Your level of support for Mike Bohn

[dio]

the crazy part is I don't think it would be even too difficult to implement. It is crazy to me that CU is so far behind on this.

I think it is because we're mired in old thinking. Benson and DiStepheno are definitely old guard. Bohn has done some good, forward thinking things, but still hasn't quite grasped new media.

Hopefully the new CMO gets some of it. I'm tempted to email him this thread.

 

[Darth Snow]

I think it is because we're mired in old thinking. Benson and DiStepheno are definitely old guard. Bohn has done some good, forward thinking things, but still hasn't quite grasped new media.

Hopefully the new CMO gets some of it. I'm tempted to email him this thread.

There is no try.

 

[tante]

I think it is because we're mired in old thinking. Benson and DiStepheno are definitely old guard. Bohn has done some good, forward thinking things, but still hasn't quite grasped new media.

Hopefully the new CMO gets some of it. I'm tempted to email him this thread.

maybe we should come up with our best ideas and then you can email him a concise plan of action. Show him how it should be done. We give him the final goal and the tasks it would take to accomplish those goals. Hell I would even donate to help them build a donation platform.

 

[Quattro]

It really is pathetic that all this is occurring in year 7 of his tenure...

 

[Buffnik]

I didn't mean they call every week. I just mean some point of contact is made, usually email, very often. Plus a lot of the communication is just about what is going on and results on the field. Most communications would not be about fundraising, just keeping people interested/engaged in the institution.

Your ideas are very good. It is depressing to know that seemingly nothing like this is done within in the CU AD.

Yeah. I get a weekly newsletter from my son's preschool. That's the baseline. I also get special communications if there's an event as well as a monthly communication from the principal.

CU does a little bit of that, but I get a letter from Benson and not one from Bohn. I never get anything about AD goals. We've got 17 sports. Between HCs and other key people, I could easily be sent 2 communications a month that feature a specific team and what's going on. Why not send me an email every week that just tells me what the new content for the week had been on cubuffs.com and what I can look forward to in the coming week? Hell, for the sports I'm most interested in let me opt in to get a text notification when a new article publishes. There's so much that can be done and so little that is actually done.

 

[Buffnik]

Also - it's not just potential small donors. I know a guy who was a CU record holder in an indoor T&F event. He was a Fortune 500 exec who then became an entrepreneur and made a fortune selling a company. He told me he hasn't heard from CU in years.

 

[CUFan]

Fundraising for the AD should be a major department within the AD and be looked at as a major source of capital for both operations and capital improvements. I don't know whether that is the current thinking in the AD, but from an outsider's perspective it sure does not appear so.

 

[slider]

Bohn and Co are reading this thread thinking to themselves, "We have exciting things in the works that we're very excited about." :Crickets for months/years:

 

[BuffLuke80]

It seems to me, I could be wrong here, the only thing keeping CU from getting these things done is CU. I just dont see the commitment to do it, im on the outside looking in tho. Alot of you guys are close to it so what Im saying isnt gospel. It just looks that way to me.

 

[Darian3Hagan]

It seems to me, I could be wrong here, the only thing keeping CU from getting these things done is CU. I just dont see the commitment to do it, im on the outside looking in tho. Alot of you guys are close to it so what Im saying isnt gospel. It just looks that way to me.

Pretty much.

 

[SECOBuffsFan]

He has one epic fail in Hawkins and the poor judgment in giving him an extension he didn't deserve

He has one epic success in what Boyle (and in a much smaller way Bzdlick) have done for the men's basketball program and where it is heading

I think he probably really wants the project to go through and that is why he seems to have brought it up before having any kind of support from above.

 

[Quattro]

He has one epic fail in Hawkins and the poor judgment in giving him an extension he didn't deserve

He has one epic success in what Boyle (and in a much smaller way Bzdlick) have done for the men's basketball program and where it is heading

I think he probably really wants the project to go through and that is why he seems to have brought it up before having any kind of support from above.

That's great and all but where's the vision as Nik stated and now all the fundraising issues it outweighs any positive he's done IMO.

 

[Scotch]

to me that is way too much. I don't want a call every week. I wouldn't mind an email that says. Thanks to your donations we now have a new PA system in the coors event center. We have three projects we think will increase the game day experience for our fans.

1 - flat screen tv's in the concourses at Folsom field. Currently we have fifteen 21 inch tube tv's in the concourse. We want to replace these with forty-five 60 inch tvs. The tv's cost $1500 each for a tv, weatherproof case, and mounting hardware. We are looking at a total cost of $67,500 to donate please click here http:.....

2 - beer garden at Folsom Field. We are looking to build a beer garden on the west side of franklin field. We will need to build a permanant fence and some waterproof flooring to cover the grass. Operational expenses will be covered through revenue. We need a total of $125,000 to build a beer garden and get the associated permits. to donate please click here http:...

3 - new computer room for the student athletes. CU currently has 25 computer to support X student athletes. The computers are 4 years old and in dire need of upgrade. We are looking to purchase 100 computers at a cost of $850 each for a total cost of $85,000. to donate please click here http:....


I don't see how doing something like this can't be successful. Also they can even do cool stuff based on your donation level. They can do cool project announcements at halftime during football games. donate $500 and get your name announced. donate $2500 and you can get on the field. donate $10,000 and get field passes for the entire game.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^ :congrats:

 

[leftybuff]

I reamin convinced the Three Stooges, MB, Dr. Phil and Bruce are interested in giving the appearance of supporting athletics to keep the donors and alums happy, but they really want it to take a back seat and not create any problems for them.

 

[DBT]

I reamin convinced the Three Stooges, MB, Dr. Phil and Bruce are interested in giving the appearance of supporting athletics to keep the donors and alums happy, but they really want it to take a back seat and not create any problems for them.

What do the Three Stooges have to do with this, they didn't go to CU. As a matter of fact, they are dead i can see blaming MB, Phil and BB however.

 

[sackman]

We have short memories. Tini - seriously? You do remember that the AD PAID YOUR WAY to Albuquerque and bought you a couple tickets, right? We were singing Mike Bohn's praises after that. I'm as frustrated over the facilities boondoggle as anybody, but I think we're overreacting just a bit, here.

 

[MtnBuff]

We have short memories. Tini - seriously? You do remember that the AD PAID YOUR WAY to Albuquerque and bought you a couple tickets, right? We were singing Mike Bohn's praises after that. I'm as frustrated over the facilities boondoggle as anybody, but I think we're overreacting just a bit, here.

^^This is the biggest reason to cut Bohn some slack.

He like everyone has to deal with the situation he works in. How different would he do things if he didn't have Benson and Phil and their attitudes to contend with. Some things we may never know like has he been told to lay off certain major boosters until some other non-athletic projects are funded.

At times I think he is doing a lousy job, other times I wonder how much of what he wants to do is limited by those he answers to.

Lets hope that Benson and Phil are replaced with people who are more athletics friendly and loosen the reigns a bit. Then we would have a better idea.

 

[rynobuff]

Not going through 8 pages of posts... but just wanted to voice my opinion (thought I'm sure the same sentiment has been said). From what he inherited, and the support he gets (from his superiors, the city, the fans, and the state) he has done a very good job in my opinion. Nevertheless, with the Pac12 money about to roll in, success in all sports needs to increase soon, and dramatically and big projects need to be accomplished. He's bought himself sometime... but I also fell for the Rockies and O'dowd's bull**** too so my leash is becoming shorter.

 

[Bone Buff]

Question: How long to AD's typically stay at a job?

 

[MtnBuff]

Question: How long to AD's typically stay at a job?

The answer to that question is depends.

Some schools have athetic directors who are there for life, 20 years as an AD is not uncommon. Other schools turn them over like changing socks. Usually the determining factor is how successful the football team is because that is the money driver for most schools.

Bohn has managed to keep CU on pretty solid footing financially despite the lousy results on the field. That said I would suspect that his future may be tied to Embrees success. If the team doesn't start to win some games both Embree and Bohn are likely gone in 3-4 years.

 

[tante]

^^This is the biggest reason to cut Bohn some slack.

He like everyone has to deal with the situation he works in. How different would he do things if he didn't have Benson and Phil and their attitudes to contend with. Some things we may never know like has he been told to lay off certain major boosters until some other non-athletic projects are funded.

At times I think he is doing a lousy job, other times I wonder how much of what he wants to do is limited by those he answers to.

Lets hope that Benson and Phil are replaced with people who are more athletics friendly and loosen the reigns a bit. Then we would have a better idea.

So what are his short, medium and long term plans? Everyone talks about him doing the best he is given with but we don't know what he is given. If he can't get a practice facility done most of us won't fault him but he does need to engage the fans and start doing some small improvements so we feel like we are part of the solution.

 

[MtnBuff]

So what are his short, medium and long term plans? Everyone talks about him doing the best he is given with but we don't know what he is given. If he can't get a practice facility done most of us won't fault him but he does need to engage the fans and start doing some small improvements so we feel like we are part of the solution.

I agree with you in that I want to see more plans, see more progress, even if it is on smaller things. My point is that we don't know if he has been told by his bosses to lay off on the plans, lay low, and let them push their priorities instead of letting athletics grab the attention and spotlight.

We don't know what Bohn wants to do or would do if Phil and Benson are standing on top of him. We absolutely need to be doing better, the only question is why aren't we and the answer to that may or may not be Bohn.

Remember back to when we had very solid information that Bohn was on his way to fire Hawkins, had money lined up to pay off the buy-out and everything lined up and he was stopped from above.

Until success in the AD becomes more of a priority with the administration we may never know if Bohn is the right or wrong guy for the job. What I do know is that if you fire him now the guy who replaces him will be hand picked by those same people who forced him to keep Hawkins an extra year and who threw water all over his facilities announcement. It's a pretty safe bet that if Benson and Phil get to pick his replacement it won't be someone who is going to be a better answer than Bohn.

 

[Duff Man]

We have short memories. Tini - seriously? You do remember that the AD PAID YOUR WAY to Albuquerque and bought you a couple tickets, right? We were singing Mike Bohn's praises after that. I'm as frustrated over the facilities boondoggle as anybody, but I think we're overreacting just a bit, here.

I know you like Bohn, but I am seriously wondering what it would take for you to actually question his job security. When we are talking about the single most important part of his tenure (facilities improvements), I do not think it is an overreaction at all.

 

[Darian3Hagan]

I see some Rockies fans in here.

 

[ICE H2O]

to me that is way too much. I don't want a call every week. I wouldn't mind an email that says. Thanks to your donations we now have a new PA system in the coors event center. We have three projects we think will increase the game day experience for our fans.

1 - flat screen tv's in the concourses at Folsom field. Currently we have fifteen 21 inch tube tv's in the concourse. We want to replace these with forty-five 60 inch tvs. The tv's cost $1500 each for a tv, weatherproof case, and mounting hardware. We are looking at a total cost of $67,500 to donate please click here http:.....

2 - beer garden at Folsom Field. We are looking to build a beer garden on the west side of franklin field. We will need to build a permanant fence and some waterproof flooring to cover the grass. Operational expenses will be covered through revenue. We need a total of $125,000 to build a beer garden and get the associated permits. to donate please click here http:...

3 - new computer room for the student athletes. CU currently has 25 computer to support X student athletes. The computers are 4 years old and in dire need of upgrade. We are looking to purchase 100 computers at a cost of $850 each for a total cost of $85,000. to donate please click here http:....


I don't see how doing something like this can't be successful. Also they can even do cool stuff based on your donation level. They can do cool project announcements at halftime during football games. donate $500 and get your name announced. donate $2500 and you can get on the field. donate $10,000 and get field passes for the entire game.

Great ideas all! Now march over to the CU FOUNDATION with them. Its the CU Foundation that's in charge of fund-raising and they have a staff who work with the AD. Those are the folks you need to hammer on. Also, make out donation checks to the Foundation with specific directions on where you want the donated funds to go, such requests have to be honored by the Foundation since they act in a fiduciary capacity.

Honestly, now, where would you spend your time and effort if you were AD? Responding to a 1,000 emails from guys who might give a hundred bucks if the economy's good, or a couple hours schmoozing with Solich who could write a check for $1 million from his petty cash account?

 

[MtnBuff]

I see some Rockies fans in here.

It's kind of the same deal. The people at the top shooting for mediocracy make it hard to tell if the people below them can do the job or not.

Fans in Denver couldn't wait to get rid of Clint Hurdle with the Rockies not being able to win a weak division. He is gone and Tracy is doing much worse, mean time Hurdle is managing a Pittsburgh team with middle of the road talent well enough to at least stay in some form of contention. Doesn't mean he is a great manager but with a little support he is doing much better than he did in Denver with the pathetic support he got from ownership here.

It seems like the administration at CU is happy as long as they mostly fill the stadium, keep the TV money rolling in, and stay out of the way of their fantasies of being the Harvard of the west. Who needs new athletic facilities, we would rather build new offices for the Philosophy Department. Upgrade the staduim, no lets focus on our revisionist history professors. Just keep those dumb jocks out of the way and we will be a great university.

 

[MtnBuff]

Great ideas all! Now march over to the CU FOUNDATION with them. Its the CU Foundation that's in charge of fund-raising and they have a staff who work with the AD. Those are the folks you need to hammer on. Also, make out donation checks to the Foundation with specific directions on where you want the donated funds to go, such requests have to be honored by the Foundation since they act in a fiduciary capacity.

Honestly, now, where would you spend your time and effort if you were AD? Responding to a 1,000 emails from guys who might give a hundred bucks if the economy's good, or a couple hours schmoozing with Solich who could write a check for $1 million from his petty cash account?

If you are going to be successful you do both. The million dollar donors most often started out as smaller donors before they had the millions to donate. At the same time if it cost me $20 to get a $100 donation I will gladly make that happen all day long. The million dollar donation is nice but the 10,000 donations averaging $100 are much more sustainable in the long run.

 

[Darian3Hagan]

I would say Bohn is Odowd in that comparison.

Nothing will change until we set higher expectations as a fan base.

If the IPF isnt announced next year I'm dropping my season tickets.

 

[ICE H2O]

Instead of ragging on the AD, here's the contact info for the real fund-raising arm of the Athletic department:

Kaitlyn Fenton
Program Manager
Boulder Campus
UCB Athletics
kaitlyn.fenton@cufund.org
(303) 492-0803

I had two kids who worked in the Athletic Department while attending CU, yet both were employees of the CU Foundation.
Go to the Foundation with ideas. If the low-level folks there say "no", go over their heads! That's the place to raise cane!

 

[Duff Man]

Great ideas all! Now march over to the CU FOUNDATION with them. Its the CU Foundation that's in charge of fund-raising and they have a staff who work with the AD. Those are the folks you need to hammer on. Also, make out donation checks to the Foundation with specific directions on where you want the donated funds to go, such requests have to be honored by the Foundation since they act in a fiduciary capacity.

Honestly, now, where would you spend your time and effort if you were AD? Responding to a 1,000 emails from guys who might give a hundred bucks if the economy's good, or a couple hours schmoozing with Solich who could write a check for $1 million from his petty cash account?

Absolutely a fallacy to imply you cannot do both. Those "poor" people make up a good chunk of the season ticket base. The same season ticket base that has stagnated and the AD cannot seem to grasp why it is happening. Season ticket holders have skin in the game. You want to increase donations, that would be a good target audience.

But your post perfectly illustrates why our AD is pretty dysfunctional when it comes to outreach/marketing efforts.