Illinois Athletics Gets $100M Gift

[PMWinSTP]

Illinois football stadium gets new name after $100 million gift from Larry Gies

The University of Illinois has announced a record-breaking $100 million donation from Larry Gies to its athletics programs.

www.usatoday.com

 

[howeda7]

$100 million buys a lot of Ozempic...

 

[go4gopher]

Wow! We were 13-5 agains Illinois from 2000 to 2020 yet it seems like certain schools (Illinois, KU, and IU) have some type of "On-button" of sorts.

Do they have a "higher ceiling"? That is, "bigger brand" with "deeper pockets"?

I feel like we scratch and claw to the zenith of medocrity with the earned right to look down on these schools (better records). Yet, here we are seeing KU get a $400 MM injection, IU make the CFB playoff, and Illinois as a Top 10 with a $100 MM infusion.

We can't afford to replace the damn hallogen lights with LEDs to enhance the fan experience.

Lower my damn MN state taxes, so that I have the liquidity to fund what I want not Hennepin County social services!!!

 

[combes1]

The new name is not a big change. Memorial Stadium to Gies Memorial Stadium.

Beilema and Underwood have been great hires for the main sports.

 

[Stan]

Coyle is a wet blanket who has not raised a meaningful amount since he arrived.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Wow! We were 13-5 agains Illinois from 2000 to 2020 yet it seems like certain schools (Illinois, KU, and IU) have some type of "On-button" of sorts.

Do they have a "higher ceiling"? That is, "bigger brand" with "deeper pockets"?

I feel like we scratch and claw to the zenith of medocrity with the earned right to look down on these schools (better records). Yet, here we are seeing KU get a $400 MM injection, IU make the CFB playoff, and Illinois as a Top 10 with a $100 MM infusion.

We can't afford to replace the damn hallogen lights with LEDs to enhance the fan experience.

Lower my damn MN state taxes, so that I have the liquidity to fund what I want not Hennepin County social services!!!

Those 3 schools have the same thing in common, they are all basketball schools first.

 

[#2Gopher]

Coyle is a wet blanket who has not raised a meaningful amount since he arrived.

Sorry, but I'm not so certain this is all Coyle's fault. Minnesota is a state of different priorities for the most part. A good chunk of it is selfish. However you can also look at the non-profits, the theathers and other organizations for generous gifts.

 

[fmlizard]

Coyle is a wet blanket who has not raised a meaningful amount since he arrived.

Having a sugar daddy alum to this level is mostly luck, I think. Many of the biggest ones have happened to very random programs that weren't amazing at football, like Oregon or Oklahoma State. Or Illinois. Need someone with the means and the desire to give it to athletics among all other things.

I wish I owned an AI startup so I could give $1B to Gopher Football but I don't. Sorry guys.

 

[Ope3]

Illinois football stadium gets new name after $100 million gift from Larry Gies

The University of Illinois has announced a record-breaking $100 million donation from Larry Gies to its athletics programs.

www.usatoday.com

Righteous bucks.

 

[Word]

Having a sugar daddy alum to this level is mostly luck, I think. Many of the biggest ones have happened to very random programs that weren't amazing at football, like Oregon or Oklahoma State. Or Illinois. Need someone with the means and the desire to give it to athletics among all other things.

I wish I owned an AI startup so I could give $1B to Gopher Football but I don't. Sorry guys.

You still have time. Get on it.

 

[proudgopher]

Sorry, but I'm not so certain this is all Coyle's fault. Minnesota is a state of different priorities for the most part. A good chunk of it is selfish. However you can also look at the non-profits, the theathers and other organizations for generous gifts.

Coyle makes something like $1.4M/ year. It might not be easy to raise big bucks for our programs but that is what we pay big bucks to do.

 

[RememberMurray]

Lower my damn MN state taxes, so that I have the liquidity to fund what I want not Hennepin County social services!!!

Maybe Minnesota should eliminate taxes on rich guys. Then the truly wealthy might contribute more to the football program!

Or... let's just have college football be funded by extremely rich people (we could call them, oh, I dunno... owners) who run a 'college' football league based on salary caps. Teams would be banned from paying player salaries that exceed the cap. There could be drafts of high school players, so that those players coming out of high school would be limited to playing only for the team/school that drafts them. There could be slotted pay schedules based on draft position. There could be things called 'franchise tags' where a team/school could bind a player by paying him a certain salary based on the salaries paid to other players. The owners could share profits with other owners. The owners would get the lion's share of TV money, but pay the players a percentage of it.

It would be capitalism, but with just the right amount of socialism thrown in. Capitalism for the players, socialism for the owners.

 

[99Gopher]

The UofM does not lack the money, but I have not been impressed with the job Coyle has done leveraging a university Alumni base of 641,000, according to their own numbers. The UofM's fundraising team does a great job, but whoever they have working the athletic program angle not so much. Just to give you an indication, these are the recent fundraising numbers coming from the UofM (Noting: just like the state, the FY2025 ended on June 30th):


On top of that, we are nowhere near the bottom when it comes to our endowment compared to other Big1G schools, where based on the numbers we are just slightly behind Wisky in 5th.

See attached rankings: https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/Endowment/Conference/Big-Ten-Conference/

So, there's money out there, which makes you ask the question, do we have the right people working the Athletics side of the fundraising piece?

 

[Ope3]

Good thing the Gophers got out of the same Division as the llini.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I'm pretty sure the bridge with Denny Sanford was burned way before Coyle got to town.

 

[Dave H]

Wow! We were 13-5 agains Illinois from 2000 to 2020 yet it seems like certain schools (Illinois, KU, and IU) have some type of "On-button" of sorts.

Do they have a "higher ceiling"? That is, "bigger brand" with "deeper pockets"?

I feel like we scratch and claw to the zenith of medocrity with the earned right to look down on these schools (better records). Yet, here we are seeing KU get a $400 MM injection, IU make the CFB playoff, and Illinois as a Top 10 with a $100 MM infusion.

We can't afford to replace the damn hallogen lights with LEDs to enhance the fan experience.

Lower my damn MN state taxes, so that I have the liquidity to fund what I want not Hennepin County social services!!!

Are you going to be ok?

You know there is more important things in the world than college football right?

 

[Dave H]

Having a sugar daddy alum to this level is mostly luck, I think. Many of the biggest ones have happened to very random programs that weren't amazing at football, like Oregon or Oklahoma State. Or Illinois. Need someone with the means and the desire to give it to athletics among all other things.

I wish I owned an AI startup so I could give $1B to Gopher Football but I don't. Sorry guys.

Damnit Coyle has failed you!

 

[Dave H]

The UofM does not lack the money, but I have not been impressed with the job Coyle has done leveraging a university Alumni base of 641,000, according to their own numbers. The UofM's fundraising team does a great job, but whoever they have working the athletic program angle not so much. Just to give you an indication, these are the recent fundraising numbers coming from the UofM (Noting: just like the state, the FY2025 ended on June 30th):
View attachment 38844

On top of that, we are nowhere near the bottom when it comes to our endowment compared to other Big1G schools, where based on the numbers we are just slightly behind Wisky in 5th.

See attached rankings: https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-rankings/details/Endowment/Conference/Big-Ten-Conference/

So, there's money out there, which makes you ask the question, do we have the right people working the Athletics side of the fundraising piece?

Could it be that the average U of M grad just has no real ties to athletics and thinks that research and education matter more than football?

Look I dont think Coyle is particularly great at his job but I also dont think he is as bad as some of you pretend he is either. I just dont think Gopher Alums want to give that kind of money. Fleck is out there grandstanding, shaking hands and kissing babies all friggin year and it isn't like the money is flowing in.

 

[Ope3]

You know there is more important things in the world than college football right?

It's a pretty short list for many.

 

[99Gopher]

I'm pretty sure the bridge with Denny Sanford was burned way before Coyle got to town.

I guess you hadn't seen this. The bridge wasn't completely burned, it's just because of this, they won't go near him and charities won't even take his money.

Billionaire T. Denny Sanford Was Investigated For Child Pornography—Newly Unsealed Documents Reveal Why

Photos of nude underage girls prompted an investigation into T. Denny Sanford, but the case has since closed.

www.forbes.com