Tennessee can't afford to keep Pruitt

#1
Volsfaninva917

Volsfaninva917

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#1
Good stuff here from Basilio's website today
The Tony Basilio Show

The following are actual numbers from the 2019 fiscal year (football only) and also just absolute random guesses.
spacer.gif
(Primary source - Blake Toppmeyer KNS)

A popular idea being floated around town is that UTAD just doesn’t have the money to fire Pruitt, after all, Pruitts buyout all by himself is more than the UTAD has in reserve. That statement is true, however the context is completely incorrect. Pruitt will not be payed in a single lump sum, therefore what is in reserves is not the primary determining factor.

Let’s look at the numbers ...
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2019 Fiscal Year (football)

Total Revenue: $96.1M
spacer.gif
Total Expenses: $52.7M
spacer.gif
Difference: $43.4M Surplus



Conclusion: Is keeping Pruitt saving money or spending money? It’s beyond obvious, (no offense Roger,) that keeping Pruitt is a disastrous move football wise. Donations will continue to fall, ticket sales will fall, merchandising will fall, etc. Also, no rational argument can be made that hiring a proven winner, even though risky, in Hugh Freeze, who’s already a popular figure with the majority of the fan base, will not swell the coffers.
 
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#2
#2
Don't forget you will be saving 240K per month when Butch is paid off after 3 more payments. All this money comes out of another account so we are not really sure adds to it, so its not all university money per say.
 
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#4
#4
Volsfaninva917 said:
Good stuff here from Basilio's website today
The Tony Basilio Show

The following are actual numbers from the 2019 fiscal year (football only) and also just absolute random guesses.
spacer.gif
(Primary source - Blake Toppmeyer KNS)

A popular idea being floated around town is that UTAD just doesn’t have the money to fire Pruitt, after all, Pruitts buyout all by himself is more than the UTAD has in reserve. That statement is true, however the context is completely incorrect. Pruitt will not be payed in a single lump sum, therefore what is in reserves is not the primary determining factor.

Let’s look at the numbers ...
spacer.gif
2019 Fiscal Year (football)

Total Revenue: $96.1M
spacer.gif
Total Expenses: $52.7M
spacer.gif
Difference: $43.4M Surplus



Conclusion: Is keeping Pruitt saving money or spending money? It’s beyond obvious, (no offense Roger,) that keeping Pruitt is a disastrous move football wise. Donations will continue to fall, ticket sales will fall, merchandising will fall, etc. Also, no rational argument can be made that hiring a proven winner, even though risky, in Hugh Freeze, who’s already a popular figure with the majority of the fan base, will not swell the coffers.
Click to expand...
I see what your saying and agree with most of it, but ticket sales and merch won't see a huge decline, we haven't had 102,455 at home games but still have a pretty good crowd before covid took off, even last year after losing to G State, the BYU game had a great turn out including myself. I know people say empty Neyland and all that but I just can't do it, I love UT and as hard as it's been the last 10 years I'll still be there
 
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#5
#5
MBVFL1 said:
I see what your saying and agree with most of it, but ticket sales and merch won't see a huge decline, we haven't had 102,455 at home games but still have a pretty good crowd before covid took off, even last year after losing to G State, the BYU game had a great turn out including myself. I know people say empty Neyland and all that but I just can't do it, I love UT and as hard as it's been the last 10 years I'll still be there
Click to expand...

Covid will have an impact on attendance for a couple more years and if you couple that with fan apathy it's a recipe for empty seats.
 
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#6
#6
MBVFL1 said:
I see what your saying and agree with most of it, but ticket sales and merch won't see a huge decline, we haven't had 102,455 at home games but still have a pretty good crowd before covid took off, even last year after losing to G State, the BYU game had a great turn out including myself. I know people say empty Neyland and all that but I just can't do it, I love UT and as hard as it's been the last 10 years I'll still be there
Click to expand...
The university counts on you to keep funneling your $ in so they can continue to shop for coaches on the discount rack.
 
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#9
#9
It was a very good article and makes alot of sense. If you hire a coach that the fans deem as a homerun hire you could get more per ticket and donations would go up even if its breaking even or short the money coming in the future more than makes up for it. Apathy from your fans is worse than the failing of a coach. rather we like it or not SEC Football is big business and our CEO Coach is failing. In CHRIST Alone
 
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#12
#12
Volsfaninva917 said:
Good stuff here from Basilio's website today
The Tony Basilio Show

The following are actual numbers from the 2019 fiscal year (football only) and also just absolute random guesses.
spacer.gif
(Primary source - Blake Toppmeyer KNS)

A popular idea being floated around town is that UTAD just doesn’t have the money to fire Pruitt, after all, Pruitts buyout all by himself is more than the UTAD has in reserve. That statement is true, however the context is completely incorrect. Pruitt will not be payed in a single lump sum, therefore what is in reserves is not the primary determining factor.

Let’s look at the numbers ...
spacer.gif
2019 Fiscal Year (football)

Total Revenue: $96.1M
spacer.gif
Total Expenses: $52.7M
spacer.gif
Difference: $43.4M Surplus



Conclusion: Is keeping Pruitt saving money or spending money? It’s beyond obvious, (no offense Roger,) that keeping Pruitt is a disastrous move football wise. Donations will continue to fall, ticket sales will fall, merchandising will fall, etc. Also, no rational argument can be made that hiring a proven winner, even though risky, in Hugh Freeze, who’s already a popular figure with the majority of the fan base, will not swell the coffers.
Click to expand...

Those financial figures for 2019 are approximate. You fail to mention the financial condition of 2020 caused by the virus that has placed the UT AD some "reported" $40 million dollars in the hole.
 
#14
#14
rockytop989 said:
I disagree. Majority of fans will pack the stadium once full capacity is allowed. COVID or not.
Click to expand...

I think you are deluding yourself. Even the Bama's and Clemson's will probably see a slight decline in attendance for the next year or so. I'm not saying Neyland will be close to empty but I would bet with Pruitt back you'll see attendance drop 30-40%. Now opposing fans may pick up some of that slack but wouldn't that be even worse than empty seats?
 
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#15
#15
That was a good breakdown of the situation. I've argued on here several times that the money is there if we want it to be there. And I done the ticket breakdown. This article went into much more detail. And my biggest argument to not let Pruitt have another year is that thought of bringing in a whole new slew of assistants to help him right the ship. That NEVER works - ever. Who wants to come here to be an assistant to a lame duck coach that will likely be fired sometime next season if things keep going the way they are? You won't be drawing from the pool of assistants you want that way. And giving all new assistants 3 year contracts would just be about the dumbest thing you could do because you would have to pay all of them off when Coach Gomer fails.

The crowds were decent last year after the opening two embarrassments but Pruitt was still just in his second year and the hope of the fanbase hadn't died quite yet. This year the curtain has been pulled back for everyone to see what the story is with this head coach. Pruitt don't just lose games he get's blown out most of the time. The UTAD cannot afford to keep the guy. And I've said it repeatedly and see that it was written in this article that Fulmer won't have anything to do with Pruitt being ousted. And he won't have anything to do with the next head coach. They hit the nail on the head there. Fulmer knows his role right now and will sit back, shut up, and cash those checks because he does in fact like the green stuff quite a bit. And that's not a knock - I don't blame him for that at all.

The only thing I don't 100% agree with is that it has to be Freeze or bust. I'd still pick Matt Campbell if you could lure him away from Iowa State. Or, Fickell from Cinci. While Freeze could bring the excitement I do still have some reservations about his staying power. But, I would not argue at all that Tennessee would immediately be a much better team with him at the helm and we would at least be fun to watch. Just get Coach Gomer out and bring in someone with HEAD coaching experience at the D1 level who has shown they can win - that's all I ask. I don't care if we wind up with Jamey Chadwell or Billy Napier because at least those guys are winning now and have turned programs around.
 
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#16
#16
Volsfaninva917 said:
Good stuff here from Basilio's website today
The Tony Basilio Show

The following are actual numbers from the 2019 fiscal year (football only) and also just absolute random guesses.
spacer.gif
(Primary source - Blake Toppmeyer KNS)

A popular idea being floated around town is that UTAD just doesn’t have the money to fire Pruitt, after all, Pruitts buyout all by himself is more than the UTAD has in reserve. That statement is true, however the context is completely incorrect. Pruitt will not be payed in a single lump sum, therefore what is in reserves is not the primary determining factor.

Let’s look at the numbers ...
spacer.gif
2019 Fiscal Year (football)

Total Revenue: $96.1M
spacer.gif
Total Expenses: $52.7M
spacer.gif
Difference: $43.4M Surplus



Conclusion: Is keeping Pruitt saving money or spending money? It’s beyond obvious, (no offense Roger,) that keeping Pruitt is a disastrous move football wise. Donations will continue to fall, ticket sales will fall, merchandising will fall, etc. Also, no rational argument can be made that hiring a proven winner, even though risky, in Hugh Freeze, who’s already a popular figure with the majority of the fan base, will not swell the coffers.
Click to expand...


So, once the "fire the current coach topic" is started, it's a never-ending analysis of salaries and buyout blah blah blah. Let me do the math real quick............CJP is not going anywhere, 2020 is weird altogether, and how a group of you can even contemplate his firing is ridiculous. CJP is not going anywhere in 2020 or 2021. He'll get at least 5 years and rightfully so, he is IN HIS 3rd Year.
 
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#17
#17
FlyFishnVol said:
So, once the "fire the current coach topic" is started, it's a never-ending analysis of salaries and buyout blah blah blah. Let me do the math real quick............CJP is not going anywhere, 2020 is weird altogether, and how a group of you can even contemplate his firing is ridiculous. CJP is not going anywhere in 2020 or 2021. He'll get at least 5 years and rightfully so, he is IN HIS 3rd Year.
Click to expand...
Lol wash, rinse and repeat. 2012, 2017 and now 2020, coaches are getting fired in 2020 and Pruitt might just be one of them
 
#19
#19
MBVFL1 said:
I see what your saying and agree with most of it, but ticket sales and merch won't see a huge decline, we haven't had 102,455 at home games but still have a pretty good crowd before covid took off, even last year after losing to G State, the BYU game had a great turn out including myself. I know people say empty Neyland and all that but I just can't do it, I love UT and as hard as it's been the last 10 years I'll still be there
Click to expand...
Ticket revenue is down a few million from Butch's two promising seasons, probably about 1.5-2% of total reported revenue. Not a lot in the grand scheme but enough to cover a year's buyout payment and absolutely a lot for a department that made a big deal over being a little under $900k in the black in 2019. The only reason they got out of the red last year was increased revenue from men's basketball. The big question is how many of those tickets they're selling are tied to donations? They don't like to share those numbers but I think anyone who has been barraged in recent years by advertisements for zero-donation ticket packages can easily surmise what's up on that front. You think Bama and UGA are offering a donation free season tickets? They're not. Instead, minimum donation requirements for season tickets at winning programs typically increase year over year. A smaller, but important question, is how many tickets is UTAD giving away but crediting to the 'sold' column as part of an exchange for some sort of in-kind donation where no actual cash comes in.

The diehards such as yourself will always be there. I think what the article/blog was getting at is that there is a lot of room for increased revenue if they make a hire that gets other people excited.
 
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#21
#21
I am holding out hope that JG is done and will finish season with Bailey and the offense opens up. It's the only way Pruitt keeps his job
 
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#22
#22
FlyFishnVol said:
So, once the "fire the current coach topic" is started, it's a never-ending analysis of salaries and buyout blah blah blah. Let me do the math real quick............CJP is not going anywhere, 2020 is weird altogether, and how a group of you can even contemplate his firing is ridiculous. CJP is not going anywhere in 2020 or 2021. He'll get at least 5 years and rightfully so, he is IN HIS 3rd Year.
Click to expand...

What has Pruitt done to show he deserves a 4th year let alone a 5th?
 
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#23
#23
FlyFishnVol said:
So, once the "fire the current coach topic" is started, it's a never-ending analysis of salaries and buyout blah blah blah. Let me do the math real quick............CJP is not going anywhere, 2020 is weird altogether, and how a group of you can even contemplate his firing is ridiculous. CJP is not going anywhere in 2020 or 2021. He'll get at least 5 years and rightfully so, he is IN HIS 3rd Year.
Click to expand...

When the current coach continually sucks and underachieves, it is a fair topic IMO. It would die down if UT would hire a competent coach.
 
#25
#25
Spook1 said:
Those financial figures for 2019 are approximate. You fail to mention the financial condition of 2020 caused by the virus that has placed the UT AD some "reported" $40 million dollars in the hole.
Click to expand...
Can't lose what ya ain't got. Not MBA type but isn't it that projections have changed
 
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