Allevia Q&A in my History of Collegiate Sports Class

Umm... yes. Will update this thread as I get more answers.

"I want us to win championships, in everything."

1. New scoreboard: Feasability study of South Endzone expansion, but most likely new scoreboard in South Endzone in next two years.

2. Facilities: Some of our facilities our the best, some are the worst. Tiger Stadium is nice, but is awful- new bathrooms, windows outside. Pedestrian area outside north endzone needs to be a showcase of LSU, about to embark on "buy a window campaign"
- Football operations and academic is best he's ever seen
- Softball is very good
- PMAC needs a lot of work. Will not build a new one, too expensive
- Gymnastics team's practice facility is by far worst in SEC
- Indoor tennis courts to attract more talent
- Trying to work out deal with BREC or even a casino to share the costs and usage (because in South LA don't need an indoor facility every year)
- Renovating UClub, will help golf team- much more difficult
- Track and Field teams don't have locker rooms- no one else in SEC has this (dress in own dorms)
- surfaces of fields are 35 years old
- To be the best, you have to pay market value. Would like to get the best coaches for the money.
- Improve what we have before replace ANYTHING.
- No priority other than Tiger Stadium and N. Stadium Drive (embarassment to our university), just based on what he can get donors for.

3. Gustav: Fought with Govenor to have the scheduled game played. Eventually agreed to 10 AM kickoff.

4. Public Institution: It's so much harder to get anything done at public school. (Natatorium and field house don't have roofs still)
- trying to add bleachers to outfield of Alex Box- everything in place but Board of Regents neglected to add to monthly meeting agenda TODAY- postponing this approval another month. Might not be done for first baseball game
- students coaches and faculty are the same across the board.

5. "Arms Race": If you want to win, you have to spend.

6. Soccer: despite growth of soccer... Title XI. End of story.
- Other than SC and Vandy, no other school has a men's team.
- Same with wrestling.
- Not a proponent of Title XI. Everyone should have an equal chance.
- I don't care what other countries are doing, we'd have to cut another men's sport and add another women's sport.
- And we're in SE US... soccer isn't a big deal here.

7. Vice-Chancellorship: Not the first, but fairly novel blending academics and athletics
- 6 million $ a year back to school
- one of 3-4 in country who do that w/o collecting student fees
- Gives him a seat at the table and his opinion gets heard in overall university running.
- Need to be able to tie education and overall interest in athletics together

8. URec: terrible for the number of students we have
- Not over it here like he was at Duke
- But for 35,000 it's really awful.
- Will be addressed sooner or later
- SEC avg is 9 sq. ft. per student, we're at 4-5 sq. ft.

9. Finances
- Annual budget $85 million - $6 million to school
- 16 million $ from ESPN contract
- Each ACC school got 7.5 mil $ from TV
- Exposure is huge
- 5 year projections w/ 4-5% inflation, consistent returns to University, no ticket price increases- -$40 million
- So either raise ticket prices or find other revenue sources... TADAAAA! Country Music Festival (which brings beer sales into the stadium, which will be huge)

10. Basketball: Loves that stereotype of "Basketball AD". Thinks it's ironic. Sure Coach K is my best friend, but basketball is just one sport.
- Basketball isn't generating enough money right now... we need a better product.
- We want people to think "I want my kid to play for that coach."

11. Suites: Not ONE suite has been turned over since their first purchasing since they've opened.
- 1/2 are businesses
- 1/2 are joint purchases
- All are fans, regardless of reason for purchase
- Club seats are the highest-revenue (if more seats were built in south endzone, they would likely be mostly these)

12. Alcohol
- The LAST straw.
- Won't do it unless we absolutely have to.
- NCAA doesn't allow it at championships, SEC leaves it to the institutions in CONTROLLED areas (hence, clubs)

13. Media (my question)
- The internet changes everything- so fast.
- Student-athletes much more in-focus than before.
- Changed even since he started at LSU.

14. Fans (my question, of course)
- LSU fans don't make sense, but that's ok!
- Could care less what fans think- paid to determine if the coach is successful. His opinion is what matters.

15. Opposing fans seating in TS:
- Each year we are slicing seats out of lower bowl down to the minimum of 1500 (set by SEC), at 2700 right now (including band) required total of 7000.
- Prime seating for our fans, not theirs.

16. Old Alex Box
- Pumps Alex Box Auctions
- Once demolished, will be temporary parking lot.
- University wants to eventually build a building there. Not housing, graduate housing nearby will be completely redone soon so there's no reason
- Building may be a parking garage- would be nice for games, etc.

17. Ticket Prices
- Our state is not rich, major concern in raising prices is alienating fans
- Many people have 10-40 tickets. We want to get a handle on that- most of them go to eBay
- Policy will change.
- Student prices won't change for the forseeable future

18. New South Endzone
- Want smaller supply and big demand
- No one shows up for the small games anyways- likely won't happen until this changes.

19. LSU-Onelane cancellation
- Financial reason.
- $3 million difference playing there than here
- They didn't want to come here, we weren't going to the dome for a non-bowl game anymore
- Taddaaaaaa

20. Rent-a-win strategy
- One good game, then three rent-a-wins should be good for us.
- See U-Dub, UNC, WVU
- Trying to get game in new Cowboys Stadium against Big XIII opponent (YES PLEASE!)
- Southern is a very highly potential opponent

21. Baseball attendance
- SMOKED the 2nd place team in total attendance this year.
- We OWNED it.

22. 700,000mil$ to $1 million per non-com opponent
- EACH cop gets $40 an hour. How many cops are on campus?!
- Many positions in the stadium get $10/hr
- Bag checkers $15/hr
- Very fortunate- campus cleanup done by prisoners, done for a McDonald's lunch

23. $1 million band, literally, out of athletic budget alone
- Music department contributes too
- So we're the $1 million+ band.
- SUCK IT, BAMA.

24. BCS/Playoff
- BCS isn't perfect, but makes every game important.
- Every game is a playoff.
- Take upcoming Bama game- we're in the hunt for the title, or we're out. Just like a playoff.
- Playoff difficulties:
- 26 bowl games right now, 52 teams are happy with bowl
- Playoff: only the teams that make it will be happy
- fans would be FURIOUS if we went to indy bowl and not playoff
- How many teams would you have? hard to answer
- Predetermine sites? Logistics, you have 6 days to get all your fans and supplies from one site to the next. Got to sell tickets to EACH game- but not in advance, not guaranteed
- Players go through so many more games- still kids!
- Take the BCS bowls, form committee to seed those teams. 8 is better than 10 teams, 10 is lousy number. 8 may be too many, plus one is most feasable- if ever happens.
- Use current bowl system to play those games- IF we had a playoff.
- Bowl system is TOO GOOD to the communities, charities, to get rid of.
- No matter what, someone's going to be pissed. Get used to it!

25. When are we gonna play USC?
- It's a two-way street, a lot of people don't want to play us. (No direct statements here. He dodged this question.)

26. Student bleachers replaced in PMAC for this season.
- Rest of bleachers replaced for 2010-2011 season
- Students moved to behind basket for 10-11 season too, disrupts the players more (suuurreee)

 

oh what the absolute living eff!!!??? :cuss:


they never had that when i was in college.

if they have a "video game class" or a "hey here's some good songs to download" class or some kind of "beer tasting 101" class i'm going to go absolutely bezerk.

 

I'm also taking "Graphic Novel Studies" this semester. :wave:

 

Anyone have any questions?

 

They had that when I was at :lsup: in the early/mid 80s It was called Around the World at the Chimes. :wave:

:geauxtige:geauxtige:geauxtige

 

yes, higher prices will alienate the average fan.

10 tickets seems reasonable. i know people that the whole family gets their tickets together. mom, dad, kids, and kids spouses. however, 40? those are scalped. no doubt about it. i think if they cut it under 10 they will cut out a lot of families.

i agree, YES PLEASE!!!

southern? umm... no thank you. too much a cupcake.

couldnt have said it better myself! :grin:

 

Hell.. even UL blew out Southern... LSU? That would be a joke... Plus the campus would be too crowded. Southern easily brings 15k to tailgate alone...

 

Right, like we've never hosted 15k visiting fans before. I don't see what the big deal is with playing Southern. If you have to go the FCS route, it's better than playing a team like Appalachain State IMO.

 

that would have been the question i asked.

i like that he's cutting down on this. seems like he's moving in the right direction.

also when it comes to playoffs i am not an advocate of a more than 8 team playoff and it CAN be done within the current bowl system.

he might be right though about fans being pissed. i guess what would you rather have 1) a first rd loss in a playoff OR 2) something like a cap one bowl victory over michigan?

they seem the same to me if anything, there is something to be said about ending your season with a win.


edit: btw, thanks for the info fried, i know you coulda just gone to class and thought nothing of sharing this info with your TF brothers and sisters. i liked the insight.

 

IF and i repeat IF we have to schedule a div 1 aa school, i'd like to play SU one year. i think it would make for some kick ass tailgating. i want to challenge some SU tailgaters to a cookoff/danceoff/drinkoff.

i'd only feel confident about one of those.