One of the biggest themes that has been repeated during this basketball coaching "search" has been that ULM has no money. A report came out recently showing that ULM athletics is $4m in the negative. I guess that does show that there is no money in ULM athletics. But why? (This is long, but needed to be said.)
For one, ULM's administration has not had the balls to increase the student fee to where it is in-line with inflation and the current value of the dollar. This means that athletics is not properly funded, as students receive way more value from athletics than what they pour into athletics. The organization is automatically operating under a deficit at this point.
Next, comes ticket sales. ULM's revenue generating sports lose games. This equates to immediate lost revenue, as fans will not pay to see a poor product. This compounds the effects felt from an inadequate student fee being paid by the students. ULM has no true competitor when it comes to being able to provide high level athletic events to the area. Yes, Tech is close, but it is still over a half of an hour away and in an inferior conference. So, ULM has the Monroe, West Monroe, Bastrop, Tallulah, etc. markets to itself. The Monroe Moccasins said they averaged 4,600 fans per game. There is no reason why ULM should not be getting at least half of that for home basketball games. Hiring coaches that bring in excitement (like women's basketball) can help to generate revenue for a short period, but they have to win in order to keep that momentum going.
Next is donors and donations. ULM's ability to nurture donors is sub-par, and that is saying it nicely. One year I sent a $1,000 cashier's check to the athletic department as a donation. I received a call after it was received and was asked what sport I wanted to contribute it to. That was the last real contact I received from ULM regarding making a donation. I sent the same amount to the other 2 schools I have degrees from. They have been in regular contact about me giving.
ULM needs to nurture its donors. That is how more money comes in. The simplest thing to do is the implement the "1 Reach 5" method. Under this method, the organization receives a donation from a donor. The organization then contacts that donor and gets them onboard to making another donation within the next cycle. Additionally, the organization requests the names of 5 people from that donor who the donor feels can pour into ULM economically. 1 out of those 5 (20%) will contribute, based upon statistics. So, if 10 new donors contribute and those 10 provide 5 names of potential donors each (50 total names), that will give the organization a pool of 20 new donors (the initial 10 and 10 from the 50 names), with future growth potential. However, we are unable to do this at ULM.
A strategic plan. ULM has not has a strategic plan for athletic fundraising since the push towards 1A back in 1993/1994. It is now 2025. That means no major fundraising has taken place within ULM athletics for over 30 years, and our salary structure and facilities show it. In the meantime, our peers have executed such funding initiative, which have resulted in higher coaching salaries, more support staff, improved facilities, etc. Heck, ULM thought it could go the government route and get state funding for a revamped basketball arena. Well, Gov. Landry dashed those hopes and dreams and now ULM is right back at square one with that effort.
Lastly, the flow of information keeps ULM underfunded. Information flow generates money, as it keeps people in tune with the goings on and progress of the organization. Seems ULM has historically been one to be shy and secretive about information flow. Everything is hush-hush. Even on this board, that is a pay site, some people will know key info but be afraid to share it. That is so self-defeating. I asked a ways back about the ULM collective and how someone could get in-touch with the collective to donate. Crickets was the response. In turn, I go to an LSU baseball game and see banners and signs with their collective's information and the contact info so people can donate.
Preventing the flow of information stunts the growth of the organization, as it does not allow for people to get good information and then use that information as a motivating tool to give money.
In the end, ULM's financial issues are a product of bad management and poor hiring. All of that makes it ULM's fault that it is underfunded. On top of that, ULM is doing nothing to turn around its financial misfortune. The approach that was taken to retain BV instead of taking the much needed $1.6m buyout is an example of poor decision making. Not hiring a basketball coach who will bring excitement and energy, which in turn will sell tickets is another example of ULM making poor business decisions. There are reasons why ULM always fails, and those reasons are all self-inflicted.
For one, ULM's administration has not had the balls to increase the student fee to where it is in-line with inflation and the current value of the dollar. This means that athletics is not properly funded, as students receive way more value from athletics than what they pour into athletics. The organization is automatically operating under a deficit at this point.
Next, comes ticket sales. ULM's revenue generating sports lose games. This equates to immediate lost revenue, as fans will not pay to see a poor product. This compounds the effects felt from an inadequate student fee being paid by the students. ULM has no true competitor when it comes to being able to provide high level athletic events to the area. Yes, Tech is close, but it is still over a half of an hour away and in an inferior conference. So, ULM has the Monroe, West Monroe, Bastrop, Tallulah, etc. markets to itself. The Monroe Moccasins said they averaged 4,600 fans per game. There is no reason why ULM should not be getting at least half of that for home basketball games. Hiring coaches that bring in excitement (like women's basketball) can help to generate revenue for a short period, but they have to win in order to keep that momentum going.
Next is donors and donations. ULM's ability to nurture donors is sub-par, and that is saying it nicely. One year I sent a $1,000 cashier's check to the athletic department as a donation. I received a call after it was received and was asked what sport I wanted to contribute it to. That was the last real contact I received from ULM regarding making a donation. I sent the same amount to the other 2 schools I have degrees from. They have been in regular contact about me giving.
ULM needs to nurture its donors. That is how more money comes in. The simplest thing to do is the implement the "1 Reach 5" method. Under this method, the organization receives a donation from a donor. The organization then contacts that donor and gets them onboard to making another donation within the next cycle. Additionally, the organization requests the names of 5 people from that donor who the donor feels can pour into ULM economically. 1 out of those 5 (20%) will contribute, based upon statistics. So, if 10 new donors contribute and those 10 provide 5 names of potential donors each (50 total names), that will give the organization a pool of 20 new donors (the initial 10 and 10 from the 50 names), with future growth potential. However, we are unable to do this at ULM.
A strategic plan. ULM has not has a strategic plan for athletic fundraising since the push towards 1A back in 1993/1994. It is now 2025. That means no major fundraising has taken place within ULM athletics for over 30 years, and our salary structure and facilities show it. In the meantime, our peers have executed such funding initiative, which have resulted in higher coaching salaries, more support staff, improved facilities, etc. Heck, ULM thought it could go the government route and get state funding for a revamped basketball arena. Well, Gov. Landry dashed those hopes and dreams and now ULM is right back at square one with that effort.
Lastly, the flow of information keeps ULM underfunded. Information flow generates money, as it keeps people in tune with the goings on and progress of the organization. Seems ULM has historically been one to be shy and secretive about information flow. Everything is hush-hush. Even on this board, that is a pay site, some people will know key info but be afraid to share it. That is so self-defeating. I asked a ways back about the ULM collective and how someone could get in-touch with the collective to donate. Crickets was the response. In turn, I go to an LSU baseball game and see banners and signs with their collective's information and the contact info so people can donate.
Preventing the flow of information stunts the growth of the organization, as it does not allow for people to get good information and then use that information as a motivating tool to give money.
In the end, ULM's financial issues are a product of bad management and poor hiring. All of that makes it ULM's fault that it is underfunded. On top of that, ULM is doing nothing to turn around its financial misfortune. The approach that was taken to retain BV instead of taking the much needed $1.6m buyout is an example of poor decision making. Not hiring a basketball coach who will bring excitement and energy, which in turn will sell tickets is another example of ULM making poor business decisions. There are reasons why ULM always fails, and those reasons are all self-inflicted.
