do better. I‘ve even offered solutions. For example, I don’t think the AD collaborates with Foundation or Alumni Association well enough. It sure seems siloed to me and there isn’t enough cross pollination. The fan base AND AD need to do more. You seem to want to focus on the latter and the negative. Have at it.
 
A friend of mine, whom I go to Cyclone volleyball games with, was a Gold Club member for years. For various reasons, he opted out last year.
Never got a call or email from ISU inquiring as to why. No attempt to recover him.
No "excuse" for that...

I was a donor in addition to having season tickets for 10+ years after graduating. I moved away for several years and when I moved back, we hooked back up with friends who had the mobile tickets. So now we do those. No one from the AD has ever asked me to donate since we moved back, except for the generic emails. I’m not saying a personal call is possible but certainly they have databases of past donors who no longer donate. And it doesn’t seem like they mine it at all.

There are tons of ways to get creative with this (like Chris does with CF). Donate $100 and attend a large zoom call with Matt Campbell speaking, drawings for ISU gear, etc, etc. I know not everyone has the ability to buy tix so something creative to incentivize non-season ticket holders seems like a no brainer.
 
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I didn’t say they were wrong. I am suggesting, as are you, that the time is for solutions (and I’ll add not excuses). I may be out of touch, but most don’t have $0.274 a day to donate to the AD, that’s a barrier? If so, we are in trouble.
I don’t think that’s a horribly large amount but I think the mentality that any donor is bad is bull. I’d love for all 270,000 alumni to donate $100 to the AD but I’d rather someone donate $25 than zero. Having the categories start at $100 discourages those who for one reason or another can’t/won’t hit that mark.
 
We lack the upper crust ultra-wealthy big business exec alumni, as well as the next-best rich lawyer and doctor alumni tier. Our alumni overall are just not very rich compared to other AAU/P5 schools.
Can u back this up with any data?
 
Now that the NCAA has been neutered who is going to make sure that athletes aren't taking PED's? Who is going to make sure that athletes' grades are up to some standard? Who is going to make sure that there is nothing "illegal" going on relative to recruiting? Who is going to be there to ignore what Kansas, Duke, NC, etc and instead strip scholarships from smaller schools?

Addidas is going to LOVE the SEC!
 
Agreed, that is extremely disappointing. I‘ve stated elsewhere, and more than once, that the AD could do better. I‘ve even offered solutions. For example, I don’t think the AD collaborates with Foundation or Alumni Association well enough. It sure seems siloed to me and there isn’t enough cross pollination. The fan base AND AD need to do more. You seem to want to focus on the latter and the negative. Have at it.
I have actually upped my level - just very impressed with the type of student athletes that I have encountered in Ames. That's a statement on the athletic department. From the women's basketball team, to volleyball, to track and field, and now to football. Very polite, engaging, and authentic.
In fact, in the last year, in my work and around campus, every football player I have met has been classy and respectful.
However, Iowa State is way behind other schools regarding events and outreach, in order to trigger the average fan's giving. They're just not aggressive in enlarging the circle. If that's negative so be it.
 
We lack the upper crust ultra-wealthy big business exec alumni, as well as the next-best rich lawyer and doctor alumni tier. Our alumni overall are just not very rich compared to other AAU/P5 schools.
Brent Blum tweeted last year that we were 8th in the country for CEO's of Fortune 500 firms.

You think lawyers are rich? Get a clue.

Some of you need to step up and be somebody and quit waiting to get your ass kissed or creating excuses why u don't give.

Just say u can't afford $100 or don't want to give. That approach it respectable.
 
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I don’t think that’s a horribly large amount but I think the mentality that any donor is bad is bull. I’d love for all 270,000 alumni to donate $100 to the AD but I’d rather someone donate $25 than zero. Having the categories start at $100 discourages those who for one reason or another can’t/won’t hit that mark.
IPTAY (I Pay Ten A Year) started at Clemson during the Depression.
 
I can't really see how that would work out since ESPN is the driver of all things in college football. They could just show SEC games and whatever is left over would be taken up by FOX or a network, but who would watch it? It would be sort of like a choice between watching the NFL or watching Arena League or CFL. The audiences in the best-of-the-rest conference would be tiny compared to what an SEC game could generate, unless I miss my guess, and subsequently, the money wouldn't be nearly as good.
The rest of the country would watch their team and the teams in their conference and tune out the SEC. This happens now as college football is already very regional. I’m a tiny sample size of 1 but I almost never watch the SEC. I will watch OK State-West Virginia over Florida-Georgia because I don’t care about the teams we never play. I think ESPN is vastly overestimating the demand for its NFL-lite professional league if it operates in isolation. The real value is in the 12 team playoff where half the teams would be from the SEC. If the remaining 50 schools plus G5 held their own playoff and national title it would destroy the ESPN/SEC plan.
 
Wow, 8th place on a list of 500 people. That's a really representative sample size!
Yeah - tied with Michigan and Cornell if I recall. Bad sample and has no relevance.

You are right - we are low paid except for these eight people that broke through. Nobody is in the middle or climbing.

Ask Dan Houston what he thinks.
 
I think ISU fans need to do a better job of donating, but ISU could definitely do a better job of getting donations. Blast the crap out of a $100 donation all over social media or something to that effect.
 
I was talking to Big 10 fans in the office, one NU, two others hawk fans. They all said they wouldn't watch the SEC or super league. I would imagine there are plenty of Big 10 fans that see the SEC as a competitive threat and therefore won't support watching them. I won't watch any SEC games this fall. Together with ESPN, they are ruining college football.
I never watch SEC, ACC, or Pac 12 games. For me college football is a regional sport. So whatever the SEC is doing doesn't change anything for me.
 
8th highest state for the Fortune 500 CEOs. Means we should have some sugar daddies out there that can help a little more.
I really doubt this statistic. How can you have the 8th most Fortune 500 CEOS when you don't have close to that in fortune 500 companies?
Also just having them in state doesn't mean they are ISU fans or alums.
 

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