This article popped in my feed today about where schools land as far as booster giving. As everyone should expect, all of the SEC is in the top 40. Who's currently in the top ten is interesting. the TLDR: boosters are important, but it doesn't equal success. VT is 34th.
College sports top donors: Ranking the most generous athletics boosters
Article's based off a tweet Jeff Fuller updates yearly:
- https://twitter.com/jjfuller72/status/1694193242756018553
Who pulled data from:
- https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances
- https://www.knightcommission.org/finances-college-sports/
Btw, this is the first thread I've started on TKP. Hope it's not redundant.
Forums:
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Comments
UVA at 13. Now we know how they are funding all those drink piss ads. Or whatever he is supposed to be spraying everywhere:)
It's unreal - UVa might be the worst program in the country in terms of talent/ability to win games, but it's confirmed that they're the worst program if you factor in they are #13 in resources.
No one in the country is doing less with more.
I know we only care about football, but UVA is a legit top 5-10 hoops program now- annually
Was only speaking about their football program but you're correct. UVa is now blue blood in basketball. Tony Bennett is a top-five coach (Izzo, Calipari, Self and Few are in the mix imho).
If I had a nephew who was considering basketball scholarships, UVa would be near the top of the list of schools to consider.
That's not what 'Blue blood' means - there's lots of definitions for Blueblood, but at minimum:
UVA basketball is really impressive, but it has not yet proven to have staying power across generations like UCLA, Duke, Kansas, UNC, Indiana, or Kentucky.
Ok.
hahahaha. I was going to comment "Blue blood, huh? Be careful about using that phrase around here..." but I got distracted and you beat me to it.
Eh.... yes, but that top 5-10 annual program doesn't accomplish much. They're regularly high in the rankings and/or at the top of the ACC with the occasional ACC Title, aside from their fluke National Title, they are routinely embarrassed in the NCAA Tournament and that is mainly what people remember them for. Boring ass play and losing Game 1 or Game 2 in the tourney. No one remembers their title, but folks always remember how poorly they perform on the national stage.
They're also one of the best Olympic sports programs in the country.
Not surprising that Texas and Texas A&M are ranked 2 and 3. Football is religion down here.
These numbers include the Oil money that these two receive from the state I believe.
The size of these numbers is somewhat staggering, as is the gap between #13 and #34.
So given our massive increase in enrollment over the past couple decades, you can reasonably expect VT to keep climbing these charts over the next 30 years.
As long as they know what Hokie Club is.
Amateur axe throwers are more accurate than this list.
Not suggesting that people should NOT donate money to their favorite college football programs, but it's never made any sense to me.
I'm trying to come up with other examples of for-profit business models in the United States that rely on charity/donations to fund their existence, and I can't think of any. Certainly not any other sports leagues, or really any other businesses in general. The only thing that comes to mind is televangelism, which honestly makes me worried about the long-term viability of college football.
Not poking fun, but these commercials are the first thing that came to mind:
I don't think you should compare it to charities/non-profits. Rather, I would compare to things where the return for giving money is pride or hope. Three things come to mind to me:
One of the reasons I give to VT Football is because I felt that it was a quintessential part of my college experience. It was that way, in part, because others before me gave to the program. I feel like it's my responsibility to (literally) pay it forward so future VT students can have a similar college experience. I feel like this falls into the third bucket I listed above. I don't give much, but something is better than nothing I guess.
Only real surprise to me is that Auburn is ahead of Alabama. Alabama is that states professional sports team so seeing them lag behind Auburn is entertaining.
You have to pay more to beat Saban than you do to have Saban as a coach.