Like most new grads, I had to leave Montana to find decent employment and when I finally got Montana added to my territory, I noticed not much had changed. Montanans are very loyal.
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JUST SAYING……
- Thread starter Sport
- Start date
Yes I have been asked by both the AD and HC on several occasions
When's the last time they asked you for money and what project was it for?
that's a good point.
406football
Well-known member
1) UM lacks a clear, public long‑term athletics roadmap—MSU doesn’t.
Montana State has operated under a published five‑year athletics strategic plan and a 20‑year facilities master plan since 2017 (updated in 2025), which set measurable priorities for competitive excellence, financial sustainability, and facilities. That clarity has guided fundraising and construction (e.g., the Bobcat Athletic Complex) and created accountability across programs. By contrast, UM’s recent progress appears largely project‑by‑project and donor‑driven without an athletics‑specific, publicly shared strategic plan that ties facilities, competitive goals, and finances together. New leadership should prioritize a transparent, multi‑year plan so donors, fans, and campus can rally behind a unified vision.
2) UM’s financial posture trails MSU’s structure and diversification.
Recent data show MSU’s athletics revenues and operating model are stable and diversified (tickets, contributions, rights/licensing, student fees/school support). UM’s total expenses are similar, but media/postseason distributions lag and revenue growth has been more uneven. Without a strategic framework, UM risks relying on “one‑off” gifts and annual drives rather than building scalable revenue streams. Fresh leadership should expand corporate partnerships, optimize multimedia rights, and design multi‑year capital campaigns that match MSU’s structured approach.
3) Facilities planning at UM needs phasing and accountability.
UM has made meaningful upgrades (e.g., Washington‑Grizzly Champions Center and academic spaces), yet its own foundation materials acknowledge training infrastructure still needs investment. MSU’s phased facility plan has delivered visible progress with clear timelines and targets. New leadership should publish a phased facilities roadmap (3–5 year segments) with cost estimates, donor tiers, and milestone reporting to convert enthusiasm into sustained capital improvements.
4) Marketing and revenue innovation must become sports‑centric, not just campus‑centric.
MSU leverages Learfield’s Bobcat Sports Properties to drive sponsorships, event promotions, and fan engagement with sports‑specific campaigns (e.g., “Pack the Place in Pink”). UM’s marketing lives primarily under campus marcom, which can dilute athletic urgency and storytelling. New leadership should bolster a sports‑first marketing engine that builds season‑long narratives, themed game activations, and digital campaigns tied to fundraising targets.
5) NIL and donor integration are moving quickly—UM must lead, not follow.
UM’s decision in late 2025 to bring the Good Ol’ Grizzlies NIL collective under the athletic umbrella was a smart step aligned with the House v. NCAA settlement. But MSU’s NIL support via the Bobcat Collective has been organized and visible for some time. Fresh leadership should aggressively integrate NIL with donor pipelines, corporate partners, and storytelling that highlights athlete impact, roster retention, and competitive goals.
6) Enrollment trends amplify MSU’s revenue base—UM must offset through strategy.
MSU’s larger undergraduate footprint translates to more fees, broader ticket demand, and a wider alumni donor base. UM can’t control statewide demographics, but it can out‑strategize: sharpen premium seating/parking programs, expand corporate sponsorships, and adopt multi‑year giving societies (like the Don Read Society) with clear benefits and impact reporting.
Montana State has operated under a published five‑year athletics strategic plan and a 20‑year facilities master plan since 2017 (updated in 2025), which set measurable priorities for competitive excellence, financial sustainability, and facilities. That clarity has guided fundraising and construction (e.g., the Bobcat Athletic Complex) and created accountability across programs. By contrast, UM’s recent progress appears largely project‑by‑project and donor‑driven without an athletics‑specific, publicly shared strategic plan that ties facilities, competitive goals, and finances together. New leadership should prioritize a transparent, multi‑year plan so donors, fans, and campus can rally behind a unified vision.
2) UM’s financial posture trails MSU’s structure and diversification.
Recent data show MSU’s athletics revenues and operating model are stable and diversified (tickets, contributions, rights/licensing, student fees/school support). UM’s total expenses are similar, but media/postseason distributions lag and revenue growth has been more uneven. Without a strategic framework, UM risks relying on “one‑off” gifts and annual drives rather than building scalable revenue streams. Fresh leadership should expand corporate partnerships, optimize multimedia rights, and design multi‑year capital campaigns that match MSU’s structured approach.
3) Facilities planning at UM needs phasing and accountability.
UM has made meaningful upgrades (e.g., Washington‑Grizzly Champions Center and academic spaces), yet its own foundation materials acknowledge training infrastructure still needs investment. MSU’s phased facility plan has delivered visible progress with clear timelines and targets. New leadership should publish a phased facilities roadmap (3–5 year segments) with cost estimates, donor tiers, and milestone reporting to convert enthusiasm into sustained capital improvements.
4) Marketing and revenue innovation must become sports‑centric, not just campus‑centric.
MSU leverages Learfield’s Bobcat Sports Properties to drive sponsorships, event promotions, and fan engagement with sports‑specific campaigns (e.g., “Pack the Place in Pink”). UM’s marketing lives primarily under campus marcom, which can dilute athletic urgency and storytelling. New leadership should bolster a sports‑first marketing engine that builds season‑long narratives, themed game activations, and digital campaigns tied to fundraising targets.
5) NIL and donor integration are moving quickly—UM must lead, not follow.
UM’s decision in late 2025 to bring the Good Ol’ Grizzlies NIL collective under the athletic umbrella was a smart step aligned with the House v. NCAA settlement. But MSU’s NIL support via the Bobcat Collective has been organized and visible for some time. Fresh leadership should aggressively integrate NIL with donor pipelines, corporate partners, and storytelling that highlights athlete impact, roster retention, and competitive goals.
6) Enrollment trends amplify MSU’s revenue base—UM must offset through strategy.
MSU’s larger undergraduate footprint translates to more fees, broader ticket demand, and a wider alumni donor base. UM can’t control statewide demographics, but it can out‑strategize: sharpen premium seating/parking programs, expand corporate sponsorships, and adopt multi‑year giving societies (like the Don Read Society) with clear benefits and impact reporting.
Bingo! If you got 1/2 of the 19k season ticket holders to give $1000.00 (I’m sure many would give more), you’d have $9.5 mil, perhaps they consider that insignificant. Seems to me it would go along ways providing nutrition (an area which it’s been reported UM is being outspent 2:1 by msu), buying books for Montana kids who ended up walking on in Bozeman (where their books were covered), NIL opportunities, recruiting budget, etc.
What happens when the mega-donors find new causes to support or age out?
If we're going to make a change in the near future (will happen because Bobby's going to be retiring sooner than later...), I want a Curt Cignetti to lead this team. Where are we going to find that Curt Cignetti? The same way that James Madison did, that Indiana did. Go poach from the Alabama coaching tree, aka "NDSU".
I am a poor schmuck sitting in the high rent section of basketball games. I never miss a men's or women's game. Occasionally (rarely) I have seen Kent walk by. Not once have I seen him say "hi" to anyone in the section. And, except for me, this is where the high-rollers sit. I have never seen him with his wife at a basketball game. I think we need an out-going AD, although, I will admit, when I approach him one-on-one, he is gracious. But, he has never approached me.
That's the crazy thing is how different this season would have turned out if not for 2-3 plays...
That’s exactly how I see it. Spot on
Same goes for recruiting (athletes and regular students).
I'm not so sure that's true. The only reason they didn't score on their last drive was because they didn't have to.
We have no idea how that game would have turned out if that play hadn’t happened.
Hey now, and I'm just saying, you're the one implying a different outcome based off it not happening lol
Well, we were winning at the time…momentum is a funny thing. It ended up being the difference in the game…
Sure, but from everything I've seen since that moment we were winning that game, MSU has proven to be the better team multiple times over. I think saying we lost because of one play is just cope. My personal opinion, and you can of course disagree, is that they probably would've found a way to win that game even if we had scored and gone up 11, because they were just better than us (and they proved it by blocking our tying field goal and grinding us into dust on the last possession...and boat racing us in Bozeman lol).
Believe me brother, I have nothing BUT cope to help deal with the way this season turned out…
Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve but DIDN’T!
And that has been a recurring theme for far too long.
TheNorthRemembers
Well-known member
This is a bit of a ramble but I'm posting it anyway.
I've been thinking about this a lot. Bobby specifically and the job Haslam is doing. I wonder how much of our athletic programs "struggling" has to do with how the University itself is struggling. I wonder how much the dominance we enjoyed at all sports but especially for womens basketball under Rob Selvig and the Football team from 95-2009 is clouding our vision today of what the University of Montana really is. I worry that somewhere along the way we became complacent and arrogant. And we think that we deserve to be at the top of everything in the Big Sky conference because We Are Montana and we are the best. I don't know how true that is anymore.
MSU lived in our shadow for 40 years. They were the ultimate little brother school. They have clearly outgrown that label now and nobody wanted to admit that the writing was on the wall for the last decade. So what do we have in place now? Enrollment is way behind. Local support for the University in general is pretty low, especially compared to Bozeman. Haslams record speaks for itself. The only sport we have with any sustained success at all is the Soccer team. The Lady Griz are dumpster fire right now. The last two coaches are suing the school and shoving female assistants. The men's basketball team finally got back last year but still TBD if that's sustainable otherwise they've been forgettable. The softball team is laughably bad. Volleyball has been bad forever. What exactly are the Griz good at? If we have the best school with the best facilities, the most fan support, and the richest tradition why are we so mid at everything? Maybe the answer we don't actually have any of those things. What happens if the Washington family decides to turn off the tap. Do we have literally any other plan?
In regards to Hauck specifically. What if the football team at it's core is what the rest of the programs are right now. 3rd to 6th place team in the conference that'll make the playoffs most of the time but no real threat. That's exactly what we were under Stitt and Phlugrad and Delaney. What if the only thing keeping us up here is the fact that Bobby actually is extremely good at his job? Or is his arrogance and the famous We Are Montana attitude the thing keeping us from reaching the top. I don't know.
I guess to finish my rant I'm just honestly not sure if we need to clean house top to bottom and bring in some fresh perspectives at every level in the University. Bodnar on down. Get rid of the ole boy nepo network and bring in some people that can take advantage of the inherent advantages the Montana name brings. Orrrrr are our expectations just so out of wack that we should really be grateful to be as good as we are right now. How many schools would trade their athletic department with ours out there? 90% Maybe even more? Are we just victims of the arrogance too? Can any AD overcome the root issues within the community and the university. I really don't know.
I've been thinking about this a lot. Bobby specifically and the job Haslam is doing. I wonder how much of our athletic programs "struggling" has to do with how the University itself is struggling. I wonder how much the dominance we enjoyed at all sports but especially for womens basketball under Rob Selvig and the Football team from 95-2009 is clouding our vision today of what the University of Montana really is. I worry that somewhere along the way we became complacent and arrogant. And we think that we deserve to be at the top of everything in the Big Sky conference because We Are Montana and we are the best. I don't know how true that is anymore.
MSU lived in our shadow for 40 years. They were the ultimate little brother school. They have clearly outgrown that label now and nobody wanted to admit that the writing was on the wall for the last decade. So what do we have in place now? Enrollment is way behind. Local support for the University in general is pretty low, especially compared to Bozeman. Haslams record speaks for itself. The only sport we have with any sustained success at all is the Soccer team. The Lady Griz are dumpster fire right now. The last two coaches are suing the school and shoving female assistants. The men's basketball team finally got back last year but still TBD if that's sustainable otherwise they've been forgettable. The softball team is laughably bad. Volleyball has been bad forever. What exactly are the Griz good at? If we have the best school with the best facilities, the most fan support, and the richest tradition why are we so mid at everything? Maybe the answer we don't actually have any of those things. What happens if the Washington family decides to turn off the tap. Do we have literally any other plan?
In regards to Hauck specifically. What if the football team at it's core is what the rest of the programs are right now. 3rd to 6th place team in the conference that'll make the playoffs most of the time but no real threat. That's exactly what we were under Stitt and Phlugrad and Delaney. What if the only thing keeping us up here is the fact that Bobby actually is extremely good at his job? Or is his arrogance and the famous We Are Montana attitude the thing keeping us from reaching the top. I don't know.
I guess to finish my rant I'm just honestly not sure if we need to clean house top to bottom and bring in some fresh perspectives at every level in the University. Bodnar on down. Get rid of the ole boy nepo network and bring in some people that can take advantage of the inherent advantages the Montana name brings. Orrrrr are our expectations just so out of wack that we should really be grateful to be as good as we are right now. How many schools would trade their athletic department with ours out there? 90% Maybe even more? Are we just victims of the arrogance too? Can any AD overcome the root issues within the community and the university. I really don't know.
