I just emailed this letter to John Hartwell
Dear Mr. Hartwell,
Let me start by saying that it was a pleasure meeting and speaking with you before the women’s basketball game at Arkansas. I was incredibly excited when you were announced as our new athletic director and, just to be clear, I still am. As we witnessed that night at Bud Walton, I believe your first coaching hire as AD is going to pay huge dividends for our Women’s Basketball program. That said, there are some serious concerns I would like to address.
Dear Mr. Hartwell,
Let me start by saying that it was a pleasure meeting and speaking with you before the women’s basketball game at Arkansas. I was incredibly excited when you were announced as our new athletic director and, just to be clear, I still am. As we witnessed that night at Bud Walton, I believe your first coaching hire as AD is going to pay huge dividends for our Women’s Basketball program. That said, there are some serious concerns I would like to address.
- The Phantom Strategic Plan – We (the fans) have been told for several years now that there is a strategic plan being developed and yet we have never seen it. Previous administrations would just respond with “trust us”. Unfortunately, the previous ULM administrations have burned through all the trust. We have tried to be very patient and understanding as we have watched foe after foe pour millions of dollars into renovations and new facilities and leave us in the dust. I realize this is something you are already acutely aware of but the direct effect it is having on us, the regular fans. We have witnessed the sheer incompetence and insincerity of previous administrations, and we feel like you and Dr. Berry can rise above that; however, we need something, some nugget of hope that we can latch onto. Be it some rendering of the plans for the Fant-Ewing renovations or a plan for upgrading football facilities, we want something tangible to encourage giving.
- University Commitment – This means money. The previous president, Dr. Bruno, promised us that ULM would be right in the middle of the SBC in terms of athletic budget. There really is no other way to say it; he lied to us. Time and time again, he flat out lied to us about a number of things and unfortunately for you and Dr. Berry, you are left to pick up the pieces. What we want to see is a real commitment from the university to spend money on our athletic facilities. We want to see the administration raise funds through student-fees, creative financing, and yes even take on a little debt. Our previous administration put a raise in student fees on the ballot for a student vote and did absolutely nothing to help explain any student benefit. Therefore, it failed multiple times. We would like to see it put forth again but with the administration putting full weight behind it. Just like the boosters, the students do not mind paying if they know what they are getting.
