UTAD donations down more than 25% last year

#51
#51
The Ron Mexico said:
It is a bad idea to give money to someone that you believe will mismanage it. I compare it to giving an alcoholic a drink just to get him to shut up. But I put most of that on Hamilton.
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Yeah, sorta like giving the Mayor another penny sales tax so now you are paying 10% on everything you buy. Meanwhile, total mis-management reigns.

This is South Alabama fyi.
 
#52
#52
Some sad comments with this article. All those people pushed aside for the corporate dollar. Now that corporate dollar is backing Alabama or the next Johnny football.
 
#53
#53
RoanokeVol said:
I do believe that everybody should do what they feel is right. If you feel that not putting any money into the program is the best thing to do, then I encourage you to continue to not purchase any Tennessee memorabilia, don't watch games, don't accept Tennessee related gifts, etc. But I am looking at all of your posts and they are all very negative and they seem to touch your dismay with just about every facet of UT. Your avatar even refers to the death of Tennessee football. So what keeps you around? Do you have a vested interest in the university that does not allow you to follow another team that is in better shape? It appears from your posts, and I definitely do not want to assume so correct me if I am wrong, that you do not want to have anything to do with the university until an administration that you deem fitting is in place, money is spent the way you feel it should and the coach that is hired proves to you he can win. Actually I can't say you don't want to have ANYTHING to do with Tennessee. You do want to continue to spend a lot of time on a Tennessee message board complaining about everything.
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Good post until the last sentence. Friday is the first time I have posted in a while.

I admit that I am very disheartened about the state of UT. I don't have a negative view on everything. I tend to be more vocal about things I feel should be different. As for the avy, did that 2 months ago when honestly my nerves were very raw. I haven't given it another thought as I am nearly exclusively on mobile and pay little to no attention to such things.
 
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#54
#54
JayVols said:
Is there something wrong with offering both spectrums something?
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That's the point. We're not offering the top end of the spectrum yet. Right now Tennessee doesn't have a great public university. Our top kids can either take on the debt of a private school like Vandy, settle for a third-tier education, or go out of state. We've got plenty of university campuses around the state -- Martin, MTSU, UTC, ETSU, Knoxville. What we don't have is a top-shelf public school to help us retain our best high schoolers -- and attract other smart kids from elsewhere.

The combo of a top public university in Knoxville and the Oak Ridge National Lab could be an economic dynamo for Tennessee. But people don't want it to happen.
 
#55
#55
JayVols said:
Good post until the last sentence. Friday is the first time I have posted in a while.

I admit that I am very disheartened about the state of UT. I don't have a negative view on everything. I tend to be more vocal about things I feel should be different. As for the avy, did that 2 months ago when honestly my nerves were very raw. I haven't given it another thought as I am nearly exclusively on mobile and pay little to no attention to such things.
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I had to take a little jab. :)
 
#56
#56
Vercingetorix said:
That's the point. We're not offering the top end of the spectrum yet. Right now Tennessee doesn't have a great public university. Our top kids can either take on the debt of a private school like Vandy, settle for a third-tier education, or go out of state. We've got plenty of university campuses around the state -- Martin, MTSU, UTC, ETSU, Knoxville. What we don't have is a top-shelf public school to help us retain our best high schoolers -- and attract other smart kids from elsewhere.

The combo of a top public university in Knoxville and the Oak Ridge National Lab could be an economic dynamo for Tennessee. But people don't want it to happen.
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Aeronautical engineering isn't challeging? There's plenty of challenging curricula available at UT.


As far as UT and Oak Ridge, you're on the money. It would be a force, but should a sociology major be required to do the exact same things as a nuclear engineering major? I don't think it's a situation of not wanting it to happen. It's more of a "it has to be one way or the other" mindset. We can do what you propose while not abandoning the university's charter.
 
#58
#58
I think UT offers plenty of programs to be proud of. In particular, the Aeronautical and Defense MBA program.

I never really bought in to the "I gotta go to a private/prestigious school to feel good about myself" stuff. I tend to believe in work ethic after graduation rather than the name of the school.

Feel free to curse me like a dog. I'm used to it.
 
#59
#59
The Ron Mexico said:
I think UT offers plenty of programs to be proud of. In particular, the Aeronautical and Defense MBA program.

I never really bought in to the "I gotta go to a private/prestigious school to feel good about myself" stuff. I tend to believe in work ethic after graduation rather than the name of the school.

Feel free to curse me like a dog. I'm used to it.
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I agree with you.

As a general rule, I have found that you get out of an education what you are willing to put into it. That holds true for most anything.
 
#60
#60
JayVols said:
Aeronautical engineering isn't challeging? There's plenty of challenging curricula available at UT.


As far as UT and Oak Ridge, you're on the money. It would be a force, but should a sociology major be required to do the exact same things as a nuclear engineering major? I don't think it's a situation of not wanting it to happen. It's more of a "it has to be one way or the other" mindset. We can do what you propose while not abandoning the university's charter.
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Where does the high school senior with the 99th percentile test scores but who doesn't know what she wants to do for a living yet for in? She looks at the rankings of the best public school in her state, and she laughs, and she goes somewhere else. We have a half dozen public university campuses in Tennessee. They don't all have to pander to the least common denominator.

The Research Triangle is great for the state of North Carolina. It doesn't exist without UNC-Chapel Hill being an elite institution. Ever heard anyone from North Carolina complain about it?
 
#61
#61
My friend called the stadium last year and asked them what time the Georgia State game started, and they said what time can you get here?
 
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#62
#62
Vercingetorix said:
Where does the high school senior with the 99th percentile test scores but who doesn't know what she wants to do for a living yet for in? She looks at the rankings of the best public school in her state, and she laughs, and she goes somewhere else. We have a half dozen public university campuses in Tennessee. They don't all have to pander to the least common denominator.

The Research Triangle is great for the state of North Carolina. It doesn't exist without UNC-Chapel Hill being an elite institution. Ever heard anyone from North Carolina complain about it?
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LCD? Come on. You are belittling people that are willing to get a degree, work, and contribute to society. Whether it's a PhD chemist or a social worker, that is good for our society.

All I would say is that we aren't UNC nor was UT set up to be. Doesn't mean that we can't grow into something good while still offering diverse educational opportunities to many. Again, I propose that we can do both.

Just to understand your mindset- no "attack" or bad will intended. Do you think it best to offer higher educational opportunities to a limited number of individuals or to offer broader educational opportunities to more individuals?
 
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#64
#64
JayVols said:
LCD? Come on. You are belittling people that are willing to get a degree, work, and contribute to society. Whether it's a PhD chemist or a social worker, that is good for our society.

All I would say is that we aren't UNC nor was UT set up to be. Doesn't mean that we can't grow into something good while still offering diverse educational opportunities to many. Again, I propose that we can do both.

Just to understand your mindset- no "attack" or bad will intended. Do you think it best to offer higher educational opportunities to a limited number of individuals or to offer a broader educational opportunities to more individuals?
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I think the goal should be to maximize everything. A statewide system of community and four year colleges to ensure anyone up wants it to get a education. A flagship university like other states have to keep our top students and attract new ones. It isn't either/or. We have Martin, UTC, MTSU, ETSU. All the campuses don't have to be the same.

Schools like UVA, UNC, UGA are an unmitigated public good. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want that for our state too.
 
#65
#65
Vercingetorix said:
That's the point. We're not offering the top end of the spectrum yet. Right now Tennessee doesn't have a great public university. Our top kids can either take on the debt of a private school like Vandy, settle for a third-tier education, or go out of state. We've got plenty of university campuses around the state -- Martin, MTSU, UTC, ETSU, Knoxville. What we don't have is a top-shelf public school to help us retain our best high schoolers -- and attract other smart kids from elsewhere.

The combo of a top public university in Knoxville and the Oak Ridge National Lab could be an economic dynamo for Tennessee. But people don't want it to happen.
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ORNL has always had a great rapport with UT. Just curious, what do u propose should be done?
 
#66
#66
VolBadger said:
ORNL has always had a great rapport with UT. Just curious, what do u propose should be done?
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Same thing UGA did with their lottery money. Attract top professors, keep raising admissions standards. Everything is in place for the UTK/ORNL partnership to really take off except the elite students.
 
#67
#67
Vercingetorix said:
I think the goal should be to maximize everything. A statewide system of community and four year colleges to ensure anyone up wants it to get a education. A flagship university like other states have to keep our top students and attract new ones. It isn't either/or.

Schools like UVA, UNC, UGA are an unmitigated public good. I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want that for our state too.
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I understand, and great points. But again, I don't think anyone doesn't want that. I just think we can do everything you mentioned at UT while remaining true to our land grant charter. Perhaps I'm a dreamer.

Gotta run. Have a good one, my friend.
 
#68
#68
Vercingetorix said:
Same thing UGA did with their lottery money. Attract top professors, keep raising admissions standards. Everything is in place for the UTK/ORNL partnership to really take off except the elite students.
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i'm under the impression engineering in general has always been pretty good at UT, but yes, "elite talent" still does slip through the cracks and go to other schools

also, as a current student i can say that they are trying to attract top professors...however, most of the new profs i have had (or heard of) can barely speak English. It's really disheartening too, because u can tell that the department heads are at least trying to make UT a better place...but are in fact hurting it by providing profs that can't communicate his/her curriculum properly
 
#69
#69
kamoshika said:
Donations to the University of Tennessee athletic department, and the number of people who gifted that money, fell by more than 25 percent in 2012.

The $10 million drop followed coaching shake-ups and a poor performance on the football field — but it also came after years of record giving to the department.
Tennessee athletic department wrestling with downturn in giving » Knoxville News Sentinel
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I've made a very good proposal to the UT AD as to how to raise revenue without spending much, if any, at all. Jury's still out but they have to act quickly and start thinking outside the box.
 
#70
#70
JayVols said:
There is a growing number of folks who feel this way. I am with you my friend. No donations, no tickets, no PPVs, and no merchandise.....period.

I've asked my family that they do the same. I also asked them to refrain from purchasing any gifts (birthday/Christmas) that relate to UT.

We are a land grant university designed to benefit the whole state. We weren't intended to be exclusionary like an Ivy League school.
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Sad that Tenn has fans like you.
 
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#74
#74
Down 25% isn't bad considering the product has been down close to 100% for years now.
 
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#75
#75
Maybe the powers that be should have thought a little more before making 200 million dollars worth of renovations in the middle of one of the biggest economic downturns this country has seen in generations.

They also cut 2.5 million from the budget by consolidating the men and women's athletic departs, something that was long overdue.

They are also looking at an additional 5-10 million a year increase from the renegotiated tv contracts from Texas A&M and Missouri to the SEC.

And let's not forget the 6 million dollar a year "gift" back to the University that will be off the books for the next three years thanks to Cheek and Hart.

They also already projected the down turn in donations and ticket sales in part with the new budget in going from 104 to 99 million dollars.

Yeah, things were ugly last year and will be this year but they are set up to recover nicely. Especially when Dooley's ridiculous buyout comes off the books.

I'll keep getting my tickets but I am not inclined to give more to an AD that has been selling substandard goods for the better part of a decade and been mismanaged at every turn.

If they are to get any more money from me, it won't be going directly to the athletic department.
 
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