http://www.hbcusportsblog.com/2008/05/the-division-i.html

If historically black colleges and universities are to remain viable on the educational landscape, steps must be taken to ensure their success on the athletic landscape, no matter what division the games are played in.

From HBCUSPORTSBLOG ".....There's no easy answer to this question, but there is one undeniable fact in the case for and against black college participation at the Division I level; athletics are the single-largest asset in recruitment and retention for prospective students and alumni. If historically black colleges and universities are to remain viable on the educational landscape, steps must be taken to ensure their success on the athletic landscape, no matter what division the games are played in."

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DEBATE THIS.

What is there to debate? Higher education is a business just like any other enterprise, and the competition for HBCUs is in the form of white colleges with more extensive resources recruiting the best and brightest students of all races.

If HBCUs do not follow the model of the Hamptons, Southerns and FAMUs of the world, they will face an arduous task in fund raising and retention, something that contributes greatly to the academic profile when it comes to attracting and engaging students, faculty, alumni and donors.

Debate and honest assessment are the cornerstone of progress and self-advancement.

i don't have the answers, i can't afford to spend my 9 hour days at work to come up with a solution. but if i were paid a salary equal to my current pay to come up with a solution, i believe i could. don't know how long it would take, but i believe i could. the primary problem hbcu's face is economics. if you have funding equal to or better than the pwc's, everything else (if properly managed) will take care of itself.

first of all, i think initially it would be unrealistic to pursue funding equal to the bcs schools, so i would start by targeting the mid-majors. secondly, conventional fundraising methods will not close the financial gap between hbcu's and pwc's because their pockets are a lot deeper than ours. so right off the bat, i know we must think out of the box.

i would implement as many conventional fundraising methods as possible and then i would brainstorm with as many knowledgeable folks as possible to think of non-traditional methods to fundraise. think about the most prominent strengths of hbcu's and figure out a way to utilize those strengths as a means to fundraise. personally, I'd have to think long and hard to come up with a strategy but my premise would be to think out of the box and to take advantage of our strengths. many black churches raise millions of dollars every year, has anyone ever studied how hbcu's could learn from their experiences or perhaps form a partnership with them? the entertainment industry makes millions of dollars off of our communities, has anyone ever looked at opportunities there? these are just two examples off the top of my head that are out of the box. i'm sure given enough time and research, there's something out there that could solve our economic issues…

I work at an HBCU, and my perspective is that communities no longer view the athletic programs as viable entertainment. If HBCUs allocated resources to marketing in black communities, it would be a good start to ganering a fan base that is willing to support an athletic program.

quote:

Originally posted by HBCU Sports Blog:
I work at an HBCU, and my perspective is that communities no longer view the athletic programs as viable entertainment. If HBCUs allocated resources to marketing in black communities, it would be a good start to ganering a fan base that is willing to support an athletic program.

Amen. We gotta do better at marketing to our respective cities/metro areas.

I teach at a predominantly black high school in W-S and anytime I start talking about NC A&T the kids say, "man ya'll suck. Winston-Salem State beat ya'll two years in a row".

The road to academic recruitment is paved by your athletic department's decisions.

Ask

quote:

Originally posted by J Stowe:

I teach at a predominantly black high school in W-S and anytime I start talking about NC A&T the kids say, "man ya'll suck. Winston-Salem State beat ya'll two years in a row".

The road to academic recruitment is paved by your athletic department's decisions.

for being there for the kids.

As soon a our HBCUs operating in a vacuum, the sooner we are able to raise our profiles. Reaching out across the U.S. boundaries onto the global stage to recruit students, seek out corporate and academic partners, are a couple of avenues that will help us keep up with times. Some have been doing this. Expansion in these and other areas is sorely needed if we're to thrive and not just survive, IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by J Stowe:

quote:

Originally posted by HBCU Sports Blog:
I work at an HBCU, and my perspective is that communities no longer view the athletic programs as viable entertainment. If HBCUs allocated resources to marketing in black communities, it would be a good start to ganering a fan base that is willing to support an athletic program.

Amen. We gotta do better at marketing to our respective cities/metro areas.

I teach at a predominantly black high school in W-S and anytime I start talking about NC A&T the kids say, "man ya'll suck. Winston-Salem State beat ya'll two years in a row".

The road to academic recruitment is paved by your athletic department's decisions.

Ask

This is simply gospel....here's Appalachian States gains in green and white!

Appalachian State University in Boone received about 14,500 applications for 2,775 seats, up 19 percent from last year — and 53 percent from five years ago.

http://www.alumni.appstate.edu/blog/?cat=14

That's what happen when you win 3 National Championships

Have a traveling Chancellor w/ the trophies traveling to:

Atlanta, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Chicago, Charleston, SC, Winston-Salem, and Raliegh to name a few.

We need to pay more attention to success rather than tradition alone.


From D.C. celebration

Note. The SWAC has the largest fanbase in the FCS (formerly 1-AA). The MEAC is not far behind. But our administrations need to get on board and be active. Appalachian State is showing a lot of schools how it can be done.

I know of a certain school in Texas that could learn a few lessons.

quote:

Originally posted by EB:
Note. The SWAC has the largest fanbase in the FCS (formerly 1-AA). The MEAC is not far behind.

Please remember.....the difference between a seasonal fair weather fanbase (ask Jackson State) to a group of consisitent active alumni and supporters is another ballgame.

My best friend constantly remarks on how I am actively involved in my alumni association and the remarkable things that the association has to keep alumni involved. She honestly admits that her alma mater has a small (aged) HBCU alumni association and that they have nothing that compares to ours. Therefore, the interest is not there among the alumni as a whole......

Use what resources you have to improve the institutions attraction to supporters!!!!

EX. decent marketing and logos (branding)

quote:

Originally posted by HBCU Sports Blog:
I work at an HBCU, and my perspective is that communities no longer view the athletic programs as viable entertainment. If HBCUs allocated resources to marketing in black communities, it would be a good start to ganering a fan base that is willing to support an athletic program.

If HBCUs allocated resources to marketing in THEIR OWN black communities, it would be a good start to ganering a fan base that is willing to support THEIR OWN athletic program.

This $4.00 gas is possibly gonna show a lot of us just how loyal all these so called "followers" we claim to have truly are. When it's now possibly going to cost you more to simply GET somewhere as it will be to stay there, don't be shocked if a lot of loyalties start getting tested this fall ... and the results may not be what we had hoped.

quote:

Originally posted by TechRattler:
As soon a our HBCUs operating in a vacuum, the sooner we are able to raise our profiles. Reaching out across the U.S. boundaries onto the global stage to recruit students, seek out corporate and academic partners, are a couple of avenues that will help us keep up with times. Some have been doing this. Expansion in these and other areas is sorely needed if we're to thrive and not just survive, IMHO.

Hall of Fame post

I have to co-sign on looking into our OWN first. Also as Venom states so many times, alot of us need to get out of playing in "classics". What's the point of selling a home game away when you could play ON campus, where your fans can get to know YOUR team. Granted some games (The Florida and Bayou Classics) are just TOO large to play ON campus.

Our administrators HAVE to get on board. To me this is the BIGGEST difference and its killing us. Look at the top teams in FCS and I can promise you that the administration is 100% on board. When I mean on board, they're actually GETTING folks who know what they're doing and not handcuffing our coaches with lack of resources.

But bottom line, we have to DO better.

I think certain HBCU's are losing sight of why they were created.We're chasing sports fantasies when some of us are failing to deliver the basics.How many HBCU students are sweating in dorms without AC?

How many HBCU students right know on May 4,2008 who are graduating seniors are still dealing with ghettofied finincial aid offices to get cleared to graduate in a week or so?How many HBCU's have underfunded and or staffed science departments?Let's get those things cleaned up ,then we can chase the PWC's in the world.

As for sports until we as alums increase our giving our schools outisde the top ten or fifteen will continue this hand to mouth existance.

quote:

Originally posted by Bison 4 Life:
I think certain HBCU's are losing sight of why they were created.We're chasing sports fantasies when some of us are failing to deliver the basics.How many HBCU students are sweating in dorms without AC?

How many HBCU students right know on May 4,2008 who are graduating seniors are still dealing with ghettofied finincial aid offices to get cleared to graduate in a week or so?How many HBCU's have underfunded and or staffed science departments?Let's get those things cleaned up ,then we can chase the PWC's in the world.

As for sports until we as alums increase our giving our schools outisde the top ten or fifteen will continue this hand to mouth existance.

If that's the case then we should look at D2 and leave this Division pipe dream alone.

quote:

Originally posted by B Triple:

quote:

Originally posted by Bison 4 Life:
I think certain HBCU's are losing sight of why they were created.We're chasing sports fantasies when some of us are failing to deliver the basics.How many HBCU students are sweating in dorms without AC?

How many HBCU students right know on May 4,2008 who are graduating seniors are still dealing with ghettofied finincial aid offices to get cleared to graduate in a week or so?How many HBCU's have underfunded and or staffed science departments?Let's get those things cleaned up ,then we can chase the PWC's in the world.

As for sports until we as alums increase our giving our schools outisde the top ten or fifteen will continue this hand to mouth existance.

If that's the case then we should look at D2 and leave this Division pipe dream alone.

Man I been saying that for a long time. But pride and keeping up with the jones's will never let that happen.

Equity (National & State Policies), Equality (Regional & Local Opportunities) and Investment (Self)!!

quote:

Originally posted by The Professor:

quote:

Originally posted by B Triple:

quote:

Originally posted by Bison 4 Life:
I think certain HBCU's are losing sight of why they were created.We're chasing sports fantasies when some of us are failing to deliver the basics.How many HBCU students are sweating in dorms without AC?

How many HBCU students right know on May 4,2008 who are graduating seniors are still dealing with ghettofied finincial aid offices to get cleared to graduate in a week or so?How many HBCU's have underfunded and or staffed science departments?Let's get those things cleaned up ,then we can chase the PWC's in the world.

As for sports until we as alums increase our giving our schools outisde the top ten or fifteen will continue this hand to mouth existance.

If that's the case then we should look at D2 and leave this Division pipe dream alone.

Man I been saying that for a long time. But pride and keeping up with the jones's will never let that happen.

i get so tired of folks saying our hbcu alumni need to give more. can someone show me some “facts” (not personal feelings) that proves this is true? can someone please provide evidence that hbcu alumni give back at a lower “rate” than pwc’s? i haven’t seen any. now if you want to argue that hbcu alumni don’t give back larger amounts than pwc’s, then i can agree with that, but that’s because white people make far more money than blacks, so they can afford to donate larger amounts. financial commitment from hbcu alumni compared to pwc alumni will never be equal. white folks collectively have more money than us. just because hbcu’s are not as financially prosperous as pwc’s does not mean hbcu alumni do not give back as frequently as pwc alumni. i get tired of folks implying that hbcu alumni don‘t do their fair share...