Champagne Dreams....

[DoubleAlum]

...with a Ripple mentality. One thing that I've learned on Gopherhole, there are many smart people on this board. These folks have been saying this for years, but I never quite understood it until now. The University of Minnesota will continue to have a difficult time building and maintaining a "Top 4" in the B1G football program until all the constituencies involved agree that this is what we want and are willing to PAY for it in every respect.

For the first time in a long time, important events are converging to bring us to a crossroads. We have a pretty successful coach who may be approaching "underpaid" status, he's turning a program around and showing results on and off the field, we have more positive publicity than ever, we lack the necessary facilities to compete with recruits, we have a fabulous stadium, we have too many donors that struggle to open their pocket books sufficiently to support the team in the way a premier team needs, and we have season ticket holders (who have been waiting forever for a marquee team) who are complaining loudly about the significant price increases.

It seems to me that we have arrived at the "hour of decision" where all the constituencies need to decide once and for all whether we want a champion caliber team or a .500-type team. It probably seems like black and white thinking to some, but we either build the facilities now, pay the coach and assistants what it would take to keep them for 10 years, cough up the donations now and pay the higher ticket prices and keep quiet, or FOREVER hold our peace about supporting a mediocre Gopher football team for the next 5 to 10 years.

We can't have it both ways. We can't have one foot in and one out. We probably won't be in this position again where things are all converging at the same time. If we commit now, we will give ourselves the best chance of seeing a champion in the next 5 years. If we don't, we're probably looking at waiting quite a bit longer. Just look at all the so-so or bad teams in the nation. Most of them will be there for years and years to come. We have a chance right now to bust out and become something special. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

And by the way, I am the wrong guy to be giving this speech. I'm an unemployed bum, with only enough money to support my family, can't afford season tickets, can't afford donations to the University or the football program, can't afford to attend a bowl game and have a wife and kids who couldn't care less about Gopher football even though they know how passionate I am about the team. I wish President Kaler would give my speech to the citizens of the State of Minnesota.

 

[maroonfive]

I think there are lots of folks who want a Big Ten team at MAC prices. If you want to play with the big boys you need better toys.


Go Gophers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Some guy]

Typically the building funding comes from the fan support following the initial success. Have to break through and then build from it.


The issue is this.


Has the breakthrough been impactful enough to build upon?
Kill says build on concrete. He may be doing that, but is a 4th place finish that dry foundation? Or are we building on top of a an unset base.

 

[pharmacygopher]

Thought this was about Illinois' bowl dreams

 

[Johnny Olson]

The ticket prices were raised to support the 750 scholarship athletes. The money may not even go to the Football program.
Some folks need to get this straight. Only three Big Ten schools have more non rev.athletes then us.

 

[MGGopher]

Thought this was about Illinois' bowl dreams

Lol. Well done, sir.

And btw, ANOTHER thread on this?! I guess everyone needs to make sure THEIR thoughts on the matter don't get buried amidst hundreds of other posts.

 

[zman]

The ticket prices were raised to support the 750 scholarship athletes. The money may not even go to the Football program.
Some folks need to get this straight.

That's my big, selfish issue. I would gladly pay to support football (and I have) but I have zero interest in supporting non-revenue sports.

 

[DoubleAlum]

Lol. Well done, sir.

And btw, ANOTHER thread on this?! I guess everyone needs to make sure THEIR thoughts on the matter don't get buried amidst hundreds of other posts.

I too liked his hilarious response. And I apologize if this topic is over-done. Just thought that this seemed like a very timely topic given the convergence of all these events. If not, feel free to discard.

 

[supadupafly]

...with a Ripple mentality. One thing that I've learned on Gopherhole, there are many smart people on this board. These folks have been saying this for years, but I never quite understood it until now. The University of Minnesota will continue to have a difficult time building and maintaining a "Top 4" in the B1G football program until all the constituencies involved agree that this is what we want and are willing to PAY for it in every respect.

For the first time in a long time, important events are converging to bring us to a crossroads. We have a pretty successful coach who may be approaching "underpaid" status, he's turning a program around and showing results on and off the field, we have more positive publicity than ever, we lack the necessary facilities to compete with recruits, we have a fabulous stadium, we have too many donors that struggle to open their pocket books sufficiently to support the team in the way a premier team needs, and we have season ticket holders (who have been waiting forever for a marquee team) who are complaining loudly about the significant price increases.

It seems to me that we have arrived at the "hour of decision" where all the constituencies need to decide once and for all whether we want a champion caliber team or a .500-type team. It probably seems like black and white thinking to some, but we either build the facilities now, pay the coach and assistants what it would take to keep them for 10 years, cough up the donations now and pay the higher ticket prices and keep quiet, or FOREVER hold our peace about supporting a mediocre Gopher football team for the next 5 to 10 years.

We can't have it both ways. We can't have one foot in and one out. We probably won't be in this position again where things are all converging at the same time. If we commit now, we will give ourselves the best chance of seeing a champion in the next 5 years. If we don't, we're probably looking at waiting quite a bit longer. Just look at all the so-so or bad teams in the nation. Most of them will be there for years and years to come. We have a chance right now to bust out and become something special. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

And by the way, I am the wrong guy to be giving this speech. I'm an unemployed bum, with only enough money to support my family, can't afford season tickets, can't afford donations to the University or the football program, can't afford to attend a bowl game and have a wife and kids who couldn't care less about Gopher football even though they know how passionate I am about the team. I wish President Kaler would give my speech to the citizens of the State of Minnesota.

Great post and spot on. Fully agree with your take. Btw - Thanks for your honesty at the end of it too. I know there are certain posters on here who appreciate that.

 

[DoubleAlum]

Great post and spot on. Fully agree with your take. Btw - Thanks for your honesty at the end of it too. I know there are certain posters on here who appreciate that.

Thanks for the support! Appreciate it very much.

 

[Iceland12]

Great post and spot on. Fully agree with your take. Btw - Thanks for your honesty at the end of it too. I know there are certain posters on here who appreciate that.

Very true and thanks for bringing it up. We've been told again and again, by people on this board and even by some people at the ticket office that how much or how long you've cared or contributed, is completely meaningless. It's all about how much you will contribute now or in the future, period.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Patterson at TCU recruited and coached teams up to Top Ten status with poor facilities and a small stadium, and a lot less money in the program. His success raised money for better facilities, etc. Chicken or the egg? I don't think you can buy success (Alabama when down, USC when down, Oklahoma when down, Nebraska when down, Oklahoma State now). They all had plenty of money, top facilities. Coaching does it. Each had to go through a few coaches to finally get a coach who could bring them back to the top, and Nebraska still hasn't made it back, after three post-Osborne coaches.

 

[DoubleAlum]

Patterson at TCU recruited and coached teams up to Top Ten status with poor facilities and a small stadium, and a lot less money in the program. His success raised money for better facilities, etc. Chicken or the egg? I don't think you can buy success (Alabama when down, USC when down, Oklahoma when down, Nebraska when down, Oklahoma State now). They all had plenty of money, top facilities. Coaching does it. Each had to go through a few coaches to finally get a coach who could bring them back to the top, and Nebraska still hasn't made it back, after three post-Osborne coaches.

If what you say is true, it makes sense. What would your plan be for the next few years then? What would you do with Kill's contract now? What would you do with the facilities plan? What would you recommend for ticket price increases? It would be interesting to know what the 5 year plan is at the "U" for the football team. Meanwhile, people suggest Teague is already looking for another job. I guess it's a lot more complicated than it seems. I need to just stop thinking about this stuff and find something else to obsess over.

 

[book]

The state has a billion surplus... they have funded a Saints Stadium, TWolves updates and a heck of lot for a Viking Stadium.... hmmm - why not fund a football and/or bb practice facilities for our state's only D1 teams???

 

[SJUgopher]

The state has a billion surplus... they have funded a Saints Stadium, TWolves updates and a heck of lot for a Viking Stadium.... hmmm - why not fund a football and/or bb practice facilities for our state's only D1 teams???

You have F'd up priorities.

 

[BJN]

If the demand was there, I'd be all for raising prices. but the demand is not there. Sure the U may met a few extra bucks, but it will at the expense of the game day atmosphere unless they pull out a Rose Bowl type season next year.

 

[Sparlimb]

The state has a billion surplus... they have funded a Saints Stadium, TWolves updates and a heck of lot for a Viking Stadium.... hmmm - why not fund a football and/or bb practice facilities for our state's only D1 teams???

Because maybe a surplus isn't the state's money and should be given back to the folks who earned it. And they can decide what civic functions to support.

 

[TrapperDoo]

...with a Ripple mentality. One thing that I've learned on Gopherhole, there are many smart people on this board. These folks have been saying this for years, but I never quite understood it until now. The University of Minnesota will continue to have a difficult time building and maintaining a "Top 4" in the B1G football program until all the constituencies involved agree that this is what we want and are willing to PAY for it in every respect.

For the first time in a long time, important events are converging to bring us to a crossroads. We have a pretty successful coach who may be approaching "underpaid" status, he's turning a program around and showing results on and off the field, we have more positive publicity than ever, we lack the necessary facilities to compete with recruits, we have a fabulous stadium, we have too many donors that struggle to open their pocket books sufficiently to support the team in the way a premier team needs, and we have season ticket holders (who have been waiting forever for a marquee team) who are complaining loudly about the significant price increases.

It seems to me that we have arrived at the "hour of decision" where all the constituencies need to decide once and for all whether we want a champion caliber team or a .500-type team. It probably seems like black and white thinking to some, but we either build the facilities now, pay the coach and assistants what it would take to keep them for 10 years, cough up the donations now and pay the higher ticket prices and keep quiet, or FOREVER hold our peace about supporting a mediocre Gopher football team for the next 5 to 10 years.

We can't have it both ways. We can't have one foot in and one out. We probably won't be in this position again where things are all converging at the same time. If we commit now, we will give ourselves the best chance of seeing a champion in the next 5 years. If we don't, we're probably looking at waiting quite a bit longer. Just look at all the so-so or bad teams in the nation. Most of them will be there for years and years to come. We have a chance right now to bust out and become something special. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

And by the way, I am the wrong guy to be giving this speech. I'm an unemployed bum, with only enough money to support my family, can't afford season tickets, can't afford donations to the University or the football program, can't afford to attend a bowl game and have a wife and kids who couldn't care less about Gopher football even though they know how passionate I am about the team. I wish President Kaler would give my speech to the citizens of the State of Minnesota.

He speaks the truth. If we want to play we got to pay. Its just the way it is. Can't have it any other way. I agree, things are coming up Gopher at the moment. We need to strike while the iron is hot or we will be in for another 50 years of darkness.

 

[Mick Turition]

Cut all women's sports; f*** Title 9

 

[TrapperDoo]

Cut all women's sports; f*** Title 9

No. Don't say that. Just be ready to pay a little more for Gopher Football success. We want it, now we gotta pay for it. Our sisters aint holding us back, and they are Gophers too.

 

[diehard]

Yes, women are people too. Especially the rowers!

Stroke! Stroke!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/69fPof-ZTnU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Vandy]

I agree with the initial post for this thread.
I have two children in college full time, 100% on my dime, one of them here at the "U".
I am happy to pay for her student ticket packages (a bargain), and my season football tickets... which I will continue to buy.
I love the school, campus, beautiful stadium, and this coaching staff.
I wish I could do more...

 

[killme]

As a JK supporter I have suggested that I believe he can lead a program to the promised land. He is presently getting credit (Coach of the Year) without producing a championship because the perception is what he's done is extremely hard to do at Minnesota. I believe the two main factors are the state's high school talent pool and the poor football facilities. Michigan is top 10 in H.S. talent, great facilities, and as much money as anyone, but have whiffed twice on finding a coach that can win there. Nebraska has facilities and money, is 38th in H.S. players making it to FBS schools, and fired a guy who won 9 games every year but not titles. if Minnesota antes up and builds the facilities, pumps enough money in to have a chance in recruiting, it's still going to be hard to get into the top 25 regularly. What if you spend all that money and Kill can't deliver anything more than Pelini did and it's not good enough? Maybe it's time to accept that it's just not feasible here.

I've never liked Title IX, figuring it was flawed from the start and going to eventually kill college sports. Football and Men's Basketball can't continue to support all the "non-revenue" sports. The money spent on those sports is unbelievable.

 

[fryguy22]

I hope people realize non-revenue sports, regardless of how one feels about them, are not magically going away. Whether your donation "directly" supports FB or not, it's dollars into the athletic budget, any extra of which is going to new athletic facilities.

In other words, $10 for the gymnastics team is $10 of budget money freed up to fund facilities.

 

[WAGopher]

It is also important to note that to be a member school of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the school must:
1. Sponsor a minimum of 16 varsity intercollegiate sports.
2. 8 of the above must be all female teams.
3. 6 of the above must be all male or mixed male and female teams (interesting).
4. Football must average 15,000 in paid attendance.

Minnesota has 23 varsity sports, so they could eliminate 7 sports and still remain Div I FBS. I don't know if the B1G also has a minimum team requirement.

The B1G sponsors 14 men's and 14 women's sports. We do not compete in 5 B1G varsity sports.