Blog: #Hokies' associate AD John Ballein talks about interviewing for AD job, department's strengths, weaknesses. http://t.co/5Ga6tqQjio— David Teel (@DavidTeelatDP) January 23, 2014
In this interview, Ballein confirms that he is not one of the finalists for the AD position, and he discusses some of the major challenges that Virginia Tech is having with fundraising through the Hokie Club. I thought this was rather poignant given our discussion about the ineffective efforts of the Hokie Club in drawing members and raising money.
Were at a crossroads right now financially with our scholarships, Ballein said. Were at a point right now where our scholarship funding may have to be taken out of our operating funds, and youre not going to be successful with that. We need to increase our Hokie Club membership. We need to build relationships, and we need to start young. I took the NFL shield and made it HFL. Hokie For Life. Start in high school, the minute they sign their admission offer from Tech.
I dont think we thank enough people that give to this university. If we took every student-athlete, 512 of them, and we took every employee of the department, approximately 200 of them. If we took those 712 people and divided up 9,953 Hokie Club members, that would give each one of those individuals 14 people. Couldnt we call 14 people a year and thank them for what they do for Virginia Tech? Its a small thing, but I think we get away from it. I think we tend to forget those people that are giving and thats not the route to go.
Ballein told the search committee that a vital component of bringing youth and energy to the Hokie Club is the schools NFL players, which this season numbered more than 20.
I think we need to do a better job with our lettermen, he said. Honoring them, promoting them. Our pro players, last year, made almost $48 million and we didnt receive any money from them.
Comments
My wife and I have rec'd birthday and anniversary cards from the Hokie Club, but nothing else...even after I stopped giving last year. We were Platinum club-seat ticket holders, but when we stopped giving no one contacted us to find out if there was a problem or even if it was an oversight....nothing. I think that is symptomatic of the apathy. From what I have seen/heard, no one is ever contacted.
Was thinking the same thing. I have joined twice over the years (not at your level) and no correspondence in the decade since to ever try and get me back or even ask if I would consider rejoining. I just figured it was because I didn't have enough zeroes in my check, so it wasn't worth their time.
Not a pretty picture. Unmotivated. Unorganized. Unmanaged. The guy on ESPN was shart on by these guys. They seem to love him on ESPN. Makes you wonder if we don't have to just clean house. The whole house.
I think this here is a very interesting tidbit. All the professional Hokie athletes aren't giving back to the Athletic Department that helped them get those careers? Somewhere along the line, someone dropped the ball big time. Now granted we don't have the professional reach that some other programs have, but to have nothing come from them? Something about the approach to fundraising has to be wrong.
If you read the next paragraph in the article, Lou Merritt states that across football there's a very small % of pro players who give back to their colleges programs. Its not just a Virginia Tech problem.
The Hokie Club is not a fundraising organization as much as it is simply a cash collecting organization. As others have mentioned, i was once a multi-year Silver Hokie, life situation changed, decided to take a year off, no one ever reached out, it wasn't top of mind, so i've never gone back. i sometimes feel bad about it, but i also feel that if they really needed my help, they would reach out.
how does a modern fundraising organization not have an active database with a combination of upsell and winback strategies baked in to its marketing plans? as they say, you have to spend money to make money.
I think you hit the nail on the head - cash collecting versus fundraising. BIG difference
"Our national fund-raising organization discusses this and we find very few pros give back to their schools, Merritt said via email. We are trying to reassess our strategy and find ways to reach out to the guys, their financial advisors and others who might be helpful to us."
Looks like the guys in the NFL not giving back is not something unique to Tech.
depending on players turned pro to give back is a losing strategy in my book anyway. You need a fan base that supports the program. There's a reason why Booster has the word BOOST in it.
Without a successfully managed booster organization VT will never get over this hurdle. And as the comment above mentioned it is more of a money collection machine at the moment. That needs to change. Boosters are there to be engaged. The more they are engaged the more they give. It's ALWAYS been this way and will never change.
I want to be engaged.
I want to be involved.
I don't think anyone wants us depending on professional athletes for funds, but like any wealthy, well known Alumni, they should definitely be targeted.
This part makes me wonder if this would have helped sway any of the recruits we have lost to other schools. I understand some were leaving VA regardless but knowing the even UVA has a larger staff then us is not sitting well with me. Then again I laugh at the fact the have more people in their program them we do and they are still horrible. Makes me think their coaching style is similar to the little kids playing soccer on the movie The Big Green.
If the above quote is true, it disturbs me far, far more that Wake Forest has a larger staff than us.
I get the point, but I don't want more staff just to have more warm bodies.
If there is a specific need, fill it.
Frank and Co. do much more with less; I like that model.
It may be part of the 'family' atmosphere that draws in some of our recruits.
I like the model too, so long as it doesn't impact our ability to be better than what is status quo.
My problem is that it impacts the amount of coaching individual players get. We all know that 1's and 2's get the most looks and the most work. 3'2 and 4's not nearly as much. Those on scout get very little. Coaches are spread very thin as it is and so individually providing tutelage to so many kids is not possible. A larger staff means that player development personnel can be hired to coach up kids who are the 3's, 4's and Scout.
If you look at a program like Bama at first glance you would say they have the recruits. So many highly sought after incredible athletes. Yes they do, but they are all still just kids and they all need work. Some are ready now but most are not. yet every year they have very little drop off in talent. Why? Just because they had the recruits? No. Because they have so many development personnel that are building these kids up so that when they do get to be 1's and 2's there is no drop off. Saban and the coaches concentrate on game plans, recruiting and 1's and 2's only.
If having a larger staff means this can happen then I am all for it, and it can still be a family atmosphere.
Since the number of assistant coaches you can have is dictated by the NCAA, the larger staff likely refers to GAs and other support staff rather than actual coaches. So even if we had a bigger staff, the players would still receive the same level of coaching as they do now.
No, Ballein is specifically talking about "player development personnel". these are not GAs and not coaches. Something in between which have are not restricted by NCAA.
It sounds like that is a specific need, then.
I am curious as to why we don't have as many 'player development personnel.'
Is it financial, or is that just how Frank likes it?
And, to piggy-back onto my above post, as an alum and booster, getting knowledge of specific needs is much more of an incentive to give/contribute that the ole' "VT needs money."
It would be helpful if the new AD, through the Hokie Club, would come out and say 'VT needs X personnel, and Y facility upgrades and they will require Z dollars."
A fresh perspective with an experienced opinion comparing us to 'them' would be nice.
I don't think this is just how Frank likes it. I think in the interview Ballein is being very direct about the current state of affairs for VT athletics. Specifically that we don't have the money. I too would likely give to specific items. ... wait... I know how to get this done. We change HC into a crowd funding website!
Imagine this, you log on to HC website and see all the specific needs of athletics like so:
Salary for 5 Personnel Development Staff
New Jumbotron
Indoor Practice Field
New Basketball Arena
On-Campus ice Rink for Hockey
New Poles for Pole Vaulters
Uniforms for Softball
leg wax for water polo
etc, etc, etc
Each item is listed and you can give to the one you want specifically. But because football and then basketball will likely get the most love a random % of your donation goes to a another item that isn't football or basketball. That % could be anything from 5 - 25%. You don't know how much it is though as it is randomly assigned by a computer. You will, however, see your donation primarily going to the item you want to donate to and be helping other sports as well.
You can also do the normal general donation. If you give above a certain level you get season tickets, priority seats, parking, etc... all the normal perks of HC membership.
Anyone have any thoughts on why this couldn't work?
I posted this on the other Ballein Interview thread so forgive the repost. it seems most people came to French's thread for the discussion. I just wanted to add that I think there are LOTS of ways that HC could be attracting more money.
My thoughts from the other thread:
It's clear that HC and fundraising is the #1 issue for the new AD. It's also clear that VT has a lot of needs other than football. I personally have worked with projects that have required fundraising for events, construction of sports and entertainment facilities etc and generally the best way to get a stagnant base to energize is by offering them bait.
For example new facilities are generally sent out for design-build contracts. The advantage here is cost and efficiency. However, the disadvantage is that the design level is not as high. I don't mean to disparage the designers on TKP that work for these companies and I know some here bid for VT projects, but in this day an age world famous design companies are clamoring for work. It used to be I would do a competition and only compete against one company like Fosters or Herzog&DM. But these days these companies are pursuing EVERY legitimate project. VT should branch out and draw attention to the process. Fans would love it. Boosters would love it and could vote for their favorite. Money would come.
Pressure HC to find new management and I am going to add completely overhaul the School's alumni network as well. I live overseas and VT alumni association cannot even tell me a single other Hokie that lives in the same country as me. There is no coordination with either group and no crossover coordination. These two groups should be working hand-in-hand and for a TECH school have one of the most advanced online/social media networking capabilities of ANY school.
Bundle rewards. (This may already be happening. i really don't know) Most HC members are contributing for football but usually creating a personalized reward is something quite attractive for boosters. For example, how about if you contribute a certain level you get a name placard on a seat. That placard could be replaced every year. Your seat could be in Lane, Cassell, the softball field or really any sport depending upon how much you donate.
I realize there are lots of functions for boosters but I read somewhere once that Bama holds random lotteries to reward boosters. For example, a vacation for 2 to the Bahamas, a new car, etc. (Again, maybe HC/VT does this) If I remember correctly these prizes are given by the university and is open to ANY booster that puts money in. When I am doing fundraising I ALWAYS have a lottery. It generally increases yield over 30%
Regardless of who we rely on, I would never have imagined the pro players don't give back in that way. Even with a focus on alumni and fans in general, it would seem that something from the boys that moved up would be expected. Do they know about the Hokie Club? Do they get material, or a briefing on the way out the door? We see their faces on the field at practices and at the games (and their names on buildings), it is surprising that they wouldn't be regular donors.
That was just last year. I don't know what it has been historically but I don't think it has been breaking the bank in any year. I also think that the recent O'Bannon case has affected how players view their money. Whether they believe that they are owed merchandising returns or not I think the case has shifted the perception that they need to financially support the university.
2 things regarding players in the NFL donating to the school. I'm pretty sure I read that Hokie Club is not allowed to ask them for money or donations. Not entirely sure what the rule is on that. Also, with regards to how we aren't in the minority, when Sam Bradford donated money to OU 2 years ago, I believe he was one of the first players in OU history to donate back to the school. I could be wrong, but I remember reading that it was a big deal because few players, if any, in OU history had given back to the program. Here's a small bit about players donating from an old ESPN 3-point stance http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/80368/3-point-stance-ous-alu...
I give at a level that puts me in the top 900 in the Hokie Club ranking, but haven't heard from my Hokie Club rep for at least 15 years. I've also attended local events, but evry time I leave wityh the feeling like it's a good old boys club with very little reaching out or appreciation shown. Not even a "thnaks for coming, we're glad you're here." We need a total restructure of our fundraising arm with fresh ideas and quite frankly, some youth. And this comes from a 55+ year old fart.
We have shared this thread with Teel. He commented the following:
In a TSL article, they said that the Hokie Club isn't a part of the athletic department, so the AD is technically not "the boss" of the Hokie Club.
I gotta ask...why the heck not? Is there a reason for this? That seems, you know - really, really, stupid to me. I understand that by law the VTAD and the University are financially independent entitites, so wouldn't it make sense for the major fundraising arm of the VTAD to actually be aligned under the entity for which it raises money?
To me, this explains why the HC has never really cared about fundraising. There's no incentive, because their boss isn't the one getting the results of their efforts (or lack thereof).
The role of boosters is meant to be a voluntary commitment to a school that you support, either in money or time, or both. The voluntary nature is essentially charitable hence tax deductible. If the university were to manage it could not be so.
I think better question is who IS managing the Hokie Club now and how do we get that person(s) fired and changed?
The university *does* manage it, this is my point. Hokie Club is a division of University Development.
University Developement is run by the Vice President for Development and University Relations, who reports directly to the President.
Are you sure? It's a registered non-profit, tax exempt entity. I realize it is directly affiliated with the university but I was pretty sure that it runs it's own staff on it's own budget with it's own management.
I believe it organizes fund raising through University Development which is where the two organizations coordinate together. I really don't know though.
yeah, i think the VTAF is its own entity that cuts a check to the VT Athletic Dept every year. in exchange, they receive parking spaces which are given to season ticket holders who donate, etc.
i do, however, think the Athletic Dept can be very involved in how it operates since the 2 entities rely so much on each other.
Exactly. There needs to be a reworking of the fundraising model.
So, three out of twelve of the search committee are Hokie Club Board members. Ballein basically told them that they suck at their jobs. Gee, I wonder why he wasn't picked to be a finalist? I kind of admire the guy for purposely "taking one for the team."
Not only that, but he told arguably the most powerful person in the room that said powerful person's favorite project would not be a priority. He may be 100% right on everything but he wasn't going to get the job.
I saw this last night and as I was reading it, I found my self getting angry, but also pleased with somebody bringing this to the forefront. I think both parts are at fault though, us fans, if we truly bled maroon and orange then 65,000 plus should all be Hokie Club members, second the Hokie Club needs to promote better. I didnt even know i could be in the Hokie club until the thread on here, ive been a Vt for 28 years. I say make ballien the head of the Hokie club and watch us prosper like never before. I also believe that athletes that get to come to college for free( no rent, free food, free clothing and unis) should donate back once they make it big. The rock bought miami a new damn gym! I really think us fans should run the Hokie Club, and we need to get involved in this bigtime.
I got a cheap plastic pen once...
great grass roots campaign here.
$48 million from former players and no donations?? Does anybody have figures from other schools? Is that an indictment, or common?
Very common according to the article.
I can understand why the players would not give money back to their school.
I wouldn't unless there was some value-add for me. Given how NFL players don't have guaranteed money, I'd be VERY hesitant to give unless you were financially secure off the field.
Or, you know, be smart/responsible with the money you do get.
< cough > Jimmy Williams < cough >