Gary Haas Stadium

[BillyLP]

Yes Billy this is totally common. It happens all the time.

-Schools often name stadiums after people then cancel the program prior to a game being played after that.

-Schools often lose million dollar donations in sports where the AD played that particular sport.

-Schools often lose donations from donors when the AD was hired back to his alma mater because his previous experience is in fundraising.

-Schools often hire athletic directors who quit the sport they played at the school.

Like Billy said, this happens all the time. Bob Moosbrugger and Kit Hughes are the victims.

I’d be happy to give you a lesson in reading comprehension if you’d like. Nowhere did I indicate that this wasn’t a screw up by BG. However, yes this does happen with million dollar donations all the time. Closing million dollar gifts for universities and hospitals is literally my career (though it has thankfully never happened to me). When gifts get to be that large there are a lot of restrictions and contingencies that are put in place and sometimes it becomes impossible to fulfill. Other times a school just decides it is not in their best interest to fulfill. Like I stated, it’s not a good look, but it is also not uncommon. It just sticks out in this case because BG doesn’t get a ton of million dollar donors and it involved a facility.

[BillyLP]

Also, everyone do a shot for a Kit Hughes mention! His ghost still haunts the halls of the Sebo.

[BillyLP]

Also, everyone do a shot for a Kit Hughes mention! His ghost still haunts the halls of the Sebo.

[footballguy51]

Here’s a thought. We received a donation/promise of $1 million. We were to use that money to upgrade the stadium. Financially, the program wasn’t going to stay afloat for long, so it would make sense to start investing in stadium upgrades if the stadium would soon be vacated, especially since we would only have $200,000 to work with until the guy dies. Since the money was designated for stadium upgrades, we couldn’t necessarily spend it on keeping the program running (like that group of alumni did). Now that the program is at least safe for three years, you now have to determine if the program will be able to sustain itself for longer in order to justify doing stadium upgrades.

Apparently Haas stopped donating money many years ago, well before we even named the stadium after him and certainly before we made the decision to cut the program. So, the cutting of the program didn’t stop him from fulfilling his obligation.

[BGDrew]

If the athletic department is unable/unwilling to meet the requests/demands of a donation then they should decline them.

[hammb]

Seems to me he was upset about the portion of the gift they HAD received (I read it when it came out now Blade says I cannot again, so I don't remember exactly) not being used in the manner he thought it was to have been used. Wasn't that portion $160k or thereabouts from the article? Knowing the BG Atheltic Dept. they used that to plant grass seed, or cut the grass or some BS, and called it "Stadium improvements". Yeah, the bulk of the gift was a life insurance policy, but $160k should have been enough to make a noticeable improvement to the stadium.

And the state of the program is freaking irrelevant. If you accept a million dollar donation to improve the stadium, you use it to improve the effing stadium. IT does not matter what you think the long term outlook of the program is. If you do not want to improve the stadium, then don't accept the money.

None of this should be the least bit surprising. The department is cashing checks for north of $800k a year from Bill Frack's trust to improve the Hoops program. By all accounts he had done as much as he could to protect HOW that money was supposed to be used, and I know in his own words it was to be used to help us become a Butler or Gonzaga. Specifically he talked in the past about using that money to bring in better coaches (he gave MORE money specifically to get Jans signed), and improve the OOC schedule. Well they keep cashing those checks to pay a coach that had zero competing offers, and they haven't scheduled even a single "buy game" type OOC home game since the 2017-18 game against FGCU "Frack Challenge". In the ensuing years they've made the "Bill Frack Challenge" into a farce, first using it to bring in Findlay, and this year and 2 years ago. I'd be willing to bet that hosting a Frack Challenge is a stipulation of the donation, so now they're using it on freaking conference games.

Nobody should ever question why people don't want to donate to this shitty department. I refuse to join the Falcon Club (not that my donations move the needle a micrometer) for exactly this reason. When I get enough money (c'mon Powerball!) to donate with the stipulation that the asshats in charge are all fired, THEN, I'll consider it. Until that time they should be happy they still get my ticket revenue.

[TommyG]

The donation was supposed to kick start a turf and stadium enclosure. The department started approaching baseball donors and asking them to donate to the Athletic Directors discretion fund instead of a baseball facility project. Obviously the donors were hesitant to do that.
There was basically no progress made to upgrade anything and Haas wanted to see the department make some effort. They just dragged their feet so he stopped paying. From what I’ve heard Haas wanted the stadium named after him and the department did it to try and keep his donation. Obviously cutting the program was the last straw and the donation was officially pulled.

[TommyG]

Moosebrugger is just a bad AD…it’s a fact. Not worth even debating

[guest44]

This department loves to tell you what you should do with your money. Then Kit Hughes gives a whopping $120 to the Falcon Club. That's .5 a parking pass.

[hammb]

Moosebrugger is just a bad AD…it’s a fact. Not worth even debating

I don't know how this is even up for debate at all.

Worst part is he's bad enough he won't get a better gig, and we won't fire him. SO unless he decides to just bail like Kingston I think we're stuck with him for awhile. The Department doesn't care about excellence, and they clearly are tone deaf with how to generate new donors/revenue.

Such a bizarre way to run D1 sports.

[guest44]

There is hope of Moose just walking. It only took 7 years and like 50 attempts but somebody actually hired Hughes away. I’d give it about 18 months before his ego will have him in a scandal at Holy Cross. Since Moose defers to others on hires such as the football coach maybe Bowling Green will hire an new assistant with a clue.

[Flipper]

I blame the administration 100%. The department is going to suck...it's in their DNA. Someone should have demanded more from them a long time ago instead of just sailing along in a vast ocean of suck

[hammb]

I blame the administration 100%. The department is going to suck...it's in their DNA. Someone should have demanded more from them a long time ago instead of just sailing along in a vast ocean of suck

Yes, the Athletic Department's issues have largely been ongoing since Christopher (and before, really). Improperly using funds is a massive issue perhaps unique to Moosbrugger, but the overall ops have been so bad for so long this is above the head of the AD.

For some reason the University Administration has been content to hire an AD and then just let them go with the flow of suck that is the department. Why are they never held accountable? Why are gameday ops (things that in many cases would cost almost nothing) never addressed? Why is there zero commitment to excellence with any of the revenue sports? Yadda, yadda...

Specific to this thread and misappropriation of funds, if I call Moose and offer to donate a million bucks to commission a Keith McLeod statue at the Stroh they should either say A) We don't want an eyesore like that, or B) Awesome, tell us the artist. Sure it's a stupid ass use of a million bucks (no matter how much I love ya Keith!). But if it's MY million bucks the department should either accept the gift and build a statue, or turn it down. If I'm giving you money, you don't get a choice how its used. And nobody in their right mind would ever give this AD money to use "at his discretion." He's lost all credibility.

[footballguy51]

Moosebrugger is just a bad AD…it’s a fact. Not worth even debating

I don't know how this is even up for debate at all.

Worst part is he's bad enough he won't get a better gig, and we won't fire him. SO unless he decides to just bail like Kingston I think we're stuck with him for awhile. The Department doesn't care about excellence, and they clearly are tone deaf with how to generate new donors/revenue.

Such a bizarre way to run D1 sports.

Did you notice that they don't even do the 50/50 anymore? They didn't make a ton off that, but they made something.

[hammb]

Moosebrugger is just a bad AD…it’s a fact. Not worth even debating

I don't know how this is even up for debate at all.

Worst part is he's bad enough he won't get a better gig, and we won't fire him. SO unless he decides to just bail like Kingston I think we're stuck with him for awhile. The Department doesn't care about excellence, and they clearly are tone deaf with how to generate new donors/revenue.

Such a bizarre way to run D1 sports.

Did you notice that they don't even do the 50/50 anymore? They didn't make a ton off that, but they made something.

Holy s**t, you know what you're right! We finally got out of quarantines and went to the last home game, and I think you're right, no more 50/50. I typically only bought tickets on games with better attendance, but wow. I remember my grandpa religiously buying his tickets as we entered Anderson way back when I was a toddler. It was a religion, and I think he did get pulled once or twice over the years.

Why the hell would they stop doing something that is basically just free revenue (albeit not large with our attendance of late).

This group man...