Gopher legend Bruce Smith's son: "none of us are surprised by the disrespect we’ve gotten from the U…. Sad, Really, but it is what it is"

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Taji34 said:
You must have some sort of cheat code then cause I graduated in 2017, and regularly get emails from the U about athletics, and get mail asking for donations all the time. Never had season tickets either.
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Yeah, I just stopped even bothering to read any correspondence because it was always asking for money, trying to convince me I really wanted to give back to the U....
 


MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, I just stopped even bothering to read any correspondence because it was always asking for money, trying to convince me I really wanted to give back to the U....
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There's got to be a better way to develop relationships with folks not giving but the spam method "works" better than most so who knows ...

But yeah it hardly develops much of a relationship / creates a recycling response by a lot of folks.
 





Gophers1992 said:
Yeah would we put up a Nagurski, Bierman, Jordan Leopold, John Mayasich, Herb Brooks, Dave Winfield etc... How do you decide?
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I think a walk of fame would be appropriate. It will take a financing campaign. What would be real nice is to use something like Homecoming with the Smith family and Coyle making an appearance/ announcement during a time out to kick off the campaign.

It would be extra sweet if the team walked by these statues as they entered the stadium. Not sure if the team still does the victory walk. That is a nice touch.
 





MNVCGUY said:
I guarantee that somewhere at the stadium there is recognition of Bruce Smith beyond the number on the facing of the upper level. He may not have a statue but let’s not pretend the U is pretending he didn’t exist.
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There is a video online of Fleck bringing the team to Bruce Smiths grave
 

BuiltFordTough said:
It’s time for the Goal Line Club to sponsor a statue of Bruce Smith for in front of the stadium. There is enough money coming in from the BIG network to support the operations of the program.

Get it done before the 100 year anniversary of him winning the award is celebrated.
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Well. We can kick this off by joining and helping. They don't have the revenue streams they used to. Even then it went to projects like sprucing up the lockerroom, weight room, etc.

If that's too much, sell out their tailgates!!!
 






Seems like the first step is to see if the administration is willing to put up statues on campus or around the stadium of Gopher Greats.

If they are open to this, the fund raising process can start.

Seems like there is room next to the alumni building or around the sports venues themselves.

I would add statues of Winfield and Molitor at Seibert field, McHale at Williams Arena, Herb Brooks at Marriuci, etc.......

If there were specific fund raising for statues to honor Gopher greats, I would be happy to make a reasonable donation.
 

Bobek said:
Given the funding issues public universities have due to state budget cuts, any statue in tribute to an athlete like the legendary Bruce Smith would have to come from private donations. I am surprised that some corporation hasn’t come forward to do so. I wonder if Scott Smith has made any effort to move this idea forward.
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What budget cuts?
 


HoustonTXGopher said:
Seems like the first step is to see if the administration is willing to put up statues on campus or around the stadium of Gopher Greats.

If they are open to this, the fund raising process can start.

Seems like there is room next to the alumni building or around the sports venues themselves.

I would add statues of Winfield and Molitor at Seibert field, McHale at Williams Arena, Herb Brooks at Marriuci, etc.......

If there were specific fund raising for statues to honor Gopher greats, I would be happy to make a reasonable donation.
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It seems to me that having statues of Gopher greats would help recruiting.

Come on PJ, get on board!
 

Taji34 said:
You must have some sort of cheat code then cause I graduated in 2017, and regularly get emails from the U about athletics, and get mail asking for donations all the time. Never had season tickets either.
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I graduated in 2005 and I get them all the time too. I had season tickets and every few months they beg me to re-up and send me the spam.
 

Looks like some recognition HOF in the locker room. Maybe a hall of fame could be added to the upper east open area that they block off.

 

I'm kinda curious what Bruce Smith's family imagines respect would be.

Bruce died in 1967.

Should the U be regularly reaching out to them?

Are they associated with the U by choice at all?

I'm thinking of some other actual players who have a bit of a fraught relationship with the U, but mostly based on their own choice. Sometimes these relationships are hard with just the players let alone their family...

Some families I can think of continue to have connections to the U and seem to have a cross generational connection(s). Other's don't.

A lot of guys have played football at the U, I'm not at all sure it is feasible for the U to be maintaining a relatonship with all these folks, specifically if it is a one way street.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I'm kinda curious what Bruce Smith's family imagines respect would be.

Bruce died in 1967.

Should the U be regularly reaching out to them?

Are they associated with the U by choice at all?

I'm thinking of some other actual players who have a bit of a fraught relationship with the U, but mostly based on their own choice. Sometimes these relationships are hard with just the players let alone their family...

Some families I can think of continue to have connections to the U and seem to have a cross generational connection(s). Other's don't.

A lot of guys have played football at the U, I'm not at all sure it is feasible for the U to be maintaining a relatonship with all these folks, specifically if it is a one way street.
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I would like to know what they expect as well. I know for a fact that Smith is honored around the football complex and I am sure at the stadium as well. Not sure what more they expect considering the guy played at the U almost 100 years ago in a very different era.
 



STPGopher said:
I think a walk of fame would be appropriate. It will take a financing campaign. What would be real nice is to use something like Homecoming with the Smith family and Coyle making an appearance/ announcement during a time out to kick off the campaign.

It would be extra sweet if the team walked by these statues as they entered the stadium. Not sure if the team still does the victory walk. That is a nice touch.
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Where in the world would you draw the line for something like this? I could see many hard feelings if a player wasn't selected. Besides until we pay off the athletic building bills, we can only dream about things like this. When that happens, the coaches may want to spruce up the rooms again and perhaps add something.
 

#2Gopher said:
Where in the world would you draw the line for something like this? I could see many hard feelings if a player wasn't selected. Besides until we pay off the athletic building bills, we can only dream about things like this. When that happens, the coaches may want to spruce up the rooms again and perhaps add something.
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Yes. It's never ending. You make some very good points. With that said, other programs have such areas. You could start with the likes of Bruce Smith and Bronko then possibly expand in the future maybe?

Regarding the bills, would a privately funded campaign have to wait till the other bills are paid?
 

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