Ask the AD - 5/23/2007

[ZuluWarrior]

Sorry folks, a university president showing up at an NCAA tournament or a game against the number one team in the country or a bowl game is not just a good idea, its a have to do, an extreme expectation, those are poor examples of his support.

[transfer2BGSU]

Well it appears that you have your mind made up and NOTHING anyone has to say to the contrary is going to change your opinion.

[ZuluWarrior]

ditto back at ya. If you think those are examples of above and beyond support by a University President you are entitled to that belief as well.

[falconfan1]

ZuluWarrior- I love that name!

The role of a university president is incredibly complex. Long term vision, shorter term financials, academic matters old and new, faculty, staff, fundraising, friendraising, student contact, govt/lobbying, travel for various matters etc etc etc. This is a big, big job.

Athletics fits into that array of duties and obligations. The president of a university could, literally, be at more than one function/event/meeting every night. He/she has to choose and balance his/her time for the institution.

Dr. Ribeau does the following based on my observation:

1. Attends several dozen BG athletic events live each year. He is at most home football games (hosting guests etc), he is at several men's bball games, he is at several women's bball games, he is at several hockey games and I have seen him, on mnore rare occasion, at baseball, softball and soccer.

2. Attends a few away athletic events and has been at most important post season games. These would include football bowl games, MAC tourney games and women's bball NCAA appearances.

3. Often attends/speaks at pregame receptions and or mini pep rallies. His leadership style is to let key members of the ath dept/Falcon Club/alumni handle these events. This may be part of Zulu's "view"; Dr. Ribeau does not prefer the spotlight; he prefers to give credit/responsibility to those closest to the event in most cases. I like this style.

4. Often attends postseason awards banquets or athletic academic scholarship presentations. Believe me, just the sheer volume of student life/academic life/athletic banquets/awards ceremonies would literally overwhelm any schedule. Must pick and choose.

5. Meets with potential BG student-athletes where appropriate and within the rules if asked. More than one future Falcon has met the president before he/she got on the field/court.

6. Recognizes the value of athletics as a "front porch" of a university as it relates to fund raising and marketing. Believe me, he gets this. Take my word for it.

7. Believes athletics are a vital part of student life. BG's athletic dept is within Student Life. The idea is that athletics are a vital part of the student experience. We still need to build on that concept, but I think it works. As such, he would meet regularly with those folks in charge of student life and athletics.

8. Enjoys BG sports and loves it when we win. Especially when we beat rivals. Especially when we do it with a good quality ath dept with good GPA's, good graduation rates and good representatives of BG on our teams.

9. BG is in the midst of a serious ath facilities upgrade. Though many of these improvements come from private dollars, can you imagine ANY of it happening without the full support and encouragement of the university president?

10. He is the chair of the NCAA President's Council. This is a very high profile and important post. Why would any college president who didn't support college athletics volunteer at this level? That is big time in my opinion.

Maybe I forgot some stuff, but you can find fault with any decision of where someone in a public position spends their time. He doesn't do stuff like handle ath dept news conferences as the lead BG ath voice. Others do that. He doesn't make pronouncements. He works in other ways.

Based on discussions and observations, I would say Dr. Ribeau is very supportive of college athletics versus many other college presidents.

He has an entire university to run. And I would say most observers would find 1995 to 2007 to be good years for Bowling Green.

Go Falcons!

[BGDrew]

The president and his wife are very good supporters of women's bb. They even traveled to Cancun with the team in December.

That's a rough road trip.

[Flipper]

All of the above is nice...but ultimately, the measure of support a University President (as opposed to Sid the man) gives the athletic department is told by the bottom line. How much of our resources are we devoting to athletics vs similarly situated Universities;. Being a fan is great...but it doesn't amount to much if the University is underfunding the department.

I'm not saying that it is...and I'm not saying that it isn't, I'm just trying to clarify what the term "support" boils down to.

[ziggy]

falconfan1 makes very good points-I have spoken with the President many times and have no doubt that he is a big supporter of BG athletics and is concerned about them. Athletics is just part of his job but he is supportive and understands the importance of athletics at BGSU. He has done a wonderful job at BGSU and we are lucky to have him!

[ZuluWarrior]

FalconFan1 I appreciate all of your points and I am not saying that Dr. Ribeau is doing a bad job overall. My concern with our athletics program is that we don't have anyone, or it doesn't appear that anyone, is addressing very serious concerns, particularly faciities, for a Division 1 program.
We have a glorified high school gym of a basketball arena, which I am okay with, a football stadium with concrete falling off of it and an Ice Arena that is falling apart completely.
The University President's job is to help the athletic program solve big issues, and these, in my opinion are huge. BG was once one of the top athletic programs in the MAC and I venture to say we have fallen to near the bottom overall, and save for Urban Meyer, I hate to think where we might be right now. Mr. Ribeau needs to help outline a plan to address the problems and help drive the fundraising to resolve the issues.

As for Anderson Arena I wish we would have knocked out the back wall, added 1,000 seats behind the north basket. It can still be a place where Big 10 teams go to die (Michigan, Michigan State), but I do think its a tough place to recuit for. I am in no way supportive of a multi-use facility like OU. I just wish we could do something to make AA a centerpiece of our athletic program and I'm not sure it can be done.

[Schadenfreude]

All of the above is nice...but ultimately, the measure of support a University President (as opposed to Sid the man) gives the athletic department is told by the bottom line. How much of our resources are we devoting to athletics vs similarly situated Universities;. Being a fan is great...but it doesn't amount to much if the University is underfunding the department.

By and large, the funding is from the general fee, most of which (I believe) goes to intercollegiate athletics.

Short of budget cuts to other student activities, growing enrollment beyond what it is now or a big hike in the fee, what can be done?

I don't know if it is the university's responsibility to fund the department so much as it is ours.

Thankfully, we have a man like Bob Sebo who has been willing to step up to the plate in a big way. We need a few more.

[Flipper]

I'm not suggesting anything "needs to be done". I'm simply trying to focus the conversation on the nuts and bolts of the budget and how much we allocate towards athletics vs other schools of a similar size.

Falconboy shows up at a ton of games....should we make him University President?

Does the administration give the AD the leeway he needs to cultivate revenue streams independently? Is the President willing to make obtaining the $$ for a new convo center and a functioning Ice Arena a top priority, or are there other projects that are getting more of the focus?

What dollars doe we have and how do we spend them?

I'd try to find out myslef...but in spite of this lengthy post, finding out isn't a priority for me.

I skimmed a jillion tadpoles off of my pool cover this weekend. I've relocated them to a couple of spots in the yard, now I have to keep them alive so they can develop into the toads they are meant to be and devour the insects, ok mosquitos, that currently plague us.

If toads don't eat mosquitos or their eggs, I wasted a f**k of a lot of time this weekend

[BGDrew]

Last year, the athletic department got $8.8 million from student fees with another $5.4 coming from other sources.

http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/finance/file24691.pdf