With all the talk revolving around Grimes and how much VT pays its assistants, I'm curious to know how many of us here support the Hokie Club.
Many of the schools who pay their coaches more than Tech (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/salaries/ncaaf/assistant/) have deep pockets to draw from due in part to large and generous fan bases that buy season tickets and donate to their respective booster clubs. There are enough posters on this website with a variety of backgrounds to provide a decent enough sample of Hokies to see how Tech stands.
You're under no obligation to disclose how much you give. Although I ask two things 1) you explain yourself so we can all better understand and 2) no one judges. Everyone's financial situation is different.
Comments
I currently don't give to Hokie Club only because I've already established a 5 year giving commitment to the Marching Virginians as they build a real home for the band. Could I probably spare an additional $20 a month to give to Hokie Club? Yeah, but I've already made my commitment to a part of VT. Once that ends, then I'll join Hokie Club.
Yes I do. Not sure what to explain about that though.
EDIT: with explanation
Now seeing everyone else's comments I understand what to explain.
Yes I give. I have since 2005 after graduating in '99. I do not donate under my name as I give money to a friend of mine to get her and her husband season tickets. Like most others that cannot donate themselves they are kid poor with 3 little ankle-biters. I personally have not lived in the USA since 2001 and since graduating in '99 have seen exactly two games live in Lane Stadium. Both times I bought my own tickets to the game from other VT fans over the internet as "my" season tickets go to my friend's family.
The two main reasons I give are 1) for my friends who are devout Hokie fans and 2) because I have no other method of supporting the team.
I honestly have no idea about the complaints with HC as others have listed because I am far too removed from all those issues. Parking, tailgate spots, priority seating, etc, etc... no clue. I get no letters or information from HC as it goes to my friend's address, not mine. I just make the annual donation and I just give enough to make sure my friends get to see the games.
leg up for being a "stand-up" dude...
Can confirm, he's a stand-up dude.
Thanks man. Right back at you. We still need to show you around the town though. When you headed back?
No I am not a member and no I do not donate. I would if I could.
I think the biggest thing is look at our schedule.. In the next 5 years we play ECU 5 times, Western Michigan in 2014, Furman in 2015, Purdue in 2015, Liberty in 2016, and ODU and Deleware in 2017.
Lets look at our out Atlantic ACC schedule in the next 5 years: BC and Wake in 2014, NC State and BC in 2015, Syracuse and BC in 2016, BC and Clemson in 2017, FSU and BC in 2018.
That's a very weak schedule/schedules to me, you can't expect to get $ and grow as a top 25 football team and play a top ACC team twice in 5 years. No idea how the ACC schedule is played out but it really hurt us and Not playing the likes of Clemson and FSU until 2017 hurts. Yes we got a huge game in The ohio state and then Tennessee but those are huge trap games since we (VT) like to start out our football season on a rough note.
EDIT: deleted original post as I was confused
my bad
He doesn't want to donate/pay for home tickets if we're just going to play boring teams. I totally understand.
Not to get off topic, but I am completely in favor of playing a harder schedule. Harder teams = More fans showing up and more national visibility.
I'll leave this here: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/as-alabama-plays-safe-with-schedule--colleg...
Scheduling follows a formula. 1 BCS level team, 2 mid-tier teams (AAC, MAC, C-USA, etc.) and 1 low-tier/FCS team. Would you rather risk going 0-4 just so you can play all the big dogs or have a chance to go 4-0? If a team wants to win a national title, they don't have to play every top team to do so, they just have to win every game and play a decent enough schedule.
Right but we play FSU and Clemson in 2017 and 2018. When we(VT) have choked in every BCS game we have played in other than against Cincy, you look like a pretty mediocre team to the blind eye. To get back up to consistent top 25 you have to play the best or at least top teams in conferences. We play at Purdue in 2015 then they come to us in 2023 haha that's a joke. If we have to play FSU or Clemson every other year then I'm fine with that because that one year we beat them and go 12-0 or whatever we will not have to hear ohh easy schedule or who did they play..
We can't control the ACC schedule though. Year to year, you don't know who the top teams will be. Remember when BC and Wake won the Atlantic? Where were Clemson and FSU then. How do we know who will be where 5 years from now or even next year? There's no prediction of success base upon historical success.
I agree the ACC scheduling is out of our hands, but Tech does control 4 non conference games a year. More marque home-and-homes could offset a crappy ACC schedule.
I agree that we need bigger home OOC games. Nebraska was great. I imagine OSU will be as well. Games like that sell out. They also put more season ticket holders in seats because they want to make sure they have a spot for that game. But while playing multiple marquee games will make for bigger hype and some increase in revenue, the program's goal is to win a national championship. Losing a game makes that goal incredibly difficult. Revenue will increase with more ticket sales, but donations will increase if we win the crystal football and that makes a greater difference.
With regards to our ACC schedule, we can only hope that Swofford gets somewhere with his hope that the NCAA will remove restrictions regarding teams to play every team in their division. That would allow for a greater possibility of playing teams like Louisville, Clemson, and FSU more often.
BC never won the ACC. Sure they won the Atlantic div but not the whole thing like we (Tech) did.
Meant the Atlantic but typed faster than I thought. Good catch.
I agree.. but it just seems crazy to me that the ACC would have that big of gap between teams.
I think a team learns from playing in the national spotlight. Whatever your thoughts on the SEC bias are, it is undeniable that SEC teams play in front crazier crowds and in more prime time games. I personally believe that players and coaches learn from playing in the spot light more often. We might play a (regular season) game of national interest a few times every 2-3 years (I count 4 in the last 5 years: 2011 against Clemson, 2010 against Boise, 2009 against Bama, MAYBE 2009 against GT?). Bama (despite their atrocious OOC schedule) plays at least 3 of these a season.
I just think our team would benefit from playing more home and home against quality (top 25) opponents. We have 4 games to do whatever we want... might as well take advantage of them. (Straying further off topic, why do we play ECU?! High risk/low reward match up IMO).
I agree. I am also a Michigan State basketball fan in my spare time not being a hokie and one of Izzo's calling cards as a great coach is making his team play one of the hardest schedules in the country every year. I get that with the tournament its a completely different deal, but you cant discount the toughness and preparedness you get from playing those teams.
I was answering the question in a different way. He stated that many teams pay by donations from people and donors and I was saying I think the lack of donations goes hand and hand with our weak schedule, no thursday night games, noon games, and our recent lack of success.
But to answer the main question is.. Yes
Yeah, was being stupid. Gotcha now. Sorry about that
This speaks to my disapproval of conference expansion. Right now University leaders see it as a positive to get TV revenue and all the best teams into one conference but with so many teams you can't play everybody in football. The ACC is already seeing the downside with the conferences only marquee football matchups like VT-FSU, VT-CLEM, UM-CLEM not happening every year. Yeah there's still FSU-UM and FSU-CLEM but not only are you not getting big TV games with those other matchups but how can Coastal schools that aren't GT or UM have a legitimate argument to make the playoffs? VT has no chance of making the playoffs without going undefeated and meeting both CLEM and FSU one in the regular season and one in Charlotte. This isn't just an ACC problem, some SEC schools won't face Bama and BIG schools won't face OSU or MICH. It's also bad for basketball where only the Big 12 has a home-and-home schedule so every school gets to host Kansas. The ACC has to create a schedule where every school gets either Duke or UNC, but imagine the revenue for VT if both UNC and Duke came to Cassell. I don't see the merits of super-conferences past the initial TV contracts because of weak football and basketball schedules, plus the travel costs of non-revenue sports. Plus if conference construction means schools can't compete for national titles how do they expect to get booster money?
How dare they schedule teams that give them a chance to prepare for ACC games
Yes. I started in the HC when I graduated (1993). Then increased several levels in 2001. I've been envolved ever since (give to VT in 3 ways, HC, endowment and to my degree program). I stayed in the HC to ensure I would keep my season tickets (in 1995-1996 it started getting very hard to get public season tickets). The only reason I increased was to ensure I got a parking space.
2011 was almost the breaking point for me. Having a newborn (2010) and planning for the future, I was starting to see very little return on my annual investment (quality of football and gameday experience). I even told my wife "I'm dropping my (athletics) giving and tickets if they don't make some changes." Obviously Beamer took my wife's call (/sarcastica) and made the coaching changes last year. While I feel a little better, I'm still on the fence about continuing. Why? The gameday experience is still very stale. Tailgating has lost a lot of the fun (mostly kick off times), the home schedule has been terrrible and the games themselves (stop telling me how to be a good fan). The new AD is going to have to make some changes.
Why do I tell you all this (other than I'm on my lunch break)? I'm at a crossroad...and I'm not alone. I sit in the middle(ish) of the giving pool for VT and many of my classmates/friends are there, too. As you can tell by the HC annual figures, many have dropped out (or back), a very few have increased.
I honestly think gametime is a huge factor in HC giving and gameday exerperience. The AD has some modicum of control over that, but VT has had too many noon kicks lately. I know that's also largely because of going 7-6 and 8-5 the last two seasons, but still.
I did.
I was an active Hokie Club member with season tickets and I had risen up in the ranking a bit.
Then I stopped because of 3 things:
1. Seating revision. I had great seats at Lane and then the seating was revised and I went from 4th row 32 yard line to 50th row endzone line in one off season. When I called to inquire/complain I was told that I needed to donate more.
2. Children. About the same time as my seats being changed, my sons started their early football/sports careers and between helping coach, practices, and Saturday games, I was routinely unable to get away to VT games and decided to stop getting tickets. It was a hassle to try and let the tickets go, find people, etc.
3. TV coverage. In my day, I was lucky to be able to catch any Hokie football/basketball on TV, much less get the scores, etc. Now, it is easy to sit on my couch and watch about anything.
True story.
But, good job bringing up one of the main problems that I see with VT athletics-alumni like me that would/should contribute, but don't.
But, on the other side, shame on the Hokie club for not being more aggressive on recruiting alumni to contribute.
That's where a program like Clemson is eating our lunches: IPTAY ("I pay ten a year" is what I was told it stands for) almost demands financial contributions from graduates/fans, and they contribute a lot=better program.
Funny you bring up IPTAY. It was originally I Pay Ten a Year. However, they have significantly increased it over the years (incresed to $20 in 1969, $30 in 1976, $100 in 1989 and $140 in 2003). Also they established a "Priority Point System" for seating and parking spaces.
I used to think this was a great/revolutionary plan. However, it's basically the same as our Hokie Club ($100 minimum, priority points system). The difference is buy-in. They have A LOT more members than us. Our new AD needs to find a way to get new alumni (and disconnected older ones) into the fold.
I agree.
Getting an AD that can engage the alumni/fund raise will be critical.
Alternatively IPTAY = "It's Prison Time Again Y'all"
I am a member and a Hokie Club Rep for the state of PA (the only rep up here actually). It has been difficult to convince other members or prospects to donate to the Hokie Club or increase their donation from two main drawbacks: distance from VT, and the record the past 2 years.
The ones I have spoken with in PA do not feel like the team is worth spending donation money on, plus travel, lodging, tickets, time expense associated with going to football games.
Ouch! This is from the horse's mouth. Says a lot. Our new Pres and AD need to hear this...
Not trying to be sarcastic at all, but our new President & AD are already very well aware of this. I know this to be a fact. The problem is that our former President & AD were apathetic about addressing the issue, or at least (trying to be generous here) were very ineffective about it. To worsen the situation, they were long tenured and remained apathetic/ineffective throughout their entire terms.
One of Whit's biggest challenges has been in trying to modernize the culture of Hokie athletics. Transition it into using much more contemporary methods & mindset of marketing, merchandising, fundraising. It's been a huge challenge for him.
So, the good news is that we have the right man in charge of Hokie athletics. The bad news is that he can't change the mindset of the Hokie athletic dept, the Hokie Club members, and much of the fan base as quickly as he would like and that we need. It is a slow process for him.
As for my donations? Yes, I've been in the HC for over thirty years. I've owned both basketball & football season tickets for that long, too. In all that time, from starting out giving at O&M level to Golden level, the amount of recognition or sense of appreciation from the HC was virtually zero. When increasing donation levels, never got a 'Hey thanks!' note of appreciation. It always operated like a transaction for buying season tickets and nothing more. For three decades.
Now, under Whit, I see things changing. Slowly, because he is having to 'push a rope' in getting the mindset surrounding Hokie athletics evolve. It is ironic to me that we are now seeing people voice negative feedback about this topic, because for so many years it was ignored. I'm not critical of this discussion or those voicing their opinions, just saying it would have been nice to see people talk about it five or ten or twenty years ago. The good news is that we finally are doing so now.
What part of PA are you in? I live in the Harrisburg area, but have never been contacted by the Hokie Club. I would definitely consider contributing.
No, because I'll see almost no return on it. I live in Texas now and I don't have a whole lot of throw away cash with a kid (daycare is the fucking devil) and saving up for a down payment ASAP. Throw in how mediocre the home schedules have been, due to ACC screw ups and farming out all the marquee match ups (Bama, Boise, Cincy, etc.) every year and how painfully obvious the offense was going to implode once Tyrod left and I probably wouldn't if I was still in the state.
That and I'm just a cheap bastard.
This is almost the perfect example of how large programs can overcome the distance drawback of foundation support.
Every major program (Texas, USC, Notre Date, Bama, etc) can get a national support because of TV... which (put ourselves in JW's shoes) if VT can get on an ESPNU vs. ACC Network, then we jump all over the opportunity because of the larger viewing area.
I am a current donor (already donated for 2014) and I have donated anually since graduating in 2010, other than last year (2013 donation). To be honest, January 1, 2013 came and went and I forgot to send in my donation for that cycle. Made sure to send in my part as soon as I got the reminder letter this past December. I donate to support Virginia Tech athletics; not only football, but all sports. One thing I miss since leaving Blacksburg is being able to attend all kinds of sporting events, and over time I built an appreciation and pride for every athlete that plays for the Hokies. Also, it gives me the feeling like I have a slice of ownership in the program, since donations fuel intercollegiate athletics.
I am an O&M Hokie donor, which isn't high on the grand scale of donors, but I figure every little bit helps. My donation may be a drop in the bucket, but the bucket does get heavier with every drop.
I have been donating for a few years now, and the only reason I do it is because I love Virginia Tech sports, and not because I like being a member of the Hokie Club. I sought out the how to become a member of the hokie club on my own once I graduated, not once did I get anything from them asking to join.
Since I have been a member I have never received anything from the NOVA Hokie Club where I live. You would think each chapter would go through the membership list and send you personalized correspondence from your local club.
While I am not pleased with the Hokie Club, it is not going to deter me from continuing my donations as my financial situation allows. The club as a whole is poorly run and I hope the new AD lights a fire under some asses to change that especially with recent graduates.
I am a HC gold giving member for about 10 years now. I didn't start at that level and have gradually increased my giving. The current economy has been more a limiting factor on my giving than the quality of football and home games. I recognize that there will be better and worse cycles in our football program.
Haven't yet. Graduated May 2013. I want to & always say I will but just keep putting it off.
For the record, donating may seem like a difficult task just due to the amount of money you think would make a difference, but here's some perspective. While you may not be able to give $500 at once, could you afford $42 a month? Maybe you could only afford $21 a month which would be $250 a year. If every new alumni that graduated in May of 2013 donated $250 a year, that's $1,083,250. And that's just one graduating class. The lump sum may seem like a lot, but a small monthly amount makes it a lot easier to swallow.
That's something to consider -"crowdsourcing" if you will. I've got four kids, live in Atlanta (didn't graduate) and gawd knows when I may get a chance to attend a game. But I'm willing to give $5-20 a month, to be a part of something greater. If Hokie fans and alumnus were accessible and the Hokie Club/university worked harder to amass the "low hanging fruit" you could see a significant up-tick where the booster is missing for the cash needed to compete to be a legitimate perennial/national power as an athletics program. This is more legwork for the school, but the return should be WAY more positive. And I'm all for swallowing easier.
Makes me think -perhaps a link to the Hokie Club site should be posted on the site.
No, I donate to the Corps of Cadets as my giving to Virginia Tech, I am not against donating to the Hokie Club but I also would second what a few others have said, as I have never really been approached/sold on giving to the HC. This probably is due to not buying season tickets as I haven't had the funds for that in quite some time, so the two seem to be generally linked. I would suggest that they find some way to link the Alumni Association and the Hokie Club better as I regularly receive emails and updates from the Loudoun County Alumni which I do take the time to read. You would think that the two organizations have a somewhat overlapping mission. To keep Alumni engaged and actively supporting the school or specifically athletics at the school.
I started in 2000 at O&M Level (was told HC level wouldn't get tickets)- moved up to Silver, but dropped back to bronze because I buy 6 tix together ,and I don't travel to away/bowl games, so I don't get any benefit to moving up anymore. If I didn't have a life outside of being a Tech fan, maybe I'd give more, but really can't give more at this point in my life.
I am currently not a Hokie Club member. I guess I mainly felt like I didn't need to donate since I only get to one or two games a year, or that my $100 wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things. After doing some thinking today though, I will be joining soon.
Just a few observations from personal experience with the Hokie Club and being a donor/fundraising for organizations in general.
1. The Hokie Club Mission Statement basically says that it fundraises for "athletic scholarships, capital improvements, and programmatic needs of the Athletics Department."
Basically, you are only supporting athletics when you donate to the Hokie Club. But that encompasses student-athlete scholarships, so you are technically supporting academic scholarships, just ones restricted to athletes.
2. You must be an active Hokie Club member to apply for football & basketball season tickets.
Season ticket allotment is based on a points system in which you are awarded points for donations, years active, etc. The more you give, the better tickets/parking you get. The longer, more continuous your support is, the better tickets/parking you get. See http://www.hokieclub.com/tickets-parking.php.
It is tough to pay for the Hokie Club donation and tickets. A lot of folks can't justify cost of both. You can afford one, but can't afford the other, which leads to people dropping tickets AND the athletic fund donation. Why give a large amount of money to the Hokie Club if you aren't even getting any tickets? And with the last two reseatings, people couldn't keep up with bigger money Hokie Club donors in order to keep their current seats.
Our original seats before both reseatings were fantastic. We had them for 15 years. Now, because no one can afford them, they are empty at every single game. I haven't seen someone in our old seats for the last two years. It's upsetting to see yourself priced out of something you held so faithfully, even through the times when you couldn't GIVE a Tech football ticket away for free. So I can see where some Hokie faithful may have been discouraged and just stopped giving because they couldn't keep their seats.
I've been lucky that my parents can make our tickets happen every year. Hopefully, I will be the recipient of our tickets and Hokie Club account once I get out of school. And I fully intend to give as much as possible to retain our seats, maybe even get better ones.
That said, my ability to support the Hokie Club is completely dependent on the job market after I graduate. Which I think is how many people stand, especially recent graduates who want to give back, but can't. Season tickets and the ability to give Hokie Club donations are a luxury in this day and age for a great majority of people.
3. A common misconception is that a few big money donors are the be-all, end-all for fundraising. Yes, at this level, they are extremely important, but so are small donors. A good fundraiser treats every gift, even a one-time $5 donation, as important. Because even though one person only gives five bucks, that's five more dollars than you had before. And if 100 people give $5, which is low financial commitment from each person, you've still raised $500. That's the price of a semester's worth of books for a student athlete. You've also introduced 100 people to the cause and gotten them invested in it, even if it is a very minimal investment. That's why you see political campaigns ask for $5, $10, or $25, because inspiring lots of people to give, even at small amounts, is what makes a fundraiser successful.
So for those of you wondering if your $5 donation makes a difference, it does. It does, big time. And someone is appreciative, even if it doesn't seem like it. Because a student-athlete will be affected positively by your gift. They just won't know who to thank because the bursar doesn't tag names on the digital dollars the student-athlete sees on their paid tuition bill.
Okay, I'm finished now.
EDIT: added conclusion.
My whole point is that even if donations don't seem very rewarding for you, they are beneficial to you. I think many of you would agree that you derive some kind of enjoyment/fulfillment from Virginia Tech football, by watching them play, pulling for them, etc. and seeing the program be successful will increase your enjoyment/fulfillment.
Supporting, in word and in deed, what you care about increases the chances of its success. That goes for anything and everything, from political candidates to cancer research. Financial support gives the organization the ability to obtain the resources it needs to be successful. Tech has great leadership, in both athletics and academics, and I have total faith that the money given to them will be used properly and in the best way possible.
Bottom line is that more money means quality. Money also means better coaches, better practice facilities, better equipment, which in turn means better recruits, better opponents, and better results. And national recognition.
Ultimately, it's only us, the people who care about Virginia Tech football, who can band together and push our cause toward success. Because people who don't care about Tech sure as hell aren't going to give money to something they don't care about.
So think about giving. I would advocate first giving to your academic department because 1) they awarded you your degree and 2) academics are the foundation of the school. And you can look at it as a thank you for the world-class education they gave you.
I don't. Right now is the closest I've lived to Blacksburg since I graduated and I'm 5 hours away in Virginia Beach. Due to distance, and with a young child, I only make it to one game a year and it makes more sense for me to just pick up the tickets from a friend or Stub Hub.
It might be a misconception but I've always viewed the Hokie Club as a necessary evil if you wanted season tickets. I think that they need to find a way to give something else to donors whether that be the respect/ability to claim "I Pay Thirty a Year" ala Clemson, some sort of exclusive swag or something.
For those that say I should just donate money and not worry about anything in return... I guess I'm not that good a person or whatever! I donate the the Surfrider Foundation and I get a couple of nice magazine newsletters a year, volunteer opportunities in the area and beyond etc. Somehow it means more to mean because I get something tangible out of it in return.
Maybe the Hokie Club has all that stuff, but they don't do a good job of advertising what they are all about.
Not to pick on you, this is really for everyone's benefit, it just seems appropriate to post here because you mentioned it...
The Hokie Club actually has a nice big chart that tells you the benefits of each level! You can definitely get a window decal and a subscription to Inside HokieSports (really nice mag, I enjoy reading my Dad's) with Hokie Club Level giving! See http://www.hokieclub.com/forms/HokieClubBenefitChart.pdf.
I think this is the problem with the HC...no one knows these things. The perception is you have to be a HC member to get tickets...that's it. Getting a magazine for a minimal donation is nice (and a lot of people may support if they knew). There should be more things like that (special hats, shirts, etc for lower level donations). Maybe that would get more people involved who are not able to be full HC members and buy season tickets.
I totally agree, organizations can always do a better job of communicating with potential members and recognizing every donor. A Hokie Club hat would certainly be a hot commodity in my house.
And I realize after reading my previous post that it sounded sales-y and came out bad. I do apologize. But that's the fundraiser coming out in me.
Some of the benefits are nice but some are kind of a waste...for instance.
"Opportunity to buy ACC Championship Game Tickets-if available"
First off, ACCCG tix are easy to get for anyone...and then they throw in the "If available"....come on.
I am sure they bump the price on the ACCCG tickets anyway...and then the game doesn't sell out and you overpaid for the tickets.
I figured that the Hokie Club has some cool stuff other than the ability to buy season tickets, I frankly have never looked. What they need is a good marketing campaign that will make it feel like a requirement of being a "good" Hokie fan is to donate. That is the beauty of IPTAY at Clemson. If you don't pay, you're doing something wrong.
No -the "products" offered to purchase suck, the emblem needs a reboot and even the site makes any desire to purchase something fleeting. Jeezus people, put some grad-student/interns up in there and say "go crazy and make this site explode with some wolf-knife-lazer-torch-badassedness... no pussy touchdowns!" to market the site/memberships. Hell, make purchases "points" toward your Hokie Club standing...
Just realized I'm going off. I apologize.
You were close to touching on where I was going earlier with wondering how the school tracks merchandise sales and what it credits them towards. Being able to shop through the school for Hokie Merchandise and having it contribute some percentage towards your HC status would be a nice way to credit people for still benefiting the school for something other than just straight donations.
Yes. My wife and I donate primarily so we can get season tickets each year as its a requirement. I also like supporting VT, it was a big factor in my development as an adult.
We've dropped our Hokie Club donation back in recent years for a few reasons:
1. We wanted to support VT more broadly, so we started making some donations to the Foundation (nothing major but overall its about the same all in when you put it with the Hokie Club)
2. I feel like the Athletic Dept. didn't really care about the smaller donors so I wasn't going to stretch to donate at a higher Hokie Club level since the administration looked at it all the same way until you actually wrote a much bigger check.
Point number 2 merits a little more explanation. Weaver did a lot of things right but I felt like the smaller/younger/ less wealthy/whatever donors were discounted. Don't get me wrong, its a donation based organization so of course the bigger donors get better treatment. That's how it should be. But that doesn't mean you completely discount the smaller ones. I feel like a lot of things done at the athletic department in re: fan relations are set according to what the biggest donors want. Let's take game time for example. When we have the ability to set the time, its 1:30. Weaver has said in the past that's the best time for the fans as it allows for travel before and after the game. What fans though? Yes, some prefer that. But my hunch is that's the folks just there for the day... most likely older donors who don't tailgate or folks who live relatively close. A lot of us come from 3+ hours away and make a weekend out of it. A lot of us would prefer a later start for a tailgate. But I always got the impression Weaver just listened to those closest to his ear and proximity was determined by check size. That works in the moment but it discounts the fact that today's small donors are possibly tomorrow's big guys.
On a related note, I think VT used to have a first time season ticket buyer program for young alumni but then did away with that somewhere around 2005/2006 when demand was spiking. Maybe they brought it back recently? But again, my point is that it was short sighted. VT blocked out folks when they couldn't buy in to season tickets at a $1000/yr Silver Hokie donation. So they lost that loyalty longer term and those folks would likely be giving something now to stay in the club but why bother when you can pick up tickets pretty easily these days.
I think VT is seeing the effect of some of that now... younger, smaller donors felt disconnected and now that they have real earning power VT is missing out on their donations.
Finally, I had been donating for the better part of a decade and not once was I ever contacted by the Hokie Club other than the standard mailings. However, at one point, a member of the VT Foundation development team reached out to me directly just to check in and see how things were going. I felt honored and appreciated, even though my donations (athletic or general purpose) were quite small compared to other alumni. But the fact that she took a few minutes to talk with me meant a lot, so I decided to support the university more generally beyond just athletics. If the athletic department ever reached out and thanked me in a more personal way and/or asked me how satisfied I was as a Hokie Club member, I'd probably consider donating a bit more. It wouldn't be substantial (at least in VT's eyes) but had they done a better job at engaging me all along I'd probably be pretty receptive if they called and said "Hey, we know our football team has been down a bit, but we need folks like you to help us continue to be competitive across the board." But they didn't and now the flagship revenue stream is struggling a bit and they are feeling the effects of riding that wave up without planning for the long term.
All that said, my wife and I are committed to making some sort of donation every year and retaining our season tickets (unless something unforeseen made it financially irresponsible to do so.) We like having season tickets and we like supporting VT. But the level at which we do so is subject to the value we're getting back and the value we perceive that VT places on our donation.
What you said about the Foundation reaching out is exactly why my donations go primarily to the Corps of Cadets, I get a magazine four times a year and emails regarding special Corps functions as well as a direct link to what my donations will be utilized to accomplish in maintaining and growing the Corps at Tech.
You're absolutely right about the recent grad program. Phasing that out was a mistake. Now, most recent and young grads (the people you should want at the games because they are excited and want a great Lane atmosphere) have no way of getting in on season tickets because they've been priced out of it.
I hope the new AD will consider the implementation of a recent grad program that would allow access to priority tickets and season tickets without huge financial burden.
My alma mater has great opportunities for recent grads (which they define as under 10 years out from graduation). I get double points on every dollar I give so I can build up my priority points efficiently. Which means I will be close to season tickets and a parking pass much faster than I anticipated. Then again, I went to the University of Richmond and our season ticket buy-in level is much, much lower than Tech's. But the point is that they are giving me an incentive to donate and a way to get season tickets in financially reasonable and quick way. It's almost instant gratification, which is what my generation is all about.
FWIW, I know a lot of recent grads who purchase guest student tickets.
Tech has also been offering season tickets for sale to the public. When you purchase a set in the public offering you are eligible to renew. I purchased a pair in the public offering before the 2011 season, was offered a renewal for the 2012 season, and was able to add 4 an additional tickets that year. I renewed all 6 tickets for the 2013 season. The only drawback is that without a certain level in the HC, I can only group 4 of the tickets together. All of the seats are in the same section and within a few rows of one another, but I have not yet been able to group all 6 in the same row. I have a co-worker (we're both Tech employees) that has been renewing his public offering tickets for 10 years.
The recent grad program through HC just gets you a 2 year membership for the price of 1 year. So rather than renewing every year, you get a 2nd year free.
Correct me if I'm wrong... you're basically getting double points, too. Because you'll get points for year 1, points for year 2, and points for 2 consecutive years of giving.
Not sure exactly what the specifics are. Just something I saw when I looked into Hokie Club info.
I do for a tailgating spot and guaranteed seats and I've given for 14 years, since before I graduated. I don't want to lose those points. I've thought of stopping, but also see all the money I've given and see it as lost if I give it up.
Been a HC Member since I graduated, guess my dad always has been and I wanted to be a member like him. I slowly have given more when I could but held steady and not increased since economy downturn. Combine that with product on field and hard to get excited but I'll keep donating
Both my wife and i give, we may not be at the golden hokie status but like many have already stated, Its hard to give more when I go to games and we are playing no name teams. Also I may decrease the amount i give annually if I do not see a turn around in this program. Just my two cents, but why should I give more money when we are trending backwards as a program, the coaching staff and team can not win big games. I am a die hard hokie but with the economy the way it is and the non- improvement from the coaching staff, why should I give more?????
I think most Hokies agree with this logic. Additionally, I think most of us would pay more (or make more games) if we see results. As a fan base we are hungry for a winner (the magical seasons show that). Call me fair weather if you want, but people like winners...not mediocrity.
My friends and I are Golden Hokie Club members. The three of us aggregate together and donate for one Hokie Club membership as well as buy season tickets. We're HC members chiefly so that we can maintain our season tickets and seats in the same place. We started giving to the HC once we were all out of school and could no longer make use of student season tickets back in 2000 or thereabouts. We were at school during the peak of VT football's rise to prominence, between the 1995 Sugar Bowl and the First Coming of Vick. So we were hooked early and often.
I live in SC and my friends live in GA and each game weekend we make the pilgrimage up to Blacksburg whenever there's a game. It takes some sacrifice and not everyone can make it each weekend, but I wouldn't want to be any other place on a fall Saturday. We've finally risen to the point (or more correctly enough people in front of us have bailed) so that we can get decent parking passes for home games now too. Still not as good as we used to have from parking in some dude's sketchy yard back on Greene Street, but the better access in and out of Litton Reaves is worth the slightly longer walk anyway.
But even with our fervor we have let some things go. We used to be religious about going to bowl games, however the last game that we all attended was the Orange Bowl versus Cincy; I went to the Peach by myself at the end of the 2009 because it was within easy driving distance. Since then the dates and/or locations of the bowls have been atrocious. The Stanford Orange Bowl was in the middle of the week after the holidays. Nothing like burning three vacation days all of 48 hours into a new year. Similar issues plagued the Russell Athletic Bowl and the Sun Bowl more recently. Logistics were awful for a variety of reasons.
We also grew tired of the awful ticket allotment that the university is forced to provide you with for the post season games. The rise of Stub-Hub and the like have legitimized the scalping market and laid bare the awful deal that you get from the ticket office by having to pay the pre-determined face value of the tickets for some of the worst seats in the house. When I went to the Peach-fil-A bowl against Tennessee I scored third row, 50 yard line seats to the beginning of the end of Lane Kiffin's head coaching career for what awful seats in the corners would have cost me from the VTTO. Similarly we got great seats to our awful performance versus Clemson in the ACCCG (the biggest disparity between face and market value EVAR typically). So even though we're members we are done buying post season tickets from the VTTO.
Now the awful bowl and ACCCG tickets aren't VT's fault, every conference team has to deal with that, but the arrangements with the conferences and the bowls sorely need to be modernized to reflect the actual demand for the seats. The *VERY* minor bump in status from buying those tickets from the HC/VTTO simply isn't worth it.
I do not donate to the Hokie Club. As I've seen already discussed on Twitter and perhaps some other message boards, the main problem is: I don't even know how. I'd be willing to give, at least a little, but I'm not really gonna go seek out how to make it happen. I get letters once or twice a year from the university, and choose to give directly to the Architecture program. Again, not a lot... but more than I give to athletics - which is zero. Hopefully this is addressed by the next AD.
I'm not in a financial position to have any new buildings named after me, but I think I could probably afford a small annual (or even monthly) recurring gift. And just think what kind of cash could be raised if every alum donated even just $5/month... Would be pretty significant - and makes a bigger statement (in my opinion) about fan support than a handful of mega-donors giving a million each. That's my two cents on this whole money thing...
If you're interested in joining, just got to www.hokieclub.com. This is the link for the actual giving page. It's a $100 minimum that has to be paid by the end of the year or by your giving anniversary. That's it! And they'll send you a super sweet sticker for your car.
Ive been a follower of this site for a few years, but this is the first time that Ive felt compelled to comment on the boards as this is a topic that is top of mind for me currently.
I have been a HC member since I graduated in 2004. I started out as a Bronze and am now Silver, so certainly not a high level donor (or one that the Athletic Department would pay much attention to). I have made the decision to discontinue my HC membership and give up my season tickets heading into the 2014 season. This will mark the first time that I havent had season tickets since my freshman year at VT in 2000 (back when we had to wait in line for tickets rather than the bogus lottery system in place now). I almost let them go last year, but decided against it after the new coaching hires of last offseason. However, after another mediocre season and a number of other factors, my enthusiasm level is gone and Im just as content watching/listening to the game on Saturday than I am trekking to Blacksburg.
Here are the factors I evaluated prior to making my decision to dropping my HC membership and season tickets:
1.Home Schedule/Tailgating Environment: As others have said, our home schedules have left much to be desired over the past few years. Add in a bunch of noon and one oclock kickoffs and the tailgating environment has diminished. I was there when LSU came to town back in 2002 and showed VT what big-boy football and tailgating was all about. I was there as what a Saturday in Blacksburg meant changed and grew to be big time with GameDay and an electric environment every single Saturday. That hasnt been there in a couple of years. People trickle in. I have parked in Lot 8 by Litton Reeves since 2005 and the parking lot rarely approached 50% capacity this past season. Its just sad compared to what it was just a few short years ago.
2.Cost of Tickets vs. Quality of Opponent: For me personally, I struggle with paying the price Im paying for tickets (especially when you factor in the donation) to see the likes of Western Michigan, ECU, James Madison, Liberty, et al. I had to sell two extras for the W. Michigan game this past season and had to haggle with a scalper to get up to $10/ea. Its hard to swallow paying $50 face plus $40/ticket in donation for something that is worth almost ten cents on the dollar. I looked at our future schedules and determined that we have 11 of what I would call plus games (Miami, UVA, OSU, Clemson, Wisconsin) in the next seven seasons. We also have 11 minus games (W&M, WMU, Furman, Liberty, etc). Instead of spending $2,400 year (donation plus 4 season tix) over those seven seasons to see a lot of games that I dont have any excitement about, I have decided that Im willing to pay 2x face for those plus games if warranted and then just pocket the other $15k over those seven years.
3.Post Season Tickets: One of the benefits, supposedly, of being a HC member is getting priority post season tickets. In my experience this is completely and utterly false. The tickets I have gotten from HC are far worse (and far more expensive ) than I can get on the secondary market. So whats the benefit there?
4.Reseating: With the online seating system up each year, your current seats dont really matter anymore. If I decide in five years to start buying tickets again, all I have to do is stroke a check and Ill get a chance to pick my seats again. Granted, I may lose a few spots in my standing, but Im never going to be a top level donor anyway, so Im okay sitting on the 10 yard line. The value of your seat placement just isnt as important as it once was.
5.Life: As a couple other folks have said, I have also entered that stage where life is more important than being in Blacksburg on Saturdays. I have a kid now who will start playing soccer, etc. this year and I would much rather be at that game on Saturday than in Blacksburg cussing about how pathetic our offense is playing.
It was a very hard decision for me to make when I decided to let me HC and tickets go. This would have been year 10 of my membership/continuous giving. When I made my first donation in 2004 I thought for certain that I would be a lifetime member one of those old guys in Lot 1 and 2 with their kids and grandkids running around enjoying Hokie football. My vision has changed. Im disheartened by the program right now and Im okay doing other things with my time and money. Some will say that if I were a true fan that I would keep going with my donation and tickets. But I view it as this, if youre unhappy about something, do something. I am. I am talking with my (albeit small) wallet.
Ill always be a Hokie though. I just want to see the program returned to a Top 15 program, bring back the excitement and the fire to win.
that was really long. I apologize for that.
Thank you for that. I believe you echoed a lot of sentiments for a lot of Hokies out there and here. Absolutely ZERO apology necessary.
Why is your membership in the Hokie Club tied to your purchase of season football tickets? Why not drop the tickets and maintain a donation to the Hokie Club? (even a scaled back donation). A top 15 Program requires a significant investment from the fan base in the form of $$. I can understand not wanting to buy tickets for games you're not interested in attending, but it's easy enough throw $100 towards a better team that you watch on TV.
This IMO is the Hokie Club's biggest problem right now. Nearly views the Hokie Club merely as a mechanism to get season tickets. Not as a method to support the program & athletics in general. That has to change.
No because I'm a starving grad student.
I just want to point out what a great forum this website is! If we tried to have this discussion on some other 3-letter sites on their message boards we would be blown apart, yelled at, called fair-weather, etc. When you read the comments above there is a lot of differing opinion and agreement...at the time of my posting this there is not a single -1 on this page. Awesome...just awesome!!!
Drinks (and Turkey Legs) for you all!!!
Who the fuck was the little troll that downvoted this!?!?
Me. Just because he said there were none, and, I can take it back.
Like this.
I'm not a HC member now, nor have I have ever been. A few reasons:
1. I can't say that I recall ever being sold on the benefits of membership coming out of VT. I went from my BA straight into my Master's program at VT in 2005. I received a few calls when I was in graduate school about donating, but I explained that I was still a student and the calls largely stopped. Apart from the occasional mailer, I don't think I've ever received a whole lot of information on how being a HC member benefits me, apart from season tickets.
2. A lot of it comes down to finances. Unfortunately, my parents were by no means wealthy and I left VT with student loan debt up to my eyeballs. Combine that with my wife's student loan debt, the costs of living in the DC area, two year old twins (damn you daycare and diapers), and I'm still nowhere close to digging out, despite having a really great annual salary with my job. The cost of living factor in Northern Virginia became such an issue, that we're now moving out of DC to Colorado where we hope to have a better quality of life, combined with a lower cost of everything. Which brings me to my next issue.
3. Distance to games and frequency I can attend. Even living in Nova, I probably only make one game a year. Moving halfway across the country, I'm hoping to make one game every 2-3 years. Season tickets aren't a realistic purchase for me.
Given different personal economic circumstances over the next few years and elimination of my debt, I'd be happy to donate a small amount every year, and I'm hopeful that I can, even without the prospect of season tickets. Unfortunately, i'm still busy paying off the cost of my education to go to VT, and until that time, I can't afford or justify to spend any more money in that arena.
DCHokie44....your post sounds eerily similar to mine.
I'm a Bronze Hokie Club Member for the last 10+ years. over the years I have been a O&M level. But I support VT and I'm not a Graduate of VT. that HC money covers alot sports for VT and it's not all about Football. 0ver 35 years of giving and never once have I thought different. More VT Grads should support their College...Been a Hokie fan for 50+years
This kind of fan is a big reason Texas and Alabama do so well, hats off to you!!
Currently not a HC member, might be in the future but we'll see.
Reasons I'm currently not:
Kickoff time is sort of a factor, but I realize that's somewhat out of the school's hands, and I wouldn't let it ruin my fun.
The major problem is the schedule. I plan to be at OSU/VT for the next two years, perhaps Miami or GT game this year. I'll go to any ACCCG. I'll be at the UT/VT and ND/VT games in the upcoming years. But I'm not going spend hundreds of dollars in travel expenses to watch games against ECU/WCU/JMU etc.
Finally, our record doesn't make a huge in my attendance at a game. If we beat #5 ranked OSU next year, I'm no more likely to attend the ECU game than if we were blown out by 50 points. I'll be at the ACCCG if we're .500 or if we're undefeated. It's all about quality of opponent and ease of travel.
I don't donate. I have only been to one home game in the past 15 years. (of course it was this year against Maryland)
I have seen the Hokies play at FedEx Field vs USC, Boise St, and Cincinnati. I also saw them play Maryland at College Park.
I honestly feel that if I had season tickets and/or frequently went to home games, then I would probably join the club and donate...but only going to 1 game in 15 years just kind of detached me from the experience.
Also, the birth of 2 children kind of took me out of the position to be donating...I simply can't justify giving money when I have so many other expenses for my kids....(travel teams for youth sports are EXPENSIVE)
If I lived an hour from Blacksburg I am sure I would have season tickets and be a donor....but until they decide to relocate Lane Stadium to Northern Virginia, then I don't think I will be donating.
Don't get me wrong...I live and breath Hokie football...its all I think about half the time....I have just resigned myself to watching the games on TV with my teenage son and eating good food and yelling at the TV.
vhokie, i noticed your profile pic.
The flag in the F-18 like that was also done by my VT fraternity brother as well when he was an F-18 pilot. His name was Rich Howarth. Did you perhaps know him? He unfortunately died when he crashed his personal plane in Mississippi last year.
My brother, Dan (call sign Danger) was also an F-18 pilot in the Navy - he's now a Delta commercial pilot.
I do not give to the Hokie Club because 1) I'm still a student and 2) if I gave 10% of my money, the HC would be giving me a few hundred dollars at this point.
In the future, when I have, y'know, an income, I definitely plan on supporting the HC.
I do. I have donated at the Silver Hokie level and held season tickets since 2006 and will continue to do so for the rest of my life - wins or losses, good opponents or lousy opponents.
This seems like a great topic for my first TKP post.
I do donate to the HC. I split the cost with my dad. We started giving right after I graduated in '09, mainly so that we can get football tickets at face value. When the home schedule is weak, like this year's was, tickets at or well below face value are common, however, when we have good home schedules, ticket prices sky rocket. I think it was absolutely worth it. We did not start out giving much since I had just started my first post-college job and we got great seats when I was expecting to be put up in the top of the south end zone somewhere. We also got parking. We upped our donation a few years ago to try and improve our seats even more with the stadium reseating (which we did). As my career progresses and salary increases (in theory) I hope to up my donations a little more. While I initially joined the HC for football, it supports VT athletics as a whole and recently I have been trying to take off the football and basketball blinders. I would be lying if I said football wasn't still my main focus with basketball a distant second. Having said that, it has become clear as of late that if VT football wants to start really hanging with the big boys, we need big boy donor support. The recent conversations about assistant pay is a prime example of this. Obviously the little I give each year isn't going to change the financial status of the athletic department but I'm of the mindset if more of us do join the HC and give what are comfortably able, it'll start to add up to something. Recently it seems there have been a lot of people wanting out of the HC because of their displeasure with the state of football and basketball, however, while it sends a message, it won't help in the long run. I'm not a long tenured HC member like some, but I'd rather keep giving so that the few dollars I give each year can go to the solution (another "in theory"). Weaver has done a great job with facilities at VT with these dollars and hopefully our new AD will use them to make great hires in the near future (a large Weaver pitfall).
I have seen a few posts about not being aware of the HC. That seems to be a big problem as of late. The guys over on TSL have been mentioning this more and more lately. People are not aware of it and how it helps VT athletics. The young alumni and students (students can join the HC if memory serves) presence is missing big time. The HC really needs to start doing a better job of educating people about the organization as well as reaching out to young alumni, other prospective members, as well as current members.
Essentially, yes, I am in the HC. It was mainly for football tickets but as of late, I'm becoming a big advocate of joining to help grow the athletic department so that we can hang with and beat the top dogs.
There are brand new initiativesfor recent graduates and referrals.
http://hokieclub.com/recent-graduate-program.php
With the referral program, basically you earn extra points for referring people - instead of putting the name of the Hokie Rep down.
http://hokieclub.com/hokie-referrals.php
Definitely some added perks of joining right out of graduation!
Wait! I just read the HC rules and regs.
Get this: TKP TURKEY LEGS DO NOT COUNT FOR HC PRIORITY! What. The. Hell?
Oh how I wish they did.
I currently do not, but plan to do so once I have a full time job. I'd love to be able to give to the HC and the VTCC as they were both big reasons I came to Blacksburg. Working in Cassell I interact with HC members all the time and go to some of the pregame stuff for football which is a great way to network with other Hokies.
Considering the money donated helps out all the athletes and not just football make me more inclined to donate now than when I was a student because I see what these kids do on almost a daily basis to prepare for their seasons. There are a lot of great student athletes that participate in the 'non revenue' sports.
I am a member of Hokie Club. I have no idea what level, but I give more than the $100 minimum. My husband and I both alumni and plan to relocate to Virginia when he gets out of the Army. We'll get more points for years of continued giving. Also, one of my friends is a Hokie Club rep and was a pain in my ass about it until I joined.
I contribute at the Golden level. I started at O&M and enjoyed really good seats at that level - until the first reshuffle. It was at that point I decided to increase my contribution. I did not increase during the last reshuffle but I actually got better seats out of the deal.
Since the VTAD and HC have not presented a strategy on how our giving ties in with whatever goals and objectives they have for the program, I set my giving level based on where I want my season tickets to be.
3 friends and I decided to donate for the first time this year and we took advantage of the recent graduate program so that our donation for this year counts as next years donation as well. We decided to donate under one of our names but split the donation amongst us all. This was nice because a feasible donation from each of us, compiled, was able to get us into bronze hokie range. We donated strictly to ensure the fact that we can get tickets this year and next year. We will be able to buy 4 tickets under our one donation so it worked out nicely for us. We are also trying to travel to OSU this year so hopefully being members of HC now will get us some access to those tickets.
I do not, for a few reasons. 1) I was in the MV drumline '83-'88, when I had a better game attendance record than most of the student body, and carried equipment that was, well, junk. Therefore, the MVs need my money more. When I've donated money, it's been specifically to the MVs, either as part of a planned campaign on their part (like the effort for a practice facility now), or because I explicitly designated it. 2) For more than half of the 26 seasons since I graduated, I haven't even been living on the North American continent, never mind the same time zone. The closest I've been was five years in Williamsburg, which is still a haul to Blacksburg. 3) The extortion required to get college football tickets is astounding to me, for a whopping 6-ish games a season - and that's coming from someone that still buys 4 Caps season tickets now. (At least I get 41 games out of that deal, and each year, there's a season-ticket-holder gift - which are nice - among other explicit benefits.) Especially when those 6 games a year include blockbusters (sic) like Duke, W. Michigan, WF, etc.
I know that's a contradiction - won't get Hokie tickets because of proximity, but still get Caps tickets. I've made the determination that I'll see a Stanley Cup before a MNC trophy. But that's why I give to the 'other part' of college - the reason I/went there; maybe that soothes my guilt about not giving to the HC.
I am an HC member silver level.
Not a VT grad. I joined so I can support ALL the athletics but certainly do appreciate the opportunity to get season Football tickets.
I am proud of the work Beamer does and their continued work with these kids. the lunchpail mentality will get you a long way in life. That is something I can support.
I also ALWAYS buy a $5 program to support the German club from one of the kids at each game. We normally get something from one of the stands setup by the departments each game, instead of the normal concessions.
As for joining HC. I had to seek out a friend and get them to explain how to join and what the heck the important parts are to pay attention to in donating. Last thing I'd want to do is donate $1000+ and expect to be able to get tickets but then find out I did it wrong. I couldn't even tell you how to go about being a functioning member of the club here in Roanoke and if they have anything other than the periodic talks, a couple times a year.
The magazine is nice.
Ive only made donations to my academic department since graduating. Will donate to the HC someday but cannot at the moment.
I will never donate to Hokie Club until athletics gets out of its own way.
You guys really make me want to donate and join HC but then I looked at my bank account and saw I had all of 15 bucks.....then I remembered why I hadn't donated anything.
Anywho, GO HOKIES! #BeatOhioState
This to me is what makes this site so valuable. It is a community, and this is an unpleasant discussion about the state of the program that ties into everything from economics, allocation of funds, the structure of the athletic fund's fundraising arm, and the very personal impact the football program has had on families. The conversation could have been very hostile, and instead has been respectful, reflective, and honest. As I wrote on my Twitter feed, this is a thread that decision-makers in the athletic department need to see, and they need to look for solutions.
My hat is off to each of you.
Leg to make this green! Also for being French
Scotch Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Colombian. For those who were curious.
only a frenchy would say something like that.... get him!
Agreed -perhaps someone can take a summary from this and could present/forward on to someone within the administration that works with/on the Hokie Club in order to offer positive, critical feedback, and ultimately growth. Hey, the worst we could do is spawn a financial juggernaut.
Not sure why I'm so wrapped up in this -I've raised money for granola-crunching advocacy shiznut and this doesn't seem like rocket science to me...
I reached out to the HokieClub contact for the NOVA Recruit night on an unrelated topic. Two days have gone by and no answer. Sigh...
I've been a Hokie Club member for a couple of years mainly for the opportunity to purchase season tickets and I've been at the O&M level. I'll probably move up this year or next to get to the level of getting a parking pass also to help out more with athletics. I've given to Pamplin too over the past couple of years.
I agree there's a lot more that Hokie Club could do to get more people involved. I think a giving level that starts below the current $100 minimum could help, taking a quick look at the FSU athletic boosters page they start at $60. Also feel like there should be more reaching out to young alums, I didn't know about the recent grad program on the website until I was looking around on the site. As for advertising of course I get the Hokie Respect banners but feel like it would be nice to get something during the game on the jumbotron for the Hokie Club.
I think one thing that could help out a lot as well is if there was an incremental way to pay as well. I'd love if there was a way to just set up getting billed every month for part of the yearly Hokie Club donation and not having to remember the deadline. For the price of 1 rail a month someone could be a Hokie Club member, for 3 rails a month a Hokie could be an O&M level HC member, put in that context it doesn't seem as much.
Nevermind on the incremental giving, was just informed of Hokie Matic form, maybe that adds to the idea of giving more awareness of Hokie Club giving that I didn't know about it.
http://www.hokieclub.com/hmticfrm.pdf
I am currently giving at the Golden Hokie level. My husband and I have been members for ~20 years. We started giving to support the football program, but have since been enjoying other sports such as baseball, indoor track and field (David Wilson was amazing), and basketball. I am lucky to have a decent job, a spouse who loves the Hokies as much as I, and no kids! We live for our trips to Blacksburg, bowl games (yes, we went to El Paso), and away games. Win or lose, I couldn't be prouder of our student athletes and even our coaches. The coaches don't try to screw us over and make bad decisions, shit just happens and sometimes things don't go our way (it WAS a freakin catch). We never leave games early - I want every second I can get in Lane or in Cassell - win or lose.
I encourage everyone to look into becoming HC members - you can pay $10 a month - this adds up and it will help all sports, not just football. When I was an undergrad, women's soccer and softball were only club teams. The funds from the boom of the HC helped develop these new teams.
I do hope the new AD brings back some of the spark we have been missing in the football program - I know Weaver did a LOT for us, but I still get so damn mad when I think about the Stick It In cheer - I was furious, and still am, but that doesn't impact how I feel about supporting my Hokies no matter what. And those paper airplanes...sigh. I love my Hokies, I love the opportunities I have to support them, and I love meeting and supporting fellow Hokies. The best feeling is when a complete stranger sees me in my VT attire and yells, "Go Hokies!" from across a mall, an airport, or on a crowded street.
It was a catch. I obviously need to let some things go....
Used to, back in the mid to late 90s after I graduated until I effectively got priced out in the '00s. Even rejoined HC at one point when I could specify that my contribution would go to support the MVs (even though I had no intention of buying tickets) until Weaver nixed that too (don't get me started on that guy).
Now I just give directly to the MVs. They deserve it more than the AD IMHO.
Other than that, it's just a hassle to drive down for a noon kickoff, pay too much for crappy parking, and try to eat/drink as quickly as possible all for some FCS opponent.
I think that my talking points will echo most of what has already been said. I currently did/do not donate to the HC for a few reasons.
1. Two kids under 3 years old takes the majority of my free time (i.e. gamedays are difficult to get to).
2. Until about a week ago I was not close enough to attend more than one game a season. The military keeps me moving around and the idea of only making one game a season wasn't strong enough to get me to spend $$ on the HC.
3. The home schedule the last two years hasn't really been a motivating factor regarding jumping on board. It is difficult to get a group of buds together and pumped about investing a weekend to see a WCU/Marshall game.
4. Increasing frustration with many of the decisions regarding the previous staff (specifically the 08-12 seasons). The new staff has me a bit more interested in the programs future, however.
I have contemplated the idea of donating on the chance that I would be in a position to attend in the future. The disposable income isn't the issue so much as the fact that the VT athletic department has never contacted me since I graduated in 2002. That isn't to say that I feel that they should call me in order for me to donate, but it seems like fundraising isn't really a priority (at least from my point of view). So for me, if I can't attend most of the games and I don't get a letter, phone call, or email reminding me then it becomes an issue of me finding other things to invest money in.
Although I now live between D.C. and Baltimore so hopefully I can get a little more involved in all things Hokie.
No because I'm poor. But I'm also unemployed, so that's my excuse. Graduated last May. Once I have steady income I will undoubtedly donate.
Where are you? Resume?
Currently in Richmond. Communication major, video producer. I can email a resume if you think you may have connections or leads on some opportunities, thanks!
Send it to my screen name @yahoo.com. I may have a couple leads at least for you
Oh, so you help out one TKPer and not another? Well fine, I'll go start my own TKP Help site! And it'll have blackjack, and hookers! On second thought, forget the blackjack!
Huckleberry,
My emails out there just as easily for you to send me a resume as the other guy. I am not sure I have great leads for you in va with blackjack and hookers but I do have friends across the border in Charles Town.
Me too. Contingent worker. Company opted not to renew my contract at the end of this past year.
OK, my turn. I haven't annually donated to the Hokie Club. After graduating in 2005 I moved to New Haven, CT so I never considered buying season tickets. Because I never went through the ticket buying experience as a graduate I had no idea the Hokie Club existed until I moved back to Virginia and tried to buy season tickets for the 2011 season.
From conversations with friends I had a general understanding that a donation had to be made before ordering tickets, and the amount donated would impact the quality of the seats. I still didn't really understand that the donation went to the booster club, not the athletic department. Anyways, I missed the deadline to donate the previous years, however because the demand for tickets was low I was able to order them anyways. (The seats were the last row in Lane.)
Because of my website responsibilities, I didn't make all the games in 2011. I believe I went to Clemson and UNC. As a non-credentialed entity, it's much easier to produce something substantial from the couch and not downtown Blacksburg. Because I only planned on making at most two games, I didn't reorder tickets in 2012 or 2013.
I tried to support the Athletic Department whenever I could. I bought my tickets through VT even though there were cheaper options on the secondary markets. I went to the local events like the Bud Foster Chalk Talk and Cav's recruiting night, bought shirts, and made small donations in person. I traveled to the neutral site games, and was able to swing the Orange and Sugar Bowls.
Personally I think the athletic department and Hokie Club have both made mistakes. It's become obvious from reading this thread and my Twitter that many folks were like me and didn't know the deal with the Hokie Club. It doesn't seem like the younger fans are all that involved.
It's hard to keep the fan base energized after a 7-6 and 8-4 season, but the athletic department / Beamer Co. could have put a smile on everyone's face for 5 minutes by rolling out all-maroon uniforms. As stupid as it sounds, a lot of fans care about uniforms. A simple gesture of goodwill by the program may have made it easier for a few folks to stroke checks. Also, making the conscious decision to opt-out of the Thursday night game really hurt the program. Many folks bought season tickets just to ensure they got a good seat for the Thursday night game. It's no coincidence the sellout streak ended this season. That's a double whammy because not only did the athletic department piss Hokies offs and miss out on a national broadcast, but they lost money in the process. Tickets, concessions, donations, etc... help ensure competitive salaries for coaches among other things in the college football arms race.
In conclusion, I hope to do two things.
1. Work an annual donation into my budget.
2. Reach out to the folks at the Hokie Club and give them feedback.
Since I have graduated in May 2012 I have already acquired an additional $41,000 in debt from student loans. If my dreams and aspirations come true and I end up attending a medical school that will be an additional roughly $240k. I would love to join, but its not happening anytime soon. Maybe in 10 years when I have job and can even begin to imagine paying off the mountain of debt that I will already have.
I don't donate to HC. I donate to the general fund, for a few reasons:
1. My last year at Tech (02) I worked at the calling center, which is literally the worst job I've ever had. Great cause, good pay, but calling recent grads, seniors about to graduate and parents of students to ask for money is not fun. Hey, you know how it's awkward to say no? It's awkward as hell for them because they KNOW you're about to say no and they have to ask anyway. Be nice to those kids when they call, talk to them a bit to kill as much of their four hour shift as you can. They'll appreciate it.
2. I barely give anything useful to them because, as noted above, I am kid poor. F you, daycare.
3. I've always had a hard time mentally justifying giving money to the athletic side of the house when the academic side needs it as well. As soon as I can, I'll probably start doing both.
4. As mentioned above, I've never been called about an athletic donation. The calling center ALWAYS finds me and calls because I would forget otherwise. So even when I think about finding to HC, it's in an abstract way while I'm driving or something and I forget before I have a chance to do anything about it.
You know what's worse than daycare? One partner staying home with the kid(s). Avoid that trap like the plague!
By the way, my wife and I have always had a standing rule that we won't give one dollar more to the athletic side than the academic side. We didn't play football, but the Biology and Architecture departments indirectly pay our bills.
I want to note, this isn't new. After the 97 Orange Bowl loss to Nebraska the Hokies had a 7-5 season and a 9-3 season that included losses to UVA and Temple. I didn't see the same enthusiasm dip then (perhaps because it was so new), and the foundation was built to the point where when Michael Vick was landed the program exploded in terms of popularity. Grimes, this recruiting class, those are the same kind of pieces that were being solidified during those down years. But, because the money may not be there, we may lose the chance to have a foundation in place if and when they score that transcendent player you need for a legitimate run.
Yes, I have since I graduated in 1998. I do because I enjoy Tech sports. I don't buy season tickets but I have family that has tickets that I can use.
I started donating ~3 years ago. I never had any intention of buying season tickets - I'm not driving from Northern VA for a noon kick vs Marshall and I haven't had any issues getting tickets for the games I want. I simply did it to support the program I love. This past fall (when I usually donate) I was very busy running my 1st marathon, buying my 1st house, traveling for work and planning an international vacation and I simply forgot to get around to it. Had the HC reached out to me via phone or even an email to remind me how much they appreciate my donation and how important it is to our student athletes I would have reupped on the spot. But they sent a letter I never got around to opening and they didn't get my money. I will probably join again.
I will say that my biggest complaints are lack of information - like many here I searched out all info on my own - and lack of appreciation for us small time donors that should make up the back bone of the donor pool.
I donate. Although new here, I've been a member on TSL since 1998 (about the time I began donating to the HC) back when it was HokieCentral. Hell, I even bought tickets to several bowl games and donated them to the military, ect- so I'm not what I would consider a bandwagon fan. Although we've been REALLY lucky to have been members during this period. While 1998 was a an awful year for losses- they were all heart-wrenching - I got hooked, and so did my wife. I'm '82 guy (dad is '52)- so there's a connection. Certainly a lot of good times- good people - and good food and drink over the last 15 years. We even went to MNC in '99 (I thought, correctly it seems, that we might never be in another in my lifetime)
I am currently at the Golden level, (started at bronze- then to silver, etc.) but I have been getting more and more disenchanted with the process since 2011 or so (actually since the first seat defrag in what? 2008?). Anyway, we really missed the folks we'd been sitting with for years (they watched our kids grow up after all), and struggled with the new digs for several years as we switched around looking for a good home. The process really sucked actually. There were people telling us to sit down on the EAST side for God's sakes! After we finally got settled on the West side-decent seats and neighbors- the team finally started getting on my nerves. I LOVE defense, so I can take a lot- but the offense actually got embarrassing.
This year, the thing that really got me (as mentioned by more than a few) was the Thursday night game getting cancelled - (along with the ACC hosing us on the MIA/ UVA and GT games!) and I let Weaver know it. He was an IDIOT for that- truly. Unforgivable. We really counted on getting the "guys" together for boys night, and it totally screwed us up. And it was a NIGHT freaking game. That was hard to get over....but I did, and stroked a check again. I almost didn't send the donation in this year - but the boy is at VT finally, and I'll be damned if I won't use his apt to save money on hotels as long as he's there. When he graduates next year, I'll probably look at the process again- taking all things into account.
As far as the HC itself- I would say they need to give more points for other things besides just the annual giving piece. All the other crap is just a rounding error relative to that. No incentive, really, for longevity, lifetime giving, bowl games, or other stuff. Not sure how to change that, but why even have the points- they amount to jack compared to the annual check. Just stop giving and start right back up -lose almost nothing.
did Weaver say that we had a chance to have a Thursday night game and declined? Or did ESPN not select us for a home Thursday night game?
I assumed after a 7-6 season, ESPN didn't deem us worthy of 2 Thursday night games anymore and picked the GT game as the one they wanted. They were right, it was a doozy. And if they'd picked the UNC@VT game, two things would have happened:
1. It wasn't an exciting game, and
2. It would have further diluted our Saturday slate.
As I understand it, it was offered to us and Weaver kindly declined.
I thought Weaver specifically asked for us not to be scheduled for a Thursday night game:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/andybittervirginiatechfootball/2013/02/26/weave...
That's correct. Weaver requested we not even be considered due to the constraints it puts on the campus and academics, along with other logistical challenges of a weeknight event. One of the most disappointing moments of my year as I count some of our Thursday night games as some of my favorite and most exciting memories of Hokie football.
I wonder how much of that may be due to hid health problems and he wouldn't have been able to support it properly. I also wonder if that was part of the reason for the noon kickoffs. Some of it not, of course, but some of it could be.
I understand they put in the request for 2 Thursday night games this next season, 1 home and 1 away.
This year would have been a good one for 2 Thursday night games as we had 2 bye weeks.
Yeah the way the schedule worked out made me think that E$PN and the ACC had already made their schedule thinking that VT would take its usual complement of Thursday night games and then we said No thanks.
I donate to both the HC and the DoE. There are a lot of reasons why I do both so I'll try to make this as short as possible. I worked at the student calling center for 4 years and talked to countless alums asking for donations to the university (separate from HC). Hearing the enthusiasm from these Hokies strengthened my love for the school and will force me to donate no matter what. My degree allowed me to do some awesome things so I'll forever be grateful and hope my contributions help current and future Hokies live their dream.
As for the HC, I started donating upon graduation to be able to buy football season tickets. I've increased my contribution level significantly because 1) I'm able to, and 2) I want better seats. I feel for those that lost their good seats due to reseating but I do think a 30 year old that's given much more than a 60 year old should have better seats. The $100 minimum is just a couple bar tabs or dinners so I don't think it's too much to sacrifice if you really are honest about wanting to help the program. On top of that, it's 80% tax deductible so as long as you're itemizing you'll get some of your contribution back come tax season.
In the end, you can't complain about not paying the coaches if you aren't willing to chip in. I'm not going to stop contributing if we lose a few games because I don't want our program to turn into UVA's. Go Hokies!
Just a couple more observations after reading the whole thread. It's pretty awesome to see so many different opinions and realize how much/little people know about the HC. In regards to the min donation level, how many more people would give if they cut it to $50? Would it be more than the amount of people that cut their current min donation in half? Their thinking is if you can afford $5/month you can likely swing $10. And it's probably not the min donation that keeps people away, those folks probably have a stronger reason to not give.
The monthly magazine is pretty good although most of it is old news by the time you get it. And don't forget about the keychain schedules!
Did not know that the donation was Tax Deductable. Do you have to live/work in state to qualify or no? HC should definitely advertise this.
It is 80% tax deductible. You lose 20% of the donation as it is factored into the calculations for ticket levels, seniority, etc. My view is you donate because you want to, not because it is a tax write off.
100% agree, but HC should still advertise this. Would help convince potential donors who are debating whether to give more/give any or not.
You may not donate just because it is tax deductible but, that it is deductible makes it less expensive to donate and validates the donation. And believe me, when I'm in my accountants office angry at how much money I have to stroke to that IRS type thing, I get some bit of satisfaction at the line that shows how much of my cash I have given charitably.
If it wasn't tax deductible, I'd have more problems with making the donation, it's a mental thing. Now that my wife and I are stable in our economic situation we actively search for worthy causes and without doing oodles of research on various organizations, knowing one holds or does not hold a proper 501 charity designation is the start of the weeding out process.
In short, that it is 80% deductible allows me to remind myself I'm not paying $1600 per year for 4 seats at 6 football games, some of which are only excuses to tailgate until 11:00 AM so I can make it in for kickoff.
Here's an idea for you younger grads - pool your resources to get better tickets. Instead of four of you donating $250 each, combine your contributions to achieve one Silver level membership in one person's name. That entitles the member to four season tickets - during the reshuffle you could have gotten pretty good seats.
My wife and I are 2006 grads and joined HC that year and have held season tickets since. We have lived in California and overseas since 2007, so have made very few games between deployments. We donate or sell our tickets at face value. Continue to pay HC and tickets because I honestly thought that you had to do both, but may consider not paying for tickets in the future. Would prefer to donate to other academic areas of need.
There really is not enough contact from the HC, we move every one to three years in various countries and the Alumni Association has no problem finding us, but HC sends mail late or not at all. Hopefully the new AD will modernize/energize the club.
Last two bowl games we went to were 2006 Peach and 2007 OB. Those seats were overpriced and poor, so now we know not to purchase through school (probably not HC fault, but a major issue). That Kansas game still upsets me, plus why was it cold in Miami?
Hope to make the 2015 tOSU game in Lane, should be a definite night game.
Global warming. God bless u both.
No, I thought about it but I only stumbled across the HC on my own. As a recent grad I have little money to spare and with friends/connections still at school and the poor quality of opponents I have not had to pay more than $10 for a ticket (a lot of times I got in free) over the last 2 seasons since I graduated.
I do think that as I have more money saved up (and less student loans) and if the HC and AD are more engaging I may see the value in it. But right now my motivation to give to the HC is just not there.
No. I've never been asked, to my knowledge. I get called several times a year asking for academic donations, but I don't remember a single call asking for a Hokie Club donation. How that's possible, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.
Should I have sent in a gift on my own. Yes. SMH. But until today I've always thought of it as something for season ticket holders, or those aspiring to be such, and I'm not in a position where that's possible. I've never thought of it as a way to support the team, completely separated from the question of tickets. I would think a call could have helped in that respect. Somehow they need to get that message out... this is not just about tickets! Lightbulb... Purchasing VT merchandise isn't the only way to support our Hokies financially!
I don't, because of being a poor starving grad student in the far away land of Alabama...
but if/when I finally decide I should go get a real job, I may.
I do. I graduated in 2004 and started giving to the HC about 5 years ago. I only donate at the O&M level due to student loans, cost of living in DC, etc but also purchase season tickets yearly. My first season tickets were great seats but were lost during the reshuffle. I was not upset, I relocated to another area that suits my needs and sucked it up.
I only make it to about one game a year and pass my unused tickets to friends or other Hokies. The cost of going to games (hotel, gas, etc) has gotten to the point its a very expensive weekend and the product on the field is making it harder to justify.
On another note, I have never been contacted by a HC rep. I went and joined the HC on my own. If the HC made a greater effort to recruit new members I feel they would see more involvement. I also believe that they should make a greater effort showing appreciation from the smaller donors, not just the high dollar donors. There are many changes that could be made in future and I hope the HC sees the feedback here and decides to become more involved for the better of our athletics.
Also I feel like a link to this thread should be emailed to whoever the hell is in charge of the HC. Probably the most feedback they've gotten in years (from small time donors that is)
I currently do not, but I could and have thought about it. I graduated '12 and have been to 4 home, 1 neutral games the last two seasons. With the lower attendance I feel like the very act of going and screaming my face off is supporting the team. The main reason it seems to join is to get season tickets, and I can't justify getting them. I will only make it down from DC for a few games anyways.
As many have noted the outreach and engagement is nonexistent. It's not like they don't have our emails (I still use my @vt.edu). If they even did simple newsletters, reminders, etc. to let us know they are even there, where our money would go, how it will grow the program; I would be more motivated.
I have seen more ads for the Hokie kids club than I have for the HC. I've even seen a commercial for the kids club. They really need to up their game. Seriously. I also thought the HC was just for season tickets holders. I have really learned a lot from this thread.
I am not a member of the Hokie Club and I have never donated to VT. The simple reason is that I am dirt poor at the moment. Even with a doctoral degree from VT, I make about the same as the average high school janitor; such is the nature of my career path. One day it will be better. Couple that with the fact that we're nearly $200k in debt from student loans to pay for my wife's degrees and we don't have a cent to give VT. I'd consider donating to the academic side (because we're badly in need), but I'm not sure I'll ever have enough money to justify shelling out tons of $ just for a parking spot every weekend on football days. I have friends in the area that I can stay with and tickets are not hard to come by, for a lot cheaper. I can come to whatever games I want, for the most part, and I don't need to be forced to donate to do so.
I have learned from this thread many of the benefits of HC membership and maybe one day I'll join. But the fact that they have never reached out to me, beyond a simple email right when I graduated (I think I am not making that up), doesn't speak highly of their efforts.
And I agree with what someone said above - someone get this thread Tweeted or emailed over to the people in the Athletic Department. The community here at TKP is probably some of their most loyal fans, and if they're not impressing us, I can't imagine how it is among everyone else.
I do not donate.
I will start by saying it's a bit of a catch 22. VT needs donations (LOTS OF 'EM) to help build a competitive program. But from what I've seen (and to be fair, I've skimmed over a few posts..not all of 'em) it seems that a pretty big reason a lot of people don't donate is because the product is lacking. I don't disagree with this sentiment, but it would seem that with better donations VT could field a better product.
I am fortunate enough to have access to season tickets. I am fairly close with a family who DOES donate and are HC members. I piggy back on their coat tails..for now
I have student loans to pay off and I don't have the cash flow to justify donating to HC at this time. Still, if the finances were there, I would find it pretty difficult to donate $$$$ for the current product. I think the offensive coaching changes came too little too late. By the time our offensive coaching staff (if it stays intact...) is in a situation where they can be relied upon to consistently field an offense...Beamer will basically be on his way out.
Who knows what will happen to this program when Beamer is gone? I know that I SHOULD donate and that everyone SHOULD donate so that the program will have the deep pockets to bring in someone to build it up again. But it's REALLY hard to put money into the current product. Catch 22.
I don't understand why people reduce their contributions when the product is lacking. I look at it in terms of gardening (because it's a simple metaphor). If a plant is struggling to grow and produce, do you stop watering it and giving it fertilizer? No, you feed it more so that it can be better and you can reap the benefits of its growth. The same thing applies to our football program. You won't see positive results by donating less. I understand that people think it's wasting their money but why did you start donating in the first place? If it was to give back to the Athletics Department, then you've lost sight of your purpose. If it was to get season tickets, well you're giving up a chance to get them in the future when the team is worth the money. It's a personal choice, but I guess one that I fail to see the logic in.
The thought process is that a down year is direct result of misusing money. If the program is misusing it, then (as a donor), I should keep it for myself and do something else that makes me happy. The other way of looking at it is that, as a donor, one must 'punish' the program for misusing one's money. Rather than a struggling plant, these people see the program as a kid with car keys. If your son is misusing the car, then it would make sense to give him more responsibility?
I think some people also view their donation as an investment, and want a return on that investment. And let's be honest, noon kick offs and games against ECU aren't exactly huge returns.
That being said, I agree with you. Some of my best weekends as a student included road trips to FedEx Field, Atlanta and Charlotte. A potential loss has NEVER dissuaded me from attending a game, buying merchandise from the school, etc. After reading everyone's posts in this forum, I plan to start donating to the school... As soon as I figure out how to do so.
I graduated in 08' and picked up a masters in 12'. Until I pay off my student loans, I can't warrant the added expense to a school I already owe tens of thousands of dollars to. I know it sounds like I'm being cheap, but I'm saving for my first house and have wedding expenses too.
Besides, with such a weak home schedule, 1:30 kickoffs (if we're even that lucky), and a diminished game day atmosphere ( it doesn't seem as festive as it was for my 05'-08' years) I really don't get as excited as I used to. Oh and the last five VT games I've gone to we've lost. So there's that.
As the current Undergraduate Representative to the University Athletics Committee, this is an issue that is well known. Reps of the HC are at these meetings and know that there have been communication/marketing problems. One of the biggest problems is the lack of communication and disconnect with recent graduates. They are currently exploring initiatives of how to better reach out to these graduates. I encourage you to write and let your opinions heard - they will sincerely value your opinion and take your ideas into consideration.
Our last meeting we met with the 3rd party company that is assisting in our search for a new AD. We discussed issues we want the new AD to address and one of them is helping revive the Hokie Club. So, know that this will be brought up further when we have a new AD.
this needs to be green. Commence turkey-legging, guys!
Who/how do we contact? Any email available?
Updated website would be a nice start.
I would imagine one problem with recent grads is related to where they end up. The Hokie Club is organized geographically. If the Hokie Reps were informed what graduates ended up in their 'region' you might see an effort to reach out to them.
Is there some way to get the Hokie Reps by region to contact the Alumni Association group for the same area to get their message out? I know the Alumni Association gets a better idea of where people are going because of info they collect at graduation.
I am a Hokie Rep (and am also the Chapter President for the Central PA Alumni Association), and I attempted to use the VT Alumni Association listserv for Central PA to send out information about the Hokie Club and the Alumni Association would not let me request the email.
*Backnote - to send an email to the alumni in a region, I have to request it be sent from the database in Blacksburg. We have a local PA Chapter listserv, but have only been able to collect 150 email addresses. The VT Alumni Association has over 1,100 email addresses.
The Alumni Association will not turn over the email addresses it has on file to us for us to use - we have to request an email to be sent from Virginia Tech Alumni Associaiton in Blacksburg to the alumni living in our region. They in turn have to send their email address to me so I can add to our local listserv. - It sucks all around.
This is a point the new AD can make to the administration that there can be more cooperation between the school and the Hokie Club. Yes, there would need to be rules set up but sending a once per quarter or half year on behalf of the Hokie Club directing alumni to a local chapter is not an abuse of an email.
I think that email on the behalf of the Hokie Club would basically have to have an opt in button that would forward their email to your local listserv of addresses.
Moral of the story: The Alumni Association will not send out informaiton about the Hokie Club in an email to my chapter area, even though I am a Chapter President for our Alumni Association.
I can however, send it to our local listserv, but it does not reach as many as it coming directly from the Alumni Association in Blacksburg.
Dude, the Alumni can't even send email information out to Alumni Reps. There is no way they are going to be able to do it for HC.
I have been asking for contact info for Hokie's in China and Asia for YEARS, and they always say they don't have a database that has that information. Seriously. The Alumni Association and the HC need a complete overhaul. Fire everyone and bring in some great web company to design some Hokie social network thing. It's ridiculous how technologically inept these two groups are or seem to be.
Yea, it's rediculous. Agree completely
I have friends that serve in the Penn State Alumni Association Chapter here and it is completely different than how our AA operates. Penn State provides contact information to the chapters and the chapters handle separately.
As a non alumni fan I feel like Tech does not do a lot to advance themselves in the donation department. I currently live in Columbus OH, home of OSU, I see examples every day of Buckeye groups. I have tried in three different cities to find active fan/alumni groups to get together to watch games and just be around other Hokies and have no luck. I would love to start giving in the next year as we finally move out of Ohio and are more stable, but would love to see more from the school to get fans and alumni involved around the country.
There is an NJ Buckeyes group i get unsolicited emails from. I never received anything of the sort from VT. I know NJ has a good number of Hokies.
One potential "perk" idea to enhance the value of a Hokie Club membership would be donor-only lines for getting into the stadium. That small gift of convenience would do two things: reward existing donors and give non-donors a visible reminder of the benefits of membership.
That's a good idea. Although I imagine it would be a challenge for all the drunks (me) who unintentionally enter the wrong line.
I love that idea. And although it wouldn't cost the university much, it would be perceived as a really special perk IMHO.
I have longed wished the Hokie Club would set aside a parking lot for young alumni. The tailgating in that lot would be spirited, it would be easy to find and connect with those in (or close to) your alumni class and it could begin the graduation process (through increased donation) from that lot to others. It would foster tailgating relationships, and by extension committment to the school and the HC. It's an easy solution to the lack of benefits offered by the HC, especially to the younger alumni. Make a donation in your first year out you get a parking spot (with room for a tent) in lot X.
Also name all the lots (or better yet, poll those in the lots and allow us to name our lot).
A small, small portion of my graduate student stipend goes back to my academic department at VT, but I don't currently donate to the HC. I'll reevaluate that after I finish my master's thesis next year and have a better idea of where my wife-to-be and I are, both geographically and fiscally.
I think this has been made pretty clear already, but to pile on: last year was my final undergrad year, and on multiple occasions I encountered Tom Tilley and heard about the benefits of the Alumni Association. I knew about the Hokie Club from my years of listening to Bill & Mike, but I observed zero outreach from the Club to the senior class, and haven't heard a thing from the Club since. Conversely, I got my first call to give from the Foundation less than five months after I graduated.
I live in California so season tickets mean nothing to me. However, I started donating in 2013. Essentially, I didn't even think about donating to HC before then. What tipped the scales for me was the opportunity to buy tickets to the CFA kick-off. My wife's family lives in the ATL area and I really wanted to go to the game. Unfortunately, I didn't stay on top of when the tickets went on sale to the public and missed buying the tickets by a day.
I am graduate student currently, so I don't have a lot of money. I hope to be a better donor in the future, including donating to the Academics. Until then, I will stick to the baseline donation to the Hokie Club.
I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said. I'm only writing this in hopes that someone who matters might see it.
I don't donate to HC and I never have, I graduated 10 years ago. I don't get down for many games, so I never needed season tickets so I never saw the point in donating.
I've also never been asked to donate once, in ten years, I've never been contacted, not once. I've learned more about HC in this thread than I've ever known about them ever.
I can afford it. This is going to come off wrong, but I'm intentionally writing it this way for effect: I piss away more money on absolutely nothing of value than the $100 annual minimum. So am I going to start donating now?
Nope.
Not until they ask me too, and sell me on why I should. I'm sorry, if you want free money from me, you need to work for it and convince me on why I'm going to give it to you. I'm not going to seek you out and give you money just for the privilege of doing so.
I live in bloody NoVA! Is there even a NoVA HC chapter? I assume there is, but know nothing about it. Why not? Why is the NOVA HC chapter not the biggest, most obnoxious thing on the planet? There a million alumni up here. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with the HC?
Sorry, it just kind of makes me mad. This school churns out roughly ten thounsand grads a year, why is the booster club wanting for money?
It's because they're lazy. That's the bottom line. And until they stop being lazy, they won't see a dime from me, let alone 1,000 dimes. My two biggest hopes for the new AD are 1) he actually gives a crap about basketball and 2) he whips the lazy, worthless HC into gear.
I want to give you money, HC. Give me a damn reason to.
Having seen so many stupid comments on this and other websites, most to the effect that the HC shouldn't have to ask, you should just give, this post is a breath of fresh air.
Very few people who give to charity just write a check because.
They want to see that the money is being used for specific purposes. When someone asks me to donate, I ask them about the breakdown in their spend. Admin %, general overall spend and what it accomplishes, and specific (temporary) initiatives that this money might be used for. Charities that aren't interested enough to answer those three things at a high level have no chance to get money that I have to work hard for and that competes with family and other charitable uses. I don't have enough money to give it away cheaply. Mostly because it tells me that they hire people or get "free labor" and then don't bother to educate them on the mission and why the donations matter. That is not an effective organizational strategy and engages my imagination to wonder what other nonsense must be going on inside of that charity.
Anyway. Enough. Hope someone gets my point. I think it is aligned with that of this poster.
People who have money are usually much worse than I am in terms of diligence. People who set the bar lower than I do often are in and out of funds to give for a reason. JMHO
i would have LOVED an annual report from the Hokie Club that broke down income, spending, and even a little detail as to where my donation may have specifically gone when i was donating. i do vaguely recall some annual report, but it was more in line with an SEC filing than a marketing piece.
the hokie club is going to have to pull me back in. my one incentive before was priority seating and parking, which i no longer require since i cannot make it to blacksburg more than once/year for football. give me a new incentive. make me feel a part of something again without needing to be a season ticket holder, too.
I still have not been contacted by the Hokie Club, despite buying three tickets for the NOVA Hokie Club Recruit Night, retweeting the event, and posting significant criticism of the lack of Hokie Club outreach.
I just donated $100 to St. Judes. I feel pretty damn good about it.
I donate to the Virginia Tech foundation for the purposes of the College of Engineering.
I love Hokie football, but I love education more and engineering is our bread and butter.
i've recently downgraded to the min $100 from $500 annually and dropped my tickets, that i've had since 2001.
i can get tix (better seats than mine) to any game i want without worrying about trying to sell my tickets to the cupcake games and have to eat $200 if i don't. i don't have the time to go to every home game and to be honest, i don't want to. the little sisters of the poor aren't getting me to drive 10 hours round trip ... ever.
i don't mind spending the money, but i do mind giving the money away and it not being used.
i'll pick my spots, a couple times a yr in blacksburg and a game or 2 on the road and be just fine.
I graduated in 1996 and was a donor/season ticket holder since 2002 at the silver and then golden levels. Last year I finally hit the wall when I was storming out of the stadium after the UMD debacle and realized that the whole experience was too aggravating and too much work and far too little fun. I dropped down to the $100 minimum just to keep my years of continuous giving, even though that doesn't matter much. Like beercontrol and others have said, I'll catch a game or two without worrying about selling the tickets to the crap games. Multiple factors contributed, but in order I'd say they were: quality of product on the field, feeling that the money wasn't being used effectively to reach the stated goal of the program, and crappy gameday experience (kickoff times, quality of opponent, constant nagging by weaver et. al.). Having a 2-year-old definitely made things more difficult but wasn't a deciding factor. Financial situation had nothing to do with it.
For the record, I haven't received so much as a phone call from VTAF. I'm under no illusion that I was a "big" donor, but the fact that they don't care when a golden hokie drops off the rolls confirms that there is a serious complacency problem in the 'burg. Also, I took a quick informal poll and discovered the following:
- My sister (an '01 grad) has never once heard from VTAF.
- My parents, who paid to put two kids through VT and have been to a few games, have never once heard from VTAF. My dad got his PhD from tOSU in '76 and still hears regularly from them even though he doesn't donate.
- My wife (an '03 grad) has never once heard from VTAF.
- Two of my best friends from school who I keep in touch with (both '96 grads) have never once heard from VTAF.
So while I guess it's a good thing that Ballein has (finally!?) acknowledged that there are problems, it's pretty sad that for years now no one involved with the program has done even the bare minimum to fix them.
When I donate to Tech, I allocate the funds toward Sports. Don't allocate alot because I have no idea what the money goes toward, what the goals are, etc. Just do it because it makes the school look good based on % of alums donating funds.
Have seen the HC as a vehicle for football tickets and because my kids are active we have a hard time catching one game a year, we typically don't even think about HC. Posted somewhere else that I think Tech should play sporting events in the NOVA and Beach regions and work to ensure that the alums in the area are aware of those games. No reason why HC just has to be about tickets. I'd go see Rugby, Soccer, Football, Basketball, Wrestling, etc in the Capital Region. Would probably be likely to write a check, bounce into friends, meet new friends, and generally be more engaged with VT than I am. One hallway in one building in Blacksburg should not be the only place HC is active.
Yes, I am! I don't give a lot of money because I don't have a lot to spare but I love Tech almost more than anything so I will always find a way to give back, even if it is minimal.
I do not donate to the Hokie Club because when I give to the University, it is typically for Academics. I also gave to the families of the 4/16 victims when they had that drive going. Most times, when I give, it is to the R.B. Pamplin College of Business. I support athletics by buying tickets to games and concessions while I'm there... and I yell til I'm hoarse and can no longer speak.
I was always jealous of the college of business...they had a nice building, and there were always recruiters in the lobby of Pamplin. We used to cut through there on our way to class just to get free stuff from them.
Was a Platinum Hokie...in fact, I am only $5k from being a Hokie Benefactor...but I stopped giving to the Hokie Club and instead give to the university elsewhere. I stopped giving because I was growing increasingly frustrated with:
1. The direction, or lack thereof, the FB and BB program. The loss of our identity and toughness over the last several years has been inexcusable, along with the refusal to adapt and grow.
2. The personal value rec'd from donating to the Hokie Club has diminished. Not only are the fans now treated like criminals and annoyances, but there is really no reward for paying premium prices. We were club seat holders since they opened, but the club offers nothing extra... bare bones concessions (less than available on the concourse) and the convenience of being stopped every 10 feet to show your wrist band AND ticket. Other programs have incredible concessions and services for their clubs, offering more of a special experience....not so much at Tech.
Out of curiosity - when you stopped giving did the HC contact you to find out why?
I saw on twitter the other day something about the HC not being able to solicit professional athletes for donations? Can anyone enlighten me on this? I would think our NFL alumni would be huge donation sources?
Will Montgomery, you donate 15k, we will name the south endzone parking lot Montgomery Manor.
I am a recent grad, having been gone for about 2.5 years. I never received any notification from the HC or anything, but I still knew about it because of my dad. I don't donate anything yet because I still go to games with him, but I am considering beginning the $100 minimum payments just to start getting my "consecutive years" going.
I graduated in 2004, but only started donating to the Hokie Club a few years ago. I don't do it for the season tickets (because I wouldn't make it to every game anyway), but I like the idea of supporting scholarships for athletes who don't get paid otherwise. Also the money goes towards capital projects and expanding facilities. Like others, I don't overextend myself, but a little can go a long way.
I was never approached or asked to give, but agree with many sentiments that the process and outcomes of giving are not clearly communicated. I guess I didn't feel dependent on a booster or rep to ask me, it was just my duty to take care of what I love so much - Ut Prosim.
Also I wanted to link this article where John Ballein shared some startling facts with David Teel about the current state of our Athletic Department. Comments like the following don't get enough exposure:
-"I could tell you that we have 9,953 Hokie Club members" - out of the 230,000 living alumni
-"I dont think we thank enough people that give to this university"
-"Our pro players, last year, made almost $48 million and we didnt receive any money from them."
-"We have the smallest football staff in the ACC and not many people know that."
In the same article it says few NFL alumni give to any schools. So it does not seem to be just a Tech problem.
I will start giving again to the Hokie Club when the value seems to be worth the investment. Giving to the university for education is one thing, giving to the athletic program that is very much underachieving is a difficult decision especially when funds seem more limited. Also 12:00 pm kickoffs against Western Carolina's just don't count as a win in my book...
To be fair... kickoffs against the WCU's of the world are generally at 1:30. It's the games that someone actually wants to broadcast that are the nooners.
Right... Weaver's default kickoff time was 1:30 and it was only the Western Carolinas of the world that showed up in that slot. If the game is on TV we have zero control over when the game starts. Every single game we have played at noon has been because television has told us to play at noon.
All this talk makes we want to tailgate.
I wonder if, the first weekend expected to be somewhat in the 60s, I can drag a big Tv outside and have friends over for some Q and good beer out in the driveway, a tent, some tailgate games, some bourbon, and we just pretend it's game day...
Obviously, giving to any organization is an individual decision that each person makes aftger considering what's important to them.
Personally, I'm a lifetime Hokie fan and started giving to the Hokie Club in 1980, one year after I graduated. I give at a level that gets me 6 priority tickets and tickets to the away games so I suppose you could say I've drank the koolaid. I was even a Hokie Club rep in the 1990s when I lived in another city, so I do have a fair idea of the workings on the Hokie Club and believe that it has some really dedicated volunteers that could serve as a solid foundation with the right leadership, both in Blacksburg and at the local level.
Unfortunately, since moving to a much bigger city (and closer to Blacksburg) in 1999, I have seen first hand the things that many on this board reference - no reaching out, no appreciation, and local events that are more designed to pat each other on the back about what good work each of them is doing rather than engaging and activating the fanbase.
I'm a Hokie for life and will continue to give to the HC as Hokie Sports is my one vice in life. However, I also believe that we have tremendous untapped potential and I hope our new leadership wakes up the sleeping giant and shakes things up in the Hokie Club. If that happens, then truly the best is yet to come.
This.
Thanks Hokiechip. I do have a question though given your insider knowledge. How does HC pick who runs the organization? And how can that management be forced to make a change?
Do those that are HC members get to vote in or vote out management? I give to HC through my friends and honestly now after seeing how poorly it's run want to see my money being managed far more effectively. I'm not going to stop giving but I still want change.
I'm not really sure how the top dogs are selected. I would assume that there's job posting/application process.
Lu Merritt became the head of the Hokie Club (his official title is Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics) in 1994 after a 23 year career in banking. Really nice guy, but I'm not sure that we have the most effective fundraising model. On the local level, it's entirely volunteer based, and that creates a HUGE difference in effectiveness between the local chapters.
Hopefully, we'll see improvement with the new AD.
Local Hokie Reps get incentives for the number of active members - they used to get moved up one level in the point priority system if they have a certain number of active members (i.e., they could give at the silver level, but be bumped to gold). I assume that's still in place, but am not 100% certain. they also get incentive awards, such as jackets and shirts based on the number of active members.
I have never given money to the Hokie Club. #1. No one has ever reached out to me. #2. I don't make enough money to where I feel my donation would mean much (but I realize that's a sad excuse and I should donate what I can for the amount of emotional investment I have in VT). #3. I am now in school again for the last time. I will probably try and donate at least at the lowest level until I am finished with my last degree and I can give a lot more. If everyone donated what they could I'm sure it would make a huge difference. I am also very excited to see what this new AD brings to the table.
I used to be very gung-ho about taking friends to a game for the first time, now the atmosphere is so stale I don't have the desire to anymore. I hope he can help bring back the way things used to be, starting with #stickitin, #allmarooneverything, and #heyheyheygoodbye.
I never liked the Heyheygoodbye thing anywhere it's been done, even when I did it as part of an organization.
It's was too close to taunting and borderline unsportsmanlike for my taste.
Stickitin, is great, it's rooting for your team, not lording over an advantage or rooting against the other guys.
Was it the "lording over" or the sexual innuendo that was the issue with Stickitin?
Didn't have a problem with stickitin. As far as I'm concerned, I'm rooting for my team to get the ball in the endzone
; )
Fair enough. That one is less important to me than Stick it in. At the very least they could get the Marching Virginians to lead a different motion..like pointing their finger or something instead of the hip gyrations that Weaver was worried about. I feel like people tend to follow the lead of the MVs
The MVs still have plenty of hip gyrations they do in the stands. It's just different sections do them to different drum cadences, so it's not as noticeable, I suppose?
I'll chime in with a lot of the same basic comments.
I wasn't aware of the details of the Hokie Club. I knew it existed, but figured it was one of those things that you had to be older and richer to have a realistic shot of being a part of. If I was ever contacted by them, it was back when I first got out and had no money to give back.
I also work a crazy schedule, so I only get every third weekend off. And with a kid that spawned during the 2012 season, I'm lucky to get to one game a year now.
I'm still in the loan payback stage for a little while. Besides, when I start donating money back to Tech, I first need to throw some money to the HTs.
bumpin'
I'm a 2013 grad and never knew about HC until people on TKP talked about it. Having just graduated, I am not yet a member/donor but I hope to be soon. Scrolling through this thread, I saw AMB4VT posted in regards to advertising/commercials. I live in the Richmond area and just saw a commercial (embedded below) on TV for one of VCU's alum organizations. It is a bit cheezy but still worlds better than no advertising at all.
VCU Alumni GOLD membership commercial from VCU Alumni on Vimeo.
That right there is what I see as Techs problem. Unlike VCU and OSU they are not in large urban areas, unlike some other large schools they don't have a massive alumni spread across just one geographic area. When people say they are from Ohio, you assume they are OSU fans, from Alabama, Auburn /Bama. When people ask about what state your from and you say VA they have no idea VT, UVA, VCU, ODU. Tech has no brand identity as the sports school in VA. Tech needs to reach out to the rest of VA and the other areas and gain support not just expect it to be there.
VA has so many different parts to the state, unlike Alabama. There's the DC area, Richmond, the 757, etc. There's no given fanhood assumption in Florida, which also has a variety of cities.
That being said, from my experience, VT is the most national brand from VA.
FL has 5 FBS programs we have two. Tech does a poor job of engaging alumni and fans period. Living in Ohio for almost 6 years now all I see are Buckeye fans, even if they went to, Toledo, Ohio, Dayton etc, during football season they root for OSU. There are all sorts of fan and alumni groups all over that they push, they even have commercials for them. When Taylor de committed from Tech and said he was going to OSU, it was the lead story on the news, not sports section, entire lead in story for local CBS.
Not to pick nits or anything, but there are three "FBS" (I hate that... I always call em Division I-A) programs in Virginia. Old Dominion is an FBS program and will play their first full season in CUSA this fall. Rumor has it James Madison is considering the move as well. I think they have an offer on the table from the RUTS Belt anytime they want it, but if CUSA says they want the Dukes to be ODU's partner, they'll jump in a second.
I hate this video, but I like that new graduates can start contributing at a mere $25/year.
So I am going to setup my initial giving to the Hokie Club and figured I would put this out in case someone wants credit for a referral, first to respond with their Rep # gets the credit. This discussion made the decision for me so I figured someone on here might as well get the credit.
Well, I'm not a rep, just a regular old member. I think us regular guys have to actually refer you, not the other way around. They make everything so difficult, no wonder there are less than 10k members.
I was noticing that. You cant set up recurring payments online, you have to fill out forms to do that and a few other things about the site aren't exactly user friendly.
Really poor salesmanship as well on the Field House project under Capital Projects. You would think they would have site diagrams and artist renderings to get people excited to donate. Nope, Just a one sentence quote from Coach Beamer.
Yeah, the most unfriendly thing about the website is everything.
Wanted to get the Hokie Club discussion going again but didn't want to start a new thread line. I got my first ever Hokie Club ranking today. I have to say I am very disheartened to see less than 10,000 members. For everyone who complains about coaches pay and facilities (not so much on here) you would think there would be 15,000-20,000 members. There is no minimum donation and every little bit helps. Having said that I am impressed that ~9,800 people have given 8.6 million in just December. If you have not already done so may I recommened joining the Hokie Club and let's get that membership over the 10,000 mark.
To your no minimum donation point, I'm pretty sure the minimum donation is $100 to join the Club. I am a HC member, but I wish there was a smaller denomination for the minimum to join the club so many others who may not be willing to pay that much per year can contribute. I think we could increase giving if we had a push in number of members who may be able to give say $25-50 a year.
Agreed. I would gladly donate $30 - $50 per year but still have not signed up for $100. Actually, $100 for my first donation would be fine if I was allowed to donate a lower amount annually thereafter and stay in the club.
From what I was told the 100 minimum is if you use a credit card. Cash and check can be any amount, will verify tomorrow during business hours.
That would be good to know. If this is the case, I don't quite understand why. Many of the people who would be willing to give for this bracket would be the younger graduates/students/fans who rarely use cash anymore. To be honest, sending cash/checks is inconvenient for the younger generation who pay for almost everything with credit or debit cards, paypayl, and venmo.
They also have the recent graduate program.
This is true. 2 years for $100. I gave a couple of friends a 2-year HC membership for their wedding using that program.
Thanks!
This is so true. EVERYTHING is moving online now. I know people who rarely make it to a bank and rarely see actual bills and coins. Which to me is ridiculous, even though I am the same age.
But just to provide an example of why online giving (at any dollar amount) would be ridiculously successful for the Hokie Club, here's my own experience with online giving: I organize (and have for the last 7 years) a small dollar amount scholarship to a graduating senior of the Southwest Virginia Governor's School in honor and memory of it's founder. Usually, it takes me 3-4 months to gather the funds needed. But that was before a friend suggested that I use an online fundraising/giving platform. I relied solely on checks sent to my parent's house and getting the info out via facebook.
This all changed when I switched over to the online giving platform. I raised the money needed in less than three weeks, while still only relying on facebook as advertisement.
We're now working toward doubling our scholarship amount.
I completely attribute this unprecedented success to the online giving platform. It's the only thing I've changed about how I solicit donations. Most of my donations are usually $50 or less and the online giving has not changed that.
So if it's true that the Hokie Club only takes online donations greater than $100, they're being totally stupid.
I'd be willing to make a donation to the Hokie Club on the monthly basis if they were to allow me to set up a recurring donation through a credit card. I wouldn't break the bank by any stretch but I'd be willing to throw 10$-20$/mo their way. But they surely will not get me to write a check or send cash every month. If they want my money, they need to make it easy for me to make the donation.
That's not an option? I know they will do one out of your account directly every month.
It doesn't appear to be. Strange.
They have an option like this but it debits from your bank account each month. I don't think you can use a credit card, at least not yet. I do this. I give a certain amount each month from my bank account. It drafts out automatically. The annual total you give results in your HC level.
EDIT: Didn't realize Fireman already said this same thing. I guess I should pay more attention next time.
I just went through the signup process up to actually joining/submitting payment, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious option for even doing that through your bank account. As far as I'm concerned for things like this, if it isn't easy to get to, it doesn't exist.
If someone were to find this exists and is easy, I'll do it. Autodebit from the Barn Account. But judging by your response here, it doesn't sound like it exists.
Is there a national leadership for the Hokie Club? Who do I complain at? Not complain to, complain at, at high volumes.
I just looked around the Hokie Club's website and it looks like you have to print the form and physically mail it back to the office. It specifically says to not email or fax the forms. Feels a little antiquated. You can do it through either your bank account or payroll at your job. Like others are saying $10 a month isn't much to send, but if they made it simpler and more convenient I bet more people would jump on board.
Thanks! I don't normally use checks but would be willing to do so for an annual donation.
I give and have since 2005. My wife and I graduated in 2001 and didn't start donating until we moved to Charlotte and were close enough to rationalize buying season tickets. We started at bronze or silver and have moved up to golden hokies over the years.
The Hokie Club does an awful job of marketing itself. Most people think of it only as a means to getting season tickets. Instead they should really focus on the aspect of supporting the program and giving VT the financial backing to play with the big boys. In this day and age athletics really is about money. I read through a number of the first comments and the one that mentioned small donations by many people really hit the nail on the head. It's not about donating thousands of dollars each year. If most people just donated $100 each year (and used any employee matching that was available to them), the VTAF would be able to raise millions more. As it is active membership is only in the 10,000-11,000 range. Granted we don't have the alumni base of Texas or Michigan but the fact that we only have about 10,000 alumni actively donating is kind of sad.
I do understand the comments about game day atmosphere, a better experience watching it at home on tv and diminished results on the field but the reality is that none of that will improve with reduced funding. I commend Whit and think a number of the changes he has made will have a positive impact on the model of the Hokie Club and VT athletics in general.
This times 1000%.
I have been a member since 2002 (year I graduated). I have kept my ranking sheets all the way back to 2006 (crazy i know)and we are at our lowest level right now that we have been in that span. We currently sit at 9,700 and in 2007 we had 11,500. Of the 1,800 or so we have lost about 300 of them are golden and above. Whit is getting us back right, but I urge anyone reading this to join if you haven't already done so! I greatly enjoy it. My favorite event is the annual Orange/Maroon tour golf tourney every spring. We play a fantastic golf course (im in Raleigh), have lunch, happy hour, buffet dinner, auction, and speaker (Usually Frank or Buzz and an assistant). I had 3 new members join me last year and everyone had a blast.
no i dont. my parents did both class of 82" when i moved to florida in 2000 we gave up our season tickets. (a decision we all regret to this day because we were season ticket holders for a longggg time started out around the 40 yrd line 40 rows up on the visitor side of the field and by 2000 were 50 yard line about 20 rows up on the hokie side. i dont know all the logistics because my parents were the ones that bought the tickets and were hokie club members but to get our seats we had to be something like platnuim hokie club members or donars or something like that? since i dont live close enough to be a season ticket holder ive never really looked into it. Im a member of the jacksonville hokie club and i do donate a small amount to them and do alot of volunteer work and fundraisers for them when they have them (although in the last year the person who was running it is no longer and the events and such have really fallen off) from what i understand all the money raised by the jacksonville hokie club goes towards a scholarship for VT not towards the coaching staff etc.??? can anyone confirm or deny this?? or if local hokie clubs (which i know are through VT because the person who used to be the treasurer told me how the have to come up to blackburg for events and such and a little bit of the intracaties (i butchered that lol) because we were having a hard time finding someone to take over for her and i considered it just so we would not lose the jacksonville chapter all together. any who i got to rambling a little bit here but case in point i do not donate directly any more, the main reason being is that im not a season ticket holder. but i do feel i make a fair contribution by purchasing tickets, gear, etc although i know they only see a cut of that it is just more benificial for me.
i think i would go back if i could get my consecutive years given reinstated. i'm not looking for a handout, but a program, where, say, i could "buy" those years back would be great. ie, i've been gone for 3 years, so a $3000 makeup payment would bring me back in as a silver hokie and get my consecutive years reinstated. i'm not interested in season tickets for the time being, but some other creative incentive (like reinstating consecutive years counts) could lure me back as a member...
Previous to Whit's hiring, I was so disappointed in Jim Weaver's leadership and direction that I did not feel as compelled to donate. Not to mention the struggles of the team itself but the points have been made as to why that is a bit foolish (I like the gardening analogy) and if a program falls on hard times and then donations fall off steeply, climbing out will be tough.
I think Whit has re-energized the program quite a bit. Buzz's hire was quite the entrance and I now feel much more comfortable with how Beamer's replacement and transition will be handled.
That being said, I'm 26 and I spent the first two years out of college in AmeriCorps living on under $12k a year (thank god for food stamps!). Now I'm back in the DC area and employed but my job pays terribly and the small amount I do have saved is going to have to go to a car sooner rather than later as mine is not long for this world and I'd love to be able to buy a house and stop throwing away a paycheck into rent every year.
My situation is a bit unique, but there are plenty of Hokies around my age who are in similar financial situations, and making more than a small donation every year would be difficult. I DO donate, though not much, and I also buy gear, travel to games and do my best to attend recruiting nights and so forth. I want the program to succeed and I'm willing to give them some money but I just don't have the assets to individually make a difference. As mentioned above, Whit and the Athletic Department need to do a better job of marketing VT and the need for donations. Take advantage of the sheer number of VT fans and alumni, there are far too few HC members. I knew effectively nothing about the club until I talked to a friend who has season tickets about the Battle at Bristol and the HC numbers/rankings etc.
Overall, unfortunately the Athletic Department has been behind for far too long and has a lot of modernization to do to catch up. He's making a lot of positive changes, but those require capital.
NEW monthly option to join the Hokie Club
https://twitter.com/hokieclub/status/570368331745603584
I'd expect a considerable enrollment increase because of this.
It needs it, less than 10,000 members, which is shameful.
I only signed up a couple of months ago under the recent graduate program. I got a phone call a week or so later where they picked my brain about why I joined to get a better idea of how to reach recent graduates. I didn't realize until then just how small the membership is. It's ridiculous that an institution of this size has such a small donor base.
I hope this monthly program helps things. Every little bit counts, which is why I ponied up my paltry sum.
It's actually not a new program and that's one of the problems that this wasn't advertised more.
Think they could do some simple IT changes in regards to giving:
I don't see why you couldn't get some BIT students to help out with some of this if it's a cost issue.
I've taught some introductory classes for my company and this would would be a good case study to analyze what could be done website wise to increase participation and donations.
All of these are pretty outstanding ideas. I've always been more than a little disappointed that the HC doesn't make more of an effort to be easily accessible online.
This seems such a no-brainer. Its archaic if this is not implemented already.
This requires a nominally sized database and the proper GUI, access, sort, and filtering capability (which is easily available these days at a non-exorbitant cost). A database package with these capabilities for 10k users with growth to 20k should be easily attainable (or developed with an eye on future growth). Make it part of the website. Very straightforward.
Thinking about it more they have account information for HokieTicket (username/password, email, address) and they have to utilize the information from Hokie Club on the backend for figuring out priority on tickets for Hokie Ticket.
They could utilize the authentication information from HokieTickets, make it a SSO to use for both tickets and access additional functionality for the Hokie Club I suggested above. It's really not that hard and think it would benefit VT greatly.
I think that the Athletic Department got complacent with the sellout streak as much as the staff got complacent with the 10 win streak and now both are stepping up. I've been extremely pleased with the marketing and social media outreach that the Athletic Department and staff have been making think this would just add to the portion of financing everything to increase the donor base.
To get a younger donor base you have to make online access easier.
Hooray! Bout darn time.
All of these ideas seem like they are quality. I suggest getting in touch with the Hokie Club and passing on your ideas.
I work for a consultant company, I'd hope that VT would've contacted someone to help if they have the budget for it. In my mind it seems like a worthwhile investment.
For what they need it seems if they would want a cheaper option of building on top of what they have.
Just doing a quick look it seems as if Clemson's IPTAY has been recognized as having one of the best donor programs. It seems as if HokieTicket and the Clemson IPTAY are both built off the same Paciolan system but that Clemson has more bells and whistles. I'd imagine that If VT felt the need to improve they could potentially contact them to work through things, that would be my recommendation to go to them with a change in scope of what they want since it seems if they already have a contract going with them. Just giving a quick look at the Paciolan website it seems as if they are a big name in the fundraising game for different colleges.
Hokieclub just sent me a big car magnet for the hokies and three car stickers in the mail. Nice perk that I wasn't expecting. (Gold Member)
Young alum here, I decided to finally join the Hokie Club and take advantage of the "Recent Graduate" program where if you graduated in the past 2 years, you can get two years of Hokie Club membership for the price of one (50% discount). It may have been stated above but has anyone else taken advantage of this program? I know a lot of recent alum love VT athletics and want to help the program but may still be paying off student loans so this is a grant chance to join!
I'd like to revive this topic with Joe's permission. See if anyone has A) joined the Hokie Club in the past year B) left the Hokie Club in the past year. I would also like some feedback from members or people who would like to be members about things would like to see as part of your local Hokie Club. We are in a transition period both at the "national" level Hokie Club and specifically my local Hokie Club. I'd like to go to the powers that be and try and get some things done to make it a better place for fans and to bring in more money.
per a twitter conversation, i owe the hokie club a call...they seemed to indicate that i could re-join and get my consecutive years reinstated so long as i paid for the missed years, too. if that's the case, i will be re-joining this year. Whit has won me over!
I joined about three years ago.
I get a great deal of entertainment out of Virginia Tech sports, and I don't mind supporting the program for that.
It's also my alma mater, and the better known Virginia Tech is in general, the better for my own resume. The fact is that a lot of people are only familiar with Virginia Tech BECAUSE of the national profile of the football program. So in a certain sense, I'm also getting something out of it. Virginia Tech as a university has reached a higher profile overall in part because of sports.
When I get off my phone and back to a computer I'll embed a tweet Scott Hughes sent me about a big announcement coming up regarding the Hokie Club.
Soon a NEW Hokie Club website. This is HUGE, it shows investment by the school and some forward thinking people in the system.
I think that's great, and I appreciate you posting it, but I'm wondering why I'm hearing it from you instead of the Hokie Club themselves.
I think it's good that they have an improved website, but I'm looking forward to the day when I consider the Hokie Club one of the primary and best sources of information. They're not anywhere close to that right now.
Won't stop me from donating to them, or appreciating their efforts in the mean time. Maybe this website is a step in the right direction. It sure seems like it would be, but it's value will be in the timeliness and quality of the information posted there.
I agree that sometimes there is not a lot of communication from the Hokie Club. I wish the chapters were better organized, the social media needs to step up and honestly they should have an account on sites like The Key Play.
The local chapters are all-volunteer, and having worked in such organizations, I know how hard that is.
The key is in the national leadership, who is privy to information that isn't generally known, particularly related to fund-raising and membership benefits. I do feel that they provide basic and relevant information in those areas.
The chapter leadership is volunteer, I'm looking at helping this year for my local chapter. But the national club needs to really push that there are chapters, support the volunteer leaders to build local membership and make it easier to find the chapters. Many people either can't find out they have a local chapter or the local chapter has gone dormant.
For this particular case, my best guess is they wanted to wait until it was actually done. They'd have very little to gain from announcing it ahead of time. That said, I think it's moving in that direction. The leadership and the new hires in there are all very much aware that a quarterly update doesn't cut it anymore and that people are accustomed to faster transfer of information on that there newfangled internet thing.
Scott's been working on/looking forward to this for a while. I mentioned the website to him a couple months ago and you could see the pain, frustration, and utter hatred for that site on his face. It's going to be completely scrapped and redone. As it is, it's clunky, awkward, and difficult to navigate. The new one will be much better because, let's face it, people are more likely to give you their money if you make it easy for them to give you their money. What a concept.
http://www.hokiesports.com/pr/recaps/20150616aaa.html
BLACKSBURG -- The Virginia Tech Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in conjunction with the Office of University Development announced today the hiring of Bill Lansden as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development and Executive Director of the Hokie Club. In this role, Lansden will be responsible for the leadership of all facets of a comprehensive athletic development program and charged with the continued growth and evolution of the Hokie Club."We are pleased to welcome Bill and his family to the Virginia Tech family," Athletics Director Whit Babcock said. "Enhancing the Hokie Club and expanding our donor base has become even more important in this new era of 'cost-of-attendance' and escalating scholarship costs. Bill's proven ability and experience in leading a staff coupled with his skill for cultivating genuine relationships with donors and constituents make him an ideal fit for Virginia Tech. While he has big shoes to fill in replacing Lu Merritt, we know Bill will be up for the challenge and will work well with the talented and dedicated staff and volunteers we already have in place."
New hire for the Hokie Club, things are really turning around. Although the new hire being from UAB has me wondering about his plans.sidnt realize he is replacing Lu Merrit
I noticed his background as well, but the fundraiser isn't the guy who decides the support for the athletic programs. I'm a believer in Whit, so if he says this is the guy, then this is the guy.
I used to donate with my old college buddy so we could get season tickets. Then as I got older, I have become a Golden Hokie so I could improve my seats and finally give back to the program. Then, my wife and I decided purchase an RV (40 foot bus) so we could start traveling to some of the away games and since we have done that, I have had a blast meeting fellow Hokies from all over the country. VT needs to step it up when comes to RV parking around the stadium because the numbers are growing and parking seems to be shrinking. I should be able to retire in a couple of years and then I don't plan on missing any of the games. So Let's GO HOKIES!!!!
Reminds me of someone's lifelong dream of living in a van, down by the river...
But seriously, what do you think VT should do about RV parking?
With all the land that this university has around the campus, it would not be that difficult to build an actual RV resort. We park in the RV lot by the airport and it is a little embarrassing when the opposing team shows up, only to find that there is no more room in the lot. In the last 9 years we have been in 3 different lots and with the runway extension soon to begin, there is no guarantee that the airport lot will be available next year.
I really do believe the with all the functions that go on during the year, an on campus RV lot (or one that is close) is a very financially sound proposition. We are an engineering school, so make it work.
Looking to buy a 5th wheel for next season.
Where do you park? At the airport, dairy farm, or Cage?
In the airport lot.
Wanted to revive this discussion, with the Hokie Club now over 10,000 members and the cost to the atheltic dept only going up I'd like to see if people have any new thoughts on this issue.
I'll be honest, early retirement largely due to my wife's disability has severely limited my discretionary income, at least for a few years. Living on Social Security income, especially for someone who doesn't have much of that, either, has been a challenge. Yeah, I could, and perhaps will, go back to work in some way, and I do expect my income to change in the future for a couple of reasons, but for now, it just isn't going to happen. It's as simple as that. I do plan to leave money to VT, both academic and athletic sides, upon my demise. Hope that doesn't happen soon, but it'll happen.
When I was younger, and more productive, I was in a group of friends who donated together for membership and football (and sometimes basketball) season tickets. Of course, I would urge everyone who can swing it to support the athletic dept. by joining the Hokie Club, and to write a fat check to TKP while they're at it. But for me, I did what I could, when I could, but now, well, I pretty much can't.
I just can't justify it as a worthwhile charity to give to. I want to give as much as I can to charity, but I don't see the Hokie Club moving up Givewell's list of recommended charities anytime soon. Even then, I'd prefer to give money to TKP or the academic side of the university.
So let me ask you this what would make it worthwhile? I get that people don't have a lot of extra income and I'm not asking that, but your criticism seemed more that it just is not worth giving to.
I appreciate your honesty, and you can and should follow your conscience, but without the athletic department, what would be the point of TKP?
I don't really see it as a charity, other than legally. I donate because I want to help pay for these kids to come to VT and entertain me on Saturdays. In return, they get an education and the world is a little bit better for it.