GRIZ AIR MILES INFO

[dancingbear]

I have done some research on donating air miles to the Griz BB program for our Basketball coaches to use for recruiting trips.

As we all know recruiting is a big part of the success of our BB program. With this years crop of outstanding recruits it is evident that Tinks and staff have done an outstanding job of getting quality players to attend the University. As more and more foreign players are becoming an integral part of Mid-Major programs it is necessary to get to some of these areas (Europe, So. America etc.). Montana has the lowest recruiting budget of all the Big Sky schools. If we are to remain competitive our coaches need to get out there.

There is a website called "travels.com" which has information on how to donate air miles.

The air mile donations are also tax deductible according to the web site. GSA will provide you with a charitable contribution invoice in the amount of the value of the plane trip.

I'm sure many of us have miles in accounts we don't even know about. Time to help out our BB program.

Give till it hurts............

 

[GrizLA]

Will do....thanks...

 

[bigtyme]

I have done some research on donating air miles to the Griz BB program for our Basketball coaches to use for recruiting trips.

As we all know recruiting is a big part of the success of our BB program. With this years crop of outstanding recruits it is evident that Tinks and staff have done an outstanding job of getting quality players to attend the University. As more and more foreign players are becoming an integral part of Mid-Major programs it is necessary to get to some of these areas (Europe, So. America etc.). Montana has the lowest recruiting budget of all the Big Sky schools. If we are to remain competitive our coaches need to get out there.

There is a website called "travels.com" which has information on how to donate air miles.

The air mile donations are also tax deductible according to the web site. GSA will provide you with a charitable contribution invoice in the amount of the value of the plane trip.

I'm sure many of us have miles in accounts we don't even know about. Time to help out our BB program.

Give till it hurts............

Sharing is not giving until it indeed hurts! With that being said, I wish I had miles to donate because I would. Definitely a facebook discussion worth having.

 

[Mavman]

Can someone tell me why montana has the lowest recruiting budget?? I don't understand how come the U keeps takin and taking and not giving back to the athletic programs. The football locker room is terrible from what I hear and the athletes are in need of a new weightroom. How the U gets the great recruits it gets is beyond me. As other programs continue to close the gap in sports like lady b-ball and football the University will need to put some money back in the programs to keep them competitive.

My point is, giving airline miles is great, but if a bunch of people do it will the powers that be see it as one more reason to take recruiting money away from the teams because the fans are paying for it anyways??????

 

[GrizBBIsKing]

Can someone tell me why montana has the lowest recruiting budget?? I don't understand how come the U keeps takin and taking and not giving back to the athletic programs. The football locker room is terrible from what I hear and the athletes are in need of a new weightroom. How the U gets the great recruits it gets is beyond me. As other programs continue to close the gap in sports like lady b-ball and football the University will need to put some money back in the programs to keep them competitive.

My point is, giving airline miles is great, but if a bunch of people do it will the powers that be see it as one more reason to take recruiting money away from the teams because the fans are paying for it anyways??????

Why they have the lowest or near the lowest in the conference, can't tell you, though I suppose a lot of the budget that could go toward recruiting is going towards paying off the stadium expansions. As for how the University gets the recruits it gets, well, success is a great recruiting tool. UM has a great reputation for being successful and success helps with getting those recruits. Everybody wants to go to a winner. I suspect MSU will garner better recruits after this year, but how UM's somewhat dissapointing season (as compared to prior years) will affect future recruiting, not sure. I personnally do not think one season not making the playoffs is going to hurt the Griz too much, but it may have a small effect. But, I am pretty sure, if UM has successive dissappointing seasons where not making the playoffs, the better recruits will look elsewhere.

As for the Lady Griz, they have been passed by a lot of schools primarily because of the recruiting budget. Their budget has pretty much been cut or stayed the same (barely keeping up with inflation) the past 10 years. I figure the last three out of state recruits (Smith, De Boer, and Baker) could be the last out of state recruits for the foreseeable future, and Selvig will be saving his scholarships for the years when there is a higher supply of good players available. Two of the new recruits for this year were from scholarships saved from a prior year. Selvig has 4 scholarships to use for next year, signed one already, and may likely save the rest until next to use as next years class is better. How that is going to turn out, we are already seeing. this year and last year have been not as successful, mostly due to so many young players on the team. They are certainly talented as opposing coaches have made plenty of positive comments about them. they will likely have two really good years next two seasons, and then back to two years or so years of losing because of having 2/3 of the team being freshman or sophomores and very few senior leadership.

As for the mens basketball program, they really have never been to a point where they have been passed by like the lady griz, and caught up to like the football team. they have the potential to catch other teams ahead of them which makes it more exciting. but with budget cuts the past three years, I hope, really hope, that it doesn't prevent the mens' basketball team from raising their level of play. If the men's basketball program was forced to recruit in-state for most their players, the program likely drop to the bottom of the Big Sky Conference. Sorry, there are just not enough talent in boys basketball to maintain a division 1 basketball program.

 

[Mavman]

I understand that success breeds success what I'm saying is the athletic teams at the UofM can't continue to compete with only the bare minimum support. Is the U still pay some kind of rent to have b-ball games in the field house? How come Learfield controls the events for b-ball games?

How much does the athletic dept get from merchandise sales? Do they get anything from concessions?
Seems that the athletic teams bring alot of recognition and money to the University but get to keep none.
Someone please tell me where the money goes and why?

Ewu got 7900 fans for TWO playoff games combined, yet they have a larger recruiting budget???? :shock:

 

[GrizBBIsKing]

I understand that success breeds success what I'm saying is the athletic teams at the UofM can't continue to compete with only the bare minimum support. Is the U still pay some kind of rent to have b-ball games in the field house? How come Learfield controls the events for b-ball games?

How much does the athletic dept get from merchandise sales? Do they get anything from concessions?
Seems that the athletic teams bring alot of recognition and money to the University but get to keep none.
Someone please tell me where the money goes and why?

Ewu got 7900 fans for TWO playoff games combined, yet they have a larger recruiting budget???? :shock:

concessions go to the general fund which a certain percentage of the general fund goes to athletics. the field house is rented for a fee. I am sure the sid could possibly tell you about merchandise sales and learfield, but it is likely they feel that Learfield could do a better job than the athletic department or why would they use them.

EWU and most other schools get more state support (rely more on taxpayer money).

I remember at the end of the '90s or early 2000s, that the MSU actually did get more money for athletics than UM from the state budget. but the legislature corrected that, but Dennison took that extra money to put in the general fund, so in the end, it still resulted in msu getting more state support for athletics. there was an article by Dennison in a GSA newsletter about that some years back. UM relies more on ticket revenue and donorship than state support.

Relying on donor money more than state support could hurt UM if this recession gets worse, because there certainly won't be any more money coming from the state for athletics.

 

[Silvertip]

Crap. Wish I'd have known. I've got half a dozen magazines from subscriptions that I never read. They come from a bunch of frequent flyer miles that were expiring.

 

[dancingbear]

I am sure someone from the athletic dept. could clarify as to how much money, state and private goes into the athletic fund. At various times this has been published on public forums but not sure where the current level stands. I have heard rumblings that a capital campaign is going to kick off early in 2011. Exact date unknown. I personally feel that the way funding has been handled in the past needs a serious evaluation. Again, just a personal feeling but the times they are a changing and if the Administration chooses to slay the golden cow rather than seek better avenues for funding the athletic dept. is going to suffer the consequences. And I don't think any of us are going to be very happy about that. We can only go to the private sector so many times and with the current economic state the consequences could be here before we know.
Perhaps it's time for the AD to put our funding issues before the populace. MSU just completed a successful capital campaign. I am sure some of the same donors support both institutions. How much money is still available from these same sources? We know our short term issues, locker rooms, workout and study areas. These have been on the plate for some time now. It's not going to get cheaper and there are a lot of hungry contractors out there willing to work for less money these days. A sad consequence of our economy. Maybe the U should apply for stimulus money.... we would be creating jobs.
Unless someone in the athletic dept. can paint a better picture I think we are headed for some tough times in our athletic budget. I have faith in Jim O'Day but at the same time the supporters of Griz athletics need reassurance from Jim and the new president that they are not going to continue to let Griz athletics be underfunded. Don't get me wrong the U is first and foremost an academic institution but the image has been enhanced but our prowess on the field and in the gym.