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Time for Plati to go.

Point one: Mouthpieces are easily replaced. I'm not sure where we all of the sudden got the idea that Plati is the end all, be all for SIDs. Every school has one.

Point two: We're not talking about a guy who's been doing this job for a couple months. Plati has been the SID since the early 80's. He ought to know damn well how to respond appropriately to a situation like this. He's shown, time and time again, that he's incapable of providing an appropriate response. The kid was only mirroring what some other kid at Oregon did last year. The response from Oregon and the response from CU are 180 degrees different. That's all on Plati. One school came out looking like a classy organization that is working at fostering positive relations with it's students, alumni, fans and supporters. CU came across like a whiny bitch. "You pay your money and you take your chances". What the hell kind of response is that? Do we honestly want to be telling the people who paid good money to take that trip that we don't give a flying green sh*t if they ever take another trip to an away game again?


Oh, man. I'm pissed. This is not the way to get into the good graces of your fans and potential fans. It is a great way to turn people off.

Come on; there's a difference between a 1996 grad who had undoubtedly been to dozens of away games vs. some college kid who staged this "symbolic protest" and got in the newspaper. As a brief tangent, if the kid had gone to Dal Ward and lit himself on fire, then maybe he'd have my respect.

The guy from OU didn't even send the stuff to the media; somebody else who knew him contacted the EDSBS blog. This kid was an attention seeking jerk, and he got called on it. Plati shouldn't have used the wording that he did, but the kid was being a priggish little asshole and knew what he was doing.

Also, it's a slippery slope. Just wait until Oregon doesn't show up for another away game and see how many "refund requests" they get.

As a very serious and respectful question, who are the other people that are being insulted by Plati? I know he had the whole "less than 200 people in powder blue" quote last year, but I don't find that to be particularly insulting, just incorrect.
 
It is impossible for anyone working in media/public relations to be any good at their job if they don't understand how to use the Internet as an effective mechanism to both manage and disseminate information to the public. Plati, quite frankly, has never adapted well to the Internet and the perception of CU, both within the state and nationally, has gone steadily downhill because of it. Solely blaming the Colorado media for this is a copout and grossly inaccurate.
 
One thing that's super cool about Plati is that I guarantee he'd take the time to speak to you about your concerns, whether via email or a phone call to his office. Maybe you should do that and report back to us? I think a lot of us would be interested.


Don't try to go TO CU to meet with him, though. He'll have you arrested for trespassing!
 
Interesting opinions. First, I have to say that I want Dave Plati to be at CU a long time. The guy is first class - He will respond instantly to all emails, phone calls, requests for meetings, etc. The guy bleeds Black and Gold. Yes you can hire a new SID but you are not going to replace his experience and perspective on CU athletics. Sit down and talk with him sometime and you will get an insiders view on what happened in the past. Plati is also a great link to past athletes, he tries to keep tabs on a lot of people - that comes from love of the university not the job title. I had called Dave a couple of years ago with request a for something and asked if I could pick it up in the next couple of days and I would take time during the day. He said he would be in his office until 8 PM and just stop by in the evening as he knew if would be more convenient for me. I stopped by and he was working on putting a bio for a former CU athlete who was being inducted into the sports Hall of Fame in her home state. The guy goes the extra mile and takes care of all the details.

Second, I think they could of replied a little differently but on the other hand did not see the response as all that awful.

Third, I have to wonder why Mike Bohn does not get the heat if you don't like the messaging. It is Bohn's department and he certainly could change the message - Plati is not a rogue player in the AD.

Fourth, I really agree that CU could use some help in the PR area. Plati's job is media relations No necessarily PR. Someone should certainly be working on messaging up there.

I could say more but that is enough for now.
 
Come on; there's a difference between a 1996 grad who had undoubtedly been to dozens of away games vs. some college kid who staged this "symbolic protest" and got in the newspaper. As a brief tangent, if the kid had gone to Dal Ward and lit himself on fire, then maybe he'd have my respect.

The guy from OU didn't even send the stuff to the media; somebody else who knew him contacted the EDSBS blog. This kid was an attention seeking jerk, and he got called on it. Plati shouldn't have used the wording that he did, but the kid was being a priggish little asshole and knew what he was doing.

Also, it's a slippery slope. Just wait until Oregon doesn't show up for another away game and see how many "refund requests" they get.

As a very serious and respectful question, who are the other people that are being insulted by Plati? I know he had the whole "less than 200 people in powder blue" quote last year, but I don't find that to be particularly insulting, just incorrect.

Suicide gets your respect? :wow:

Plati could have worded it better. Isn't "wording things better" his job? Isn't that what he's paid to do? This whole argument about him being the best SID in the business, but doesn't do such a good job at dealing with the media, and particularly the electronic media, is absurd to me. It's like saying "he's the best, but he really sucks".

And I'll anxiously await the next time UO lays an egg on an away game. I bet they get a ton of refund requests. All of which will be respectfully denied, without the need to demean and insult the people requesting them. Plati could learn a lot from UO. He'd never admit it, though. As far as Plati is concerned, he's the greatest SID of ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME!!!!! Anybody who doesn't agree with him is an imbecile and can't possibly be a true Buff fan.

Which brings us to the powder blue thing. Nobody expected the AD to buy into that. The appropriate response to that, as to the refund thing, is to say "We're all very disappointed with the way things are going on the field of play. We're going to continue to do what we feel is necessary to improve things and get them back to the level to which we all expect. We appreciate your passion for the University of Colorado Athletic Program".

End of story. That's all the douchenozzle had to do. Instead he says that everybody who showed up in powder blue "isn't a real Buff Fan". :wtf:

The guy is a jackass, pure and simple.
 
I have calmed down and I agree with BlackNGold...Plati is worth a lot to CU fans so let's keep him.

I also sent Bohn an e-mail thanking him for his hard work and sharing my concerns about Plati's comments in the BDC. I also told him that I want the Buffs in the Pac-10 next year not 2012.
 
There's no questioning Plati's skill as a historian. He knows (or has access to) more Buff sports info than anyone.

But his people skills aren't always the best, to put it kindly.
 
I think this is the main issue, which I raised before.

The CU athletic department needs a PR firm. Dave Plati is fantastic as a "Sports Information Director". Specifically, he is great at collecting, organizing and disseminating information on CU sports to further PR objectives, get visiting or local media what it needs, crafting a top notch media guide, etc. He is not a spin doctor or a schmoozer (remember when he wrote that drivel trying to make the case that Hawk never said "10 wins. No excuses." because the statements were not made one after the other in that speech?). It's not his personality and he doesn't excel in that area. CU needs a person or agency in that role.

And @ FChairbanks, with all respect, your response to my concerns in #s 1-3 read as excusing Plati because the job was impossible due to outside forces beyond his control. Frankly, I find that completely unsatisfying. It reminded me of the Hawkins excuse-making of it being impossible to win at CU. I guess it's impossible at CU to get the local media to behave fairly but with a bit of homerism for the state's flagship university? It's impossible for CU to have its side of a national story told instead of the media talking points during expansion being what Baylor wants them to be? It's impossible to mitigate damage and keep the scandal from reaching the proportions it did? I don't buy that. I will never buy that. And anyone who does, imo, deserves exactly what we have gotten and are getting in the media.
 
Suicide gets your respect? :wow:

Plati could have worded it better. Isn't "wording things better" his job? Isn't that what he's paid to do? This whole argument about him being the best SID in the business, but doesn't do such a good job at dealing with the media, and particularly the electronic media, is absurd to me. It's like saying "he's the best, but he really sucks".

And I'll anxiously await the next time UO lays an egg on an away game. I bet they get a ton of refund requests. All of which will be respectfully denied, without the need to demean and insult the people requesting them. Plati could learn a lot from UO. He'd never admit it, though. As far as Plati is concerned, he's the greatest SID of ALL TIME. OF ALL TIME!!!!! Anybody who doesn't agree with him is an imbecile and can't possibly be a true Buff fan.

Which brings us to the powder blue thing. Nobody expected the AD to buy into that. The appropriate response to that, as to the refund thing, is to say "We're all very disappointed with the way things are going on the field of play. We're going to continue to do what we feel is necessary to improve things and get them back to the level to which we all expect. We appreciate your passion for the University of Colorado Athletic Program".

End of story. That's all the douchenozzle had to do. Instead he says that everybody who showed up in powder blue "isn't a real Buff Fan". :wtf:

The guy is a jackass, pure and simple.

This!
I don't understand all the apologysts for Plati when he makes a media blunder that alienates fans and alumni. He is supposed to be the AD's expert at leveraging the media to make fans and alumni feel more included in the program (and want to donate more money) yet he has demonstrated on several occasions a complete disconnect from that part of his job. Maybe the job of SID has changed since he first got it and he has failed to evolve with it. The bottom line for me is that I expect a person in his role to handle a situation like a student asking for a refund with a whole lot more skill than he has shown.

PS I do not question his loyalty to CU, or his dedication to the AD and the athletes at CU, or his unrivaled knowledge of CU athletics, or his value as a connection to CU's athletic past. I just don't think these things are enough to be a good SID anymore. In today's media rich world we need a technology and PR savvy SID who knows how to spin the message and how to get it out to the broadest distribution possible.
 
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^^ No argument there. His new movie does look pretty good though. The Town.
 
Some people are complaining that Plati could have mitigated the damage caused by "the scandal" better. The truth of the matter is that no one knew, until all the dust had settled, that there was no real "scandal" in the sense that the program would not be hurt by sanctions, players would not be arrested, etc. There were multiple investigations by multiple organizations over the course of years, and you never want to comment on such matters until those processes are complete (unless you are the fraking media). Plus, there was the $ettlemnt with Lisa Simpson, you can be assured that there were gag orders in place that would prevent the school coming out and saying "This all was complete BS, we paid off a whining whore to close the matter, the University does not deserve the court-of-public-opinion judgment that was handed down, we'd like to go back to being a highly-respected institution now."

PS - I don't think that Clyde Surrell is completely out of the woods yet - so, you see, this stuff is still going on in a sense that CU can't talk about it
 
When it comes to the interwebz, Plati has Chip and Texas has Chip Brown, (Mack Brown & Chip's lovechild).
 
My biggest questions on Plati are the following:

1) Why are relations with Denver media so bad?

2) Why is the national perception of CU so bad? Is it so hard to get out the message that we've won 4 division titles and the conference championship this decade? Why did CU constantly take it on the chin in the media throughout the Pac-10 expansion talks?

3) Why did the "scandal" get so out of control despite no charges ever being brought against anyone and no major NCAA sanctions coming down?

4) Why have relations with the new media outlets been so poor, even going so far as a legal action involving a fan site?

I have a lot of respect for Plati and know he does a ton of good for CU, but there do seem to be some major failings there too. At the very least, he needs to hire a PR firm.

I think there is a basic misunderstanding of Plati's role. His the Sports Information Director - SID. That is only a small part of a Public Relations - his job is to basically to coordinate with the media. The scandal got out of hand because Betsy Hoffman was a total fricking idiot. When the scandal "broke" 2 years after the incident, it was obvious that the plaintiff's legal firm was going to carry out a smear campaign and try the case in the court of public opinion - they had a PR firm handing out flyers to the press on the courthouse steps when they filed the motion. They were hand feeding the press. Two days after that a major donor approached the Administration and told them they needed to hire an outside PR firm to help them and offered to hire a firm for them (he was going to start with $150,000). Betsy said that was not necessary (have absolutely no idea why). Plati was never in charge of messaging during the scandal - quite honestly it was outside of his pay grade and it was much broader than the AD. I contacted the powers at CU and told them they were killing themselves by not developing a coherent strategy for dealing with the press. They had too many people talking and the message had no focus.


I guarantee you a business with a $40 million budget would of taken a different tack.

I disagree with you that the relations with the local media outlets is poor. The media is going to go after blood in the water just like a shark. I think they have been pretty with CU lately considering the poor record and Hawkins stupid comments. During the PAC-10 expansion all the local outlets were quite positive in print, tv, and radio. Nationally I did not CU getting unduly blasted... you cannot control every article.

In business you have investor relations, media relations, public relations and Spin Doctors. When CU decided to retain Hawkins they should of hired a spin doctor right away - you could see things coming.

The thing with Smitty was over 10 years ago and Smitty was the one bringing the legal action which was thrown out of court. I believe the both Scout and Rivals have credentials from CU but those credentials come with some give and take. A lot of places are struggling with the Internet and social media - businesses, sports, pro sports, not one has an answer.
 
Thanks, BnG. That was honestly enlightening.

I still disagree over local media, though. The Camera and Times Call are definitely supportive, but Denver media (print, television and radio) is not friendly to CU. This is much bigger than spin control over a coaching decision. How come no one seems to know that CU has one of the few ADs in the nation that has operated in the black the past few years?

I agree that this is more of a PR issue. But if PR isn't an SID responsibility, then whose responsibility is it? And if it's not an SID responsibility, then why is Plati trying to spin doctor things like "10 wins no excuses"?
 
I agree that this is more of a PR issue. But if PR isn't an SID responsibility, then whose responsibility is it? And if it's not an SID responsibility, then why is Plati trying to spin doctor things like "10 wins no excuses"?

They don't have anyone nor do they have a strategy. This is one of my concerns with Mike Bohn - the guy is a great hand shaker but I am much less confidence in his managing ability. Basically Plati is filling a void but there is not someone there to help with the messaging. Building a messaging strategy has to start at the top (Mike Bohn) and Plati should just be the implementer. CU appears to deal with these things on a tactical basis rather than a strategic basis and that is on Bohn to me.
 
Can somebody name me a business or industry where it's appropriate to deal with a customer complaint by saying: "I won't dignify that with a response"?
 
They don't have anyone nor do they have a strategy. This is one of my concerns with Mike Bohn - the guy is a great hand shaker but I am much less confidence in his managing ability. Basically Plati is filling a void but there is not someone there to help with the messaging. Building a messaging strategy has to start at the top (Mike Bohn) and Plati should just be the implementer. CU appears to deal with these things on a tactical basis rather than a strategic basis and that is on Bohn to me.

Very interesting.

This is a major issue for Bohn to work on. I'll be sending him an email soon. Probably mid-week next so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
 
Can somebody name me a business or industry where it's appropriate to deal with a customer complaint by saying: "I won't dignify that with a response"?

Ummm...

The pga tour?

The united states government?

The health insurance industry?

Edit: my bad, you said "appropriate", I thought you meant "customary"...
 
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Can somebody name me a business or industry where it's appropriate to deal with a customer complaint by saying: "I won't dignify that with a response"?

Sacky, I really think that Plati was responding as if he considered the reporter his audience and was trying to kill the story on the vine. His statement did not read like he intended them as a message to fans. This lack of PR savviness underlines why we need a dedicated person and/or firm for that.
 
Sacky, I really think that Plati was responding as if he considered the reporter his audience and was trying to kill the story on the vine. His statement did not read like he intended them as a message to fans. This lack of PR savviness underlines why we need a dedicated person and/or firm for that.

In the future he might find the phrase "no comment" more useful in such a situation...
 
OK. I suppose if Plati is going to be a stat geek and nothing else, he's fine. He's a good stat geek. I would prefer he have absolutely no interaction with the public from this point forward.
 
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