In IT for the ∫e ͯ
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I know this doesn't exactly pertain to the Gophers football team and some of you don't care about the marching band, but they are a part of the college game day experience. It has come to my attention that the band is in some SERIOUS need of some help if they are to continue as a part of the University. Please read the following message that was sent out by the Band Alumni and help out if you can.
To my friends and (former) band mates,
You, and everyone you ever marched with, or played in a pep band with, need to know that the athletic bands are in serious trouble.
First, I’m going to tell you why. Then, I’m going to tell you why I need your help.
The director of the School of Music, David Myers and similar powers from the West Bank, are trying to destroy the Marching Band and the Pep Bands in order to gain budget space while money is tight in these economic times. The athletic bands are in a time of great financial insecurity with their two sources of funding, the President’s Office and the Athletics Department, changing regimes this year with the introduction of Eric Kaler as President of the University and the future retirement of Joel Maturi.
To kill the Marching Band and Pep Bands, David Myers needs only to dissolve the positions of Marching Band Director and Associate Marching Band director. The threat of this is very real. In the recent years while he’s been in charge of the School of Music, his actions have made it clear that he does not support the athletic bands, while his lip service has kept critics at bay and donors clueless.
Both directorial positions are severely underpaid by major college football standards. The current situation dictates that even if Tim Diem or Alicia Neal were to quit or be fired, no School of Music faculty, present or externally hired, would backfill their positions simply because you can’t hire anyone even somewhat reasonable for that cheap. Instead, in the short term, a graduate assistant would likely be placed in charge of running the entire Marching Band and the Pep Bands with whatever staff and students remain in the aftermath. In the wake of that potential “lost year,” it is then likely that the band program would be finally dismantled.
I am not fear mongering. This threat is legit. All of the signs are there, and it is our job as alumni to do what we can to fight it.
There is only one way to save the athletics bands and preserve their future, and that is to endow all or at least a portion of the marching band and pep bands. That is a very big number in the $5 million range, and, obviously, that goal sounds impossible at first.
Believe it or not, but the Marching Band and Pep Bands are entities that can attract sponsorships and the money to reach a goal even that huge. To give you some perspective, Ohio State's band made a $1.5 million sponsorship agreement last year that pays out over two years. Here at Minnesota we should at least be making a sponsorship deal in the $300k range. And trust me, there are plenty of big donors who love the band.
Matt Clark, myself, Rob Atkinson, Matt “Biffy” Hanley, and a few others have been working in secret over the past few months to push the right buttons with donors, start the negotiations with potential sponsors, talk extensively with athletics, alumni association people, foundation people, etc. We have reached out to people with influence in the community and specifically the sports community for support and collaboration. The results have been very positive. We are now in a position where we need to engage the loyal masses--meaning you.
The most important thing is for everyone who ever marched with a block M on his or her uniform, or played an instrument in the Barn or Mariucci (old or new), to know about the trouble the band is in.
The second most important thing is for those same people to know, is that for once, the Band Alumni Society is attempting to do something about it. This is why I, with the latest iteration of the Band Alumni Society council, unanimously passed and founded a campaign, which you can read about at www.skiumah.org.
From the data we’ve gathered even early on, sponsors and donors alike have gotten behind the idea of Marching Band away game travel as a vehicle to kick off and support this fundraising and sponsorship effort over the years to come. Away game road trips will enable sponsors to better penetrate markets outside of Minnesota and reach a larger group of people through TV and radio coverage partnerships. The media then in turn has ties back to the athletic bands through relationships that are currently growing. Road trips also help us engage with alumni and potential donors who have moved away from Minnesota.
Thus, together we will raise the money to send the Marching Band on an away football trip at least every other year starting with Nebraska this year, and in doing so we will enable the long-term goal of securing the athletic bands' future. If the away trip is a success, we will have a full-time development officer working to work sponsor and donor angles for years to come, thus enabling us to work towards endowing the athletic bands in some way, shape, or form.
Finally, we need to raise a fair amount of money as alumni in a grassroots manner in order to have additional leverage in securing sponsorships. It is the only way to demonstrate that this idea is something the alumni support. Bottom line, we need $30,000 in grassroots alumni support.
So I have to beg you to do two things that I am not good at asking for.
1. I need you to follow the instructions at www.skiumah.org and contribute at least $50.00 to the Engagement and Excellence Campaign. (Sponsors love titles like that, even if they sound dumb in a personal conversation)
2. I need you to spread this message like wildfire. This needs to be like an annoying chain email to anyone who you have contacts with that might care even a little bit. Feel free to copy and paste into whatever medium you'd like.
Spend some time in the coming days to reflect on the good times in college with your band mates. Think about stooge week, the parties, run cadence onto the field for pre-game, etc. Then get off your ass and help out. It’s our job to preserve those memories by helping the band of the future. You were once a part of something that was bigger than yourself. $50 and forwarding this to your friends is the least you can give back in return.
Ski-U-Mah. GILB.
-Chris “ballz” Matthews ’07
To my friends and (former) band mates,
You, and everyone you ever marched with, or played in a pep band with, need to know that the athletic bands are in serious trouble.
First, I’m going to tell you why. Then, I’m going to tell you why I need your help.
The director of the School of Music, David Myers and similar powers from the West Bank, are trying to destroy the Marching Band and the Pep Bands in order to gain budget space while money is tight in these economic times. The athletic bands are in a time of great financial insecurity with their two sources of funding, the President’s Office and the Athletics Department, changing regimes this year with the introduction of Eric Kaler as President of the University and the future retirement of Joel Maturi.
To kill the Marching Band and Pep Bands, David Myers needs only to dissolve the positions of Marching Band Director and Associate Marching Band director. The threat of this is very real. In the recent years while he’s been in charge of the School of Music, his actions have made it clear that he does not support the athletic bands, while his lip service has kept critics at bay and donors clueless.
Both directorial positions are severely underpaid by major college football standards. The current situation dictates that even if Tim Diem or Alicia Neal were to quit or be fired, no School of Music faculty, present or externally hired, would backfill their positions simply because you can’t hire anyone even somewhat reasonable for that cheap. Instead, in the short term, a graduate assistant would likely be placed in charge of running the entire Marching Band and the Pep Bands with whatever staff and students remain in the aftermath. In the wake of that potential “lost year,” it is then likely that the band program would be finally dismantled.
I am not fear mongering. This threat is legit. All of the signs are there, and it is our job as alumni to do what we can to fight it.
There is only one way to save the athletics bands and preserve their future, and that is to endow all or at least a portion of the marching band and pep bands. That is a very big number in the $5 million range, and, obviously, that goal sounds impossible at first.
Believe it or not, but the Marching Band and Pep Bands are entities that can attract sponsorships and the money to reach a goal even that huge. To give you some perspective, Ohio State's band made a $1.5 million sponsorship agreement last year that pays out over two years. Here at Minnesota we should at least be making a sponsorship deal in the $300k range. And trust me, there are plenty of big donors who love the band.
Matt Clark, myself, Rob Atkinson, Matt “Biffy” Hanley, and a few others have been working in secret over the past few months to push the right buttons with donors, start the negotiations with potential sponsors, talk extensively with athletics, alumni association people, foundation people, etc. We have reached out to people with influence in the community and specifically the sports community for support and collaboration. The results have been very positive. We are now in a position where we need to engage the loyal masses--meaning you.
The most important thing is for everyone who ever marched with a block M on his or her uniform, or played an instrument in the Barn or Mariucci (old or new), to know about the trouble the band is in.
The second most important thing is for those same people to know, is that for once, the Band Alumni Society is attempting to do something about it. This is why I, with the latest iteration of the Band Alumni Society council, unanimously passed and founded a campaign, which you can read about at www.skiumah.org.
From the data we’ve gathered even early on, sponsors and donors alike have gotten behind the idea of Marching Band away game travel as a vehicle to kick off and support this fundraising and sponsorship effort over the years to come. Away game road trips will enable sponsors to better penetrate markets outside of Minnesota and reach a larger group of people through TV and radio coverage partnerships. The media then in turn has ties back to the athletic bands through relationships that are currently growing. Road trips also help us engage with alumni and potential donors who have moved away from Minnesota.
Thus, together we will raise the money to send the Marching Band on an away football trip at least every other year starting with Nebraska this year, and in doing so we will enable the long-term goal of securing the athletic bands' future. If the away trip is a success, we will have a full-time development officer working to work sponsor and donor angles for years to come, thus enabling us to work towards endowing the athletic bands in some way, shape, or form.
Finally, we need to raise a fair amount of money as alumni in a grassroots manner in order to have additional leverage in securing sponsorships. It is the only way to demonstrate that this idea is something the alumni support. Bottom line, we need $30,000 in grassroots alumni support.
So I have to beg you to do two things that I am not good at asking for.
1. I need you to follow the instructions at www.skiumah.org and contribute at least $50.00 to the Engagement and Excellence Campaign. (Sponsors love titles like that, even if they sound dumb in a personal conversation)
2. I need you to spread this message like wildfire. This needs to be like an annoying chain email to anyone who you have contacts with that might care even a little bit. Feel free to copy and paste into whatever medium you'd like.
Spend some time in the coming days to reflect on the good times in college with your band mates. Think about stooge week, the parties, run cadence onto the field for pre-game, etc. Then get off your ass and help out. It’s our job to preserve those memories by helping the band of the future. You were once a part of something that was bigger than yourself. $50 and forwarding this to your friends is the least you can give back in return.
Ski-U-Mah. GILB.
-Chris “ballz” Matthews ’07
