Want to advise the athletic department?

Got $45,000? The Hatchet is reporting that the athletic department is trying a new fundraising idea - get people to donate $15,000 a year and then let them be on an "advisory board" for the department. Seems like kind of a weird idea. The Hatchet quotes an Arizona State U. ethics professor who makes the point that the big donors might not like it if the University doesn't go along with whey they say.

"If I were asked to give my opinion along with my money, and through a few years if my stuff wasn't being acted on, I'd feel like I'm being ripped off," [Peter] French said. "The University may say they aren't locked into what (the committee says) but they'll have to show good faith upon acting on recommendations sometimes, if not more often than not." Good point.

Odds are these people would be folks who already give a lot, and it'd be a shame to lose them. One could argue the big donors probably already have that kind of access; I'm not sure a formal board is needed.

And Herve from gwhoops.com pointed out that any season ticket holder should be able to talk to Kvancz, which I also agree with. It seems like a strange idea, and while I hope it gets the department some more dough, I'm not sure it's going to work.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Any details on the Smitty improvements availbal? Has Rice Hall released the plans for the renovations?
Andrew W said…
So far all I know is what was in the Hatchet - fixing the locker and office facilities and the meeting rooms, followed by what I think is getting rid of those concrete walls under the baskets. There were some diagrams floating around the internet about more seats, but I haven't heard about any progress in years.

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