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Hypocrites

BrownEyedBuffGirl

BrownEyedBuffGirl

Well-Known Member
How can you at the same time advocate "building a donor culture" while most of you appear to be nonrenewing season tickets and donations? I get that you want to show your displeasure with how things are going with the football program, but without donations and ticket sales how exactly do you expect the university to pay for all the facility improvements that we allegedly cannot compete without??

You say "I'm not going to give them any more money until they show me they are SERIOUS about football!" What exactly do you expect to happen with no funding?? All the administration sees is that the fan base does not care about improving.

It's not a chicken or egg argument...if you want to see changes, by all means keep telling the administration you're not happy, but also give and renew your tickets. Show them WE are serious about football at CU!
 
I don't think you understood the message. Building a donor culture requires action from ABOVE, not individual actions by donors (albeit possibly organized in a mobby sort of way). But rage away.
 
InTheBuff said:
if CU shows me they care(fire Embree) then I'll show I care (donate)
Click to expand...
frankly, CU should be writing down a list of eveyr poster in that thread and then PM them the instant Embree is canned (or facilities are announced, etc.). These are big time fans to post in that thread. CU should be identifying and cultivating them. Throwing parties for them. You know, building a donor culture. Or they can instead ignore them and claim they are the problem.
 
The school has to show a vision and commitment to winning for any sort of donor culture to take hold. That is what Nik is talking about going forward.

If you donate money or buy tickets for CU athletics right now, where is the money going? How can the fans answer that question if the school/AD cannot answer it?
 
BrownEyedBuffGirl said:
How can you at the same time advocate "building a donor culture" while most of you appear to be nonrenewing season tickets and donations? I get that you want to show your displeasure with how things are going with the football program, but without donations and ticket sales how exactly do you expect the university to pay for all the facility improvements that we allegedly cannot compete without??

You say "I'm not going to give them any more money until they show me they are SERIOUS about football!" What exactly do you expect to happen with no funding?? All the administration sees is that the fan base does not care about improving.

It's not a chicken or egg argument...if you want to see changes, by all means keep telling the administration you're not happy, but also give and renew your tickets. Show them WE are serious about football at CU!
Click to expand...

You're right! All we have are a bunch of "mealy-mouthed whiners" whose wallets don't work, trying to lead from behind.

Most here don't even understand the over-arching role of the CU Foundation and keep blaming Bohn. Its too, too comical.
 
Buffenuf said:
You're right! All we have are a bunch of "mealy-mouthed whiners" whose wallets don't work, trying to lead from behind.

Most here don't even understand the over-arching role of the CU Foundation and keep blaming Bohn. Its too, too comical.
Click to expand...

...says the guy who thinks Kansas' football tradition is nearly the same as that of the Buffs. You sure we are the ones misinformed?

And some board members on this board have close ties to the CU Foundation. Don't be so sure we know nothing about their role.
 
Buffenuf said:
You're right! All we have are a bunch of "mealy-mouthed whiners" whose wallets don't work, trying to lead from behind.

Most here don't even understand the over-arching role of the CU Foundation and keep blaming Bohn. Its too, too comical.
Click to expand...

Nearly all of the blame, that I've seen, has been placed on The President and the Chancellor. Most view Mike Bohn as their puppet. Did you form this opinion in a vacuum?
 
BrownEyedBuffGirl said:
How can you at the same time advocate "building a donor culture" while most of you appear to be nonrenewing season tickets and donations? I get that you want to show your displeasure with how things are going with the football program, but without donations and ticket sales how exactly do you expect the university to pay for all the facility improvements that we allegedly cannot compete without??

You say "I'm not going to give them any more money until they show me they are SERIOUS about football!" What exactly do you expect to happen with no funding?? All the administration sees is that the fan base does not care about improving.

It's not a chicken or egg argument...if you want to see changes, by all means keep telling the administration you're not happy, but also give and renew your tickets. Show them WE are serious about football at CU!
Click to expand...

In my opinion, this might be a good point after four losing seasons. But at this point--an all time low--it appears that our administration is considering "staying the course". How else can you get their attention without being taken for granted?
 
All the admin and regents have a letter with my name, seat locations, donation history and my stated opinion.

I will donate when I can back the program. I am not a former CU student just a local businessman .
 
BrownEyedBuffGirl said:
How can you at the same time advocate "building a donor culture" while most of you appear to be nonrenewing season tickets and donations? I get that you want to show your displeasure with how things are going with the football program, but without donations and ticket sales how exactly do you expect the university to pay for all the facility improvements that we allegedly cannot compete without??

You say "I'm not going to give them any more money until they show me they are SERIOUS about football!" What exactly do you expect to happen with no funding?? All the administration sees is that the fan base does not care about improving.

It's not a chicken or egg argument...if you want to see changes, by all means keep telling the administration you're not happy, but also give and renew your tickets. Show them WE are serious about football at CU!
Click to expand...

I see both sides of the argument. I guess it's up to the individual to make choices that they think will create change. In the end, everyone wants to see improvement regardless of their opinion on how to achieve it.
 
Well I have been donating for many years and we now have the worst football program in FBS, so obviously something has to change because that course of action has not worked. The only thing within my power is to stop donating to see if things up at CU change. I understand those that want to keep buying/donating, I was one of you up until this season. But at this point I feel like I have no other choice if I want to see any real change happen anytime soon.
 
I am not going to call anyone a hypocrite, everyone has an opinion on how best to deal with the issue. I do feel that boycotting and not renewing is not going to be effective in fixing the problem. As a donor you have a more powerful voice than you do as a non-donor (not saying the voice will be all powerful but it will have more impact).
 
My donations have not led to better management or a better result. I will increase donation to support a vision. I will stop donating into the existing black hole. CU can create a donor culture by communicating vision and recruiting us to the effort. It's pretty simple, really.
 
BEBG does have a point in that the facilities improvements are needed, and the donations are needed to make that happen. But it's also true that the donors most effective way of expressing themselves is voting with their dollars. Donating under the current circumstances is supporting an unsupportable situation. To me it seems like the best solution is to let the administration know that this situation isn't one people are willing to support by cutting back on season ticket purchases and donations, but commit to making up those donations when the time is right...
 
I would like to see a "pledge" section on Allbuffs.

If CU does _________ , I promise to donate $_______.

The aggragate sum of the Allbuffs pledges would provide additional substance to the campaign by Allbuffs to effectuate change.
In my view, taking your season ticket purchase and seat donation off the table basically removes you from the dialog.
 
Okay, I've thought about this some more.

The goal is to reinforce the model that good football brings in donations. You can't do that unless bad football doesn't. Therefore, withholding tix, donations etc... should promote a donor culture.

A great movie on the subject of changing culture is 12 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck. You may remember that as the new Group Commander, BG Savidge shuts down the bar. Before, it was open at all times. Later in the movie, he opens the bar, but only as a reward. Sometimes you have to secure those things that are taken for granted, and then make them rewards for specific behavior later. That's the intent here.

I've mentioned before that I guest lecture at a DC University from time-to-time. One of my topics is on "Leading Change". The rational model for leading change is simple.

C=D*M*P>R

In this basic model change occurs when Dissatisfaction times the Model (vision) times the Process (the patch to that vision) is greater than the organizational resistance.

One of the counter-intuitive techniques to creating a culture receptive to change is dial up the dissatisfaction. I'd argue that Nik has done a good job of presenting a model and process already. Now we just need to make the Administration miserable with the status quo. Withholding donations accomplishes that.
 
BrownEyedBuffGirl said:
How can you at the same time advocate "building a donor culture" while most of you appear to be nonrenewing season tickets and donations? I get that you want to show your displeasure with how things are going with the football program, but without donations and ticket sales how exactly do you expect the university to pay for all the facility improvements that we allegedly cannot compete without??

You say "I'm not going to give them any more money until they show me they are SERIOUS about football!" What exactly do you expect to happen with no funding?? All the administration sees is that the fan base does not care about improving.

It's not a chicken or egg argument...if you want to see changes, by all means keep telling the administration you're not happy, but also give and renew your tickets. Show them WE are serious about football at CU!
Click to expand...

I think the fans feel, after 8-9 years of this, that there is NOT a culture of winning eminating from the top anymore. And most of these fans here have supported the program over that span or longer. And they are tired of this. Many here, myself included, were attracted to CU from out of state partly by the football program. Football planted the seed. Football represents an identity, a part of the brand that is CU, it still connects many of us to CU after we left. And we're tired of seeing it mistreated.

The culture that does seem to exist is a culture of academia is in control, athletes gain entry based on rigid academic criteria (compared to the looser criteria other top25 peers enjoy), and coaches are selected by some criteria other than their ability to win. Football is kept on a very short leash here.

To put it more simply look at the Top 25 and name one program that would have put up with Embree finishing last in nearly every NCAA statistical category? And how many of them have an alum as criteria to be head coach? The answer is none because we don't want to be a top 25 program anymore.

Ill not ridicule or criticize anyone for with holding funds based on the above.
 
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I've also given this some more thought and think I can simplify it.

If you give your kid an allowance and he half-asses his lawn care for a while, you correct behavior by reducing or taking away the allowance. BEG and others are saying to give the kid a bigger allowance in hopes that this will motivate him to turn your lawn into something out of Edward Scissorhands.
 
Buffnik said:
I've also given this some more thought and think I can simplify it.

If you give your kid an allowance and he half-asses his lawn care for a while, you correct behavior by reducing or taking away the allowance. BEG and others are saying to give the kid a bigger allowance in hopes that this will motivate him to turn your lawn into something out of Edward Scissorhands.
Click to expand...

Maybe a better option than just canceling the tickets is to send the money you might otherwise have spent on football tickets to support CU programs that are meeting and exceeding your expectations.

- Basketball, Cross Country, Skiing, Golf - all did very well over the base 12 months. They should not be punished for the mismanagement of football.
 
Skidmark said:
Maybe a better option than just canceling the tickets is to send the money you might otherwise have spent on football tickets to support CU programs that are meeting and exceeding your expectations.

- Basketball, Cross Country, Skiing, Golf - all did very well over the base 12 months. They should not be punished for the mismanagement of football.
Click to expand...

That had been my plan. But it was pointed out to me that they'll just shift budgets around. It may still make a statement, but they won't feel the pinch that would force decision-making and leadership. I still haven't decided on this front.
 
No disrespect BEBG but the wallet is the only thing anyone respects anymore. It is the only voice that will be listened to.

What's hypocritical is to be content to allow a program that pays for most everything else that goes on in sports at CU to fall from mediocre to worst over the last several years and still expect fans and boosters to give their full support solely on the basis of loyalty and a special place in their hearts for all that is Buff. Loyalty is a two way street and the administration is not showing much loyalty to the bread and butter of the overall athletic program at CU. They are not showing much loyalty to the fans either by their stubborn position in a number of areas regarding the football program.
 
To play devil's advocate, the absence of ticket buying fans may also be interpreted as a clear sign to shutter the program.

This bottom line driven administration is just as likely to pull the plug than to pull off some major resuscitation.

The unintended consequence of "tough love" may be for CU to end up like the University of Chicago or DU. That would suck if CU decided to cut off their own nose just to spite the face.
 
Not with pac12 money. They'll field a team. It's just going to be a new KSU pre-Snyder.
 
People must make tough choices with their dwindling pay checks these days. If money were no object then, yeah, it could be argued that threatening to cancel one's season tix while screaming for better facilities could be considered to be hypocritical. But for people who stretch the budget at the expense of other things, it is not hypocritical. If I were to write a letter, my argument would be that, "Mike, I must make a choice as to how I spend my very limited dollars. I get the most joy watching a competitive football program. I get no joy watching a no competitive disaster. My wife gets joy going to the theater. It is difficult for me to argue with my wife that our limited entertainment funds are better spent going to CU football games."
 
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