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Jordan-Hare Stadium Renovation


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Not pissed he spent it. Pissed he spent it on things he and his department should be able to figure out themselves.

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Not pissed he spent it. Pissed he spent it on things he and his department should be able to figure out themselves.

That's a college thing. My wife's school constantly highers outside consultants to figure things out that they could easily handle internally. It annoys her to no end, not just because it's a waste of money that could go to the staff, who haven't gotten raises in forever, but also because the consultant's lack of first hand experience usually causes them not to find the best solution to fit all of the variables.

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Not pissed he spent it. Pissed he spent it on things he and his department should be able to figure out themselves.

That's a college thing. My wife's school constantly highers outside consultants to figure things out that they could easily handle internally. It annoys her to no end, not just because it's a waste of money that could go to the staff, who haven't gotten raises in forever, but also because the consultant's lack of first hand experience usually causes them not to find the best solution to fit all of the variables.

Generally consultants are brought in to provide expertise that is not in-house and for which it makes no sense to keep full-time employees on hand for special projects that occur time to time . And whether you agree or not ,consultants provide a sense of independent thinking that is sometimes missing in an organization.

As noted above..wait until you see the design consultant's fee on a $300 million job. JMO....but unless you know what the consultant did to earn those fees..this is just pointless sniping....but the anti- JJ folks need something to keep themselves motivated I guess.

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Not pissed he spent it. Pissed he spent it on things he and his department should be able to figure out themselves.

That's a college thing. My wife's school constantly highers outside consultants to figure things out that they could easily handle internally. It annoys her to no end, not just because it's a waste of money that could go to the staff, who haven't gotten raises in forever, but also because the consultant's lack of first hand experience usually causes them not to find the best solution to fit all of the variables.

Generally consultants are brought in to provide expertise that is not in-house and for which it makes no sense to keep full-time employees on hand for special projects that occur time to time . And whether you agree or not ,consultants provide a sense of independent thinking that is sometimes missing in an organization.

As noted above..wait until you see the design consultant's fee on a $300 million job. JMO....but unless you know what the consultant did to earn those fees..this is just pointless sniping....but the anti- JJ folks need something to keep themselves motivated I guess.

Believe me, I know the value of a consultant. I work as a design consultant, frequently. That being said, a lot of the time consultants are brought in because the people in charge have no clue about the capabilities of their existing staff (usually not the case in a design consultant engagement, because more often than not, organizations don't have full time staff with design expertise). Another reason is that the big money backers tend to believe consultants more than internal studies. In both cases, the biggest beneficiary is often the consultant and not the organization that hired them.

Example... my wife's school spent 5 figures on a consultant to determine the best use for space in a building that was vacated when her department was moved to a new building. The existing staff could have solved that "issue" with a couple of meetings and some emails. That space still sits empty, by they way.

So, while whether Auburn utilized consultants properly or not has yet to be determined, there are certainly plenty of examples of large amounts of money being wasted on consultants who don't necessarily bring more to the table than was already available.

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Not pissed he spent it. Pissed he spent it on things he and his department should be able to figure out themselves.

That's a college thing. My wife's school constantly highers outside consultants to figure things out that they could easily handle internally. It annoys her to no end, not just because it's a waste of money that could go to the staff, who haven't gotten raises in forever, but also because the consultant's lack of first hand experience usually causes them not to find the best solution to fit all of the variables.

Generally consultants are brought in to provide expertise that is not in-house and for which it makes no sense to keep full-time employees on hand for special projects that occur time to time . And whether you agree or not ,consultants provide a sense of independent thinking that is sometimes missing in an organization.

As noted above..wait until you see the design consultant's fee on a $300 million job. JMO....but unless you know what the consultant did to earn those fees..this is just pointless sniping....but the anti- JJ folks need something to keep themselves motivated I guess.

I totally agree with your viewpoint. I certainly dont like everything JJ has done, in certain areas, but there are things that have been great for this athletic department and the fans who was successful teams on the court or field.

There is no way someone within the AD would know how to develop a comprehensive plan for upgrading a multifaceted athletic department facilities. This is not just for the Football stadium enhancements. Even if it was, there are consultants that have much more experience and creativity in providing future plans for the stadium's north endzone, and all the other needs JJ and staff wanted to upgrade. This is NOT just about adding seats.

So i also agree that those on here that complain, simply because they don't like his coaching hires and/or firings, or his decision making on upgrades and facilities, only look for more things to complain about.

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Administration

Name Position Contact

Jay Jacobs Director of Athletics (334) 844-9891

Lori Arthurs Chief Financial Officer (334) 844-9655

Ward Swift Chief Marketing Officer (334) 844-4631

Meredith Jenkins Executive Associate AD / SWA (334) 844-9733

Rich McGlynn Executive Associate AD (334) 844-4750

Dr. Gary Waters Senior Associate AD / Academic Services (334) 524-3667

Bernard Hill Senior Associate AD (334) 844-9647

David Mines Associate AD (334) 844-9141

Joy Stephenson Vrbka Associate AD (334) 844-7412

Dody Cadenhead Executive Assistant (334) 844-9733

Laura Ballard Executive Assistant (334) 844-9592

Caroline Slupe Executive Support Specialist to the Athletics Director (334) 844-4045

Ron Pilz Director of Air Transportation (334) 844-4216

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There is no way someone within the AD would know how to develop a comprehensive plan for upgrading a multifaceted athletic department facilities. This is not just for the Football stadium enhancements. Even if it was, there are consultants that have much more experience and creativity in providing future plans for the stadium's north endzone, and all the other needs JJ and staff wanted to upgrade. This is NOT just about adding seats.

So i also agree that those on here that complain, simply because they don't like his coaching hires and/or firings, or his decision making on upgrades and facilities, only look for more things to complain about.

I think you're missing the point, Steel. People aren't complaining about the design consulting engagement. It's a no brainer that we need that. They are complaining about the follow-up consulting engagement for feasibility of the project. The fact that we need outside help to figure out if we can afford to do something or how to raise the money/get buy in from the donors to make it happen is a bit disconcerting.

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There is no way someone within the AD would know how to develop a comprehensive plan for upgrading a multifaceted athletic department facilities. This is not just for the Football stadium enhancements. Even if it was, there are consultants that have much more experience and creativity in providing future plans for the stadium's north endzone, and all the other needs JJ and staff wanted to upgrade. This is NOT just about adding seats.

So i also agree that those on here that complain, simply because they don't like his coaching hires and/or firings, or his decision making on upgrades and facilities, only look for more things to complain about.

I think you're missing the point, Steel. People aren't complaining about the design consulting engagement. It's a no brainer that we need that. They are complaining about the follow-up consulting engagement for feasibility of the project. The fact that we need outside help to figure out if we can afford to do something or how to raise the money/get buy in from the donors to make it happen is a bit disconcerting.

Well when the costs keep changing from a figure of +/-$175mill back before Christmas to a new figure in the +/-$300 million range; I'd think the need for outside consulting help is needed greatly. I mean if the AU Administration needed help to determine how they'd finance a $175mm project then they dang sure need help when the price tag has damn near doubled.
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Does anyone know what the increase of 125 mil was caused by? I too can see the reason for the reevaluation.

I see now that the complaints (mostly) are from those who don't understand the need for additional consulting, and if the increase is that much then I am wondering now too why the need. Only thing I can think of, is he needs more options to help fund the cost, and he wants experts to analyze and determine how to go about it, or if it is even possible.

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It's also possible that being a public university JJ wants to be able to prove a project is worth the money and time before it gets to start. Imagine the uproar if a project goes south without an outside consultation on record... "So and so did this with MY donated money without asking a professional?!" Reveals a bit of the background work to support that it's on the up and up, not just via the good old boy network.

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It's also possible that being a public university JJ wants to be able to prove a project is worth the money and time before it gets to start. Imagine the uproar if a project goes south without an outside consultation on record... "So and so did this with MY donated money without asking a professional?!" Reveals a bit of the background work to support that it's on the up and up, not just via the good old boy network.

Well it has to financially at least. Per new BOT rules 1/3 of funds must be raised before a project can start.
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It's also possible that being a public university JJ wants to be able to prove a project is worth the money and time before it gets to start. Imagine the uproar if a project goes south without an outside consultation on record... "So and so did this with MY donated money without asking a professional?!" Reveals a bit of the background work to support that it's on the up and up, not just via the good old boy network.

A "cover your ass" type arrangement. I can't blame Jacobs in the least for hiring the professional consultants. Hell, if he didn't some AU folks would complain that he was totally uneducated about a project of this magnitude and he allowed the good ole boy network to reign over a $300 million project. Some folks will bash him either way so he may as well cover his ass and get input from the professionals.
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It's also possible that being a public university JJ wants to be able to prove a project is worth the money and time before it gets to start. Imagine the uproar if a project goes south without an outside consultation on record... "So and so did this with MY donated money without asking a professional?!" Reveals a bit of the background work to support that it's on the up and up, not just via the good old boy network.

A "cover your ass" type arrangement. I can't blame Jacobs in the least for hiring the professional consultants. Hell, if he didn't consultants folks would complain that he was totally uneducated about a project of this magnitude and he allowed the good ole boy network to reign over a $300million project. Some folks will bash him either way so he may as well cover his ass and get input from the professionals.

JJ did not spend the whole 850k on consultants for the stadium upgrade. Not even 1/3 of this money went to the renovation.

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It's also possible that being a public university JJ wants to be able to prove a project is worth the money and time before it gets to start. Imagine the uproar if a project goes south without an outside consultation on record... "So and so did this with MY donated money without asking a professional?!" Reveals a bit of the background work to support that it's on the up and up, not just via the good old boy network.

A "cover your ass" type arrangement. I can't blame Jacobs in the least for hiring the professional consultants. Hell, if he didn't consultants folks would complain that he was totally uneducated about a project of this magnitude and he allowed the good ole boy network to reign over a $300million project. Some folks will bash him either way so he may as well cover his ass and get input from the professionals.

JJ did not spend the whole 850k on consultants for the stadium upgrade. Not even 1/3 of this money went to the renovation.

So what is he getting consulted on that his own in-house staffers could have accomplished on their own? Seriously, if the folks you talk to are pissed that he spent an exorbitant amount of money on consulting fees for 2015 of which less than 1/3 was for the renovation project, then what were the other expenditures for?

Firing Sunny Galloway/Hiring a new baseball coach? Consultant's opinion on new field turf, or new panels for the flip side of the AubieTron?

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I bet you Jacobs even had to have some consulting before spending 13.9 million on that blame new scoreboard.

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I bet you Jacobs even had to have some consulting before spending 13.9 million on that blame new scoreboard.

Well, what Athletic Director or any AD staffer wouldn't require consultation on attaching something that massive to the stadium? You hire professionals to handle something of that magnitude.
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It's also possible that being a public university JJ wants to be able to prove a project is worth the money and time before it gets to start. Imagine the uproar if a project goes south without an outside consultation on record... "So and so did this with MY donated money without asking a professional?!" Reveals a bit of the background work to support that it's on the up and up, not just via the good old boy network.

A "cover your ass" type arrangement. I can't blame Jacobs in the least for hiring the professional consultants. Hell, if he didn't consultants folks would complain that he was totally uneducated about a project of this magnitude and he allowed the good ole boy network to reign over a $300million project. Some folks will bash him either way so he may as well cover his ass and get input from the professionals.

JJ did not spend the whole 850k on consultants for the stadium upgrade. Not even 1/3 of this money went to the renovation.

I assumed this is what you were implying earlier as an answer to my question. Thanks for that confirmation.

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One thing I can say about Jacobs. He sure knows how to write big checks of Auburn money without giving it a second thought. Doesn't matter if it's for scoreboard, keep paying former coaches like Chizik, Tuberville and let Muschamp walk out on AU with no buyout in his 1.6 million contract.

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Administration

Name Position Contact

Jay Jacobs Director of Athletics (334) 844-9891

Lori Arthurs Chief Financial Officer (334) 844-9655

Ward Swift Chief Marketing Officer (334) 844-4631

Meredith Jenkins Executive Associate AD / SWA (334) 844-9733

Rich McGlynn Executive Associate AD (334) 844-4750

Dr. Gary Waters Senior Associate AD / Academic Services (334) 524-3667

Bernard Hill Senior Associate AD (334) 844-9647

David Mines Associate AD (334) 844-9141

Joy Stephenson Vrbka Associate AD (334) 844-7412

Dody Cadenhead Executive Assistant (334) 844-9733

Laura Ballard Executive Assistant (334) 844-9592

Caroline Slupe Executive Support Specialist to the Athletics Director (334) 844-4045

Ron Pilz Director of Air Transportation (334) 844-4216

That sure is allot of people with AD beside their name.
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You think?

Administration

Name Position Contact

Jay Jacobs Director of Athletics (334) 844-9891

Lori Arthurs Chief Financial Officer (334) 844-9655

Ward Swift Chief Marketing Officer (334) 844-4631

Meredith Jenkins Executive Associate AD / SWA (334) 844-9733

Rich McGlynn Executive Associate AD (334) 844-4750

Dr. Gary Waters Senior Associate AD / Academic Services (334) 524-3667

Bernard Hill Senior Associate AD (334) 844-9647

David Mines Associate AD (334) 844-9141

Joy Stephenson Vrbka Associate AD (334) 844-7412

Dody Cadenhead Executive Assistant (334) 844-9733

Laura Ballard Executive Assistant (334) 844-9592

Caroline Slupe Executive Support Specialist to the Athletics Director (334) 844-4045

Ron Pilz Director of Air Transportation (334) 844-4216

That sure is allot of people with AD beside their name.

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Gee whiz guys ...It is a 100 million dollar business running 20 sports and dozens of business relationships....It is not the local Burger King.. Did nobody take BOM at AU ?

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One thing I can say about Jacobs. He sure knows how to write big checks of Auburn money without giving it a second thought. Doesn't matter if it's for scoreboard, keep paying former coaches like Chizik, Tuberville and let Muschamp walk out on AU with no buyout in his 1.6 million contract.

Jay Jacobs can't write big checks without the review, oversight, and approval of the BOT. He can negotiate contracts for salaries, services contracts, etc. but they don't get the final execution and AU stamp of approval without the approval of the BOT. Auburn athletics is BIG business and it's making money. Jay Jacobs is doing his job.
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One thing I can say about Jacobs. He sure knows how to write big checks of Auburn money without giving it a second thought. Doesn't matter if it's for scoreboard, keep paying former coaches like Chizik, Tuberville and let Muschamp walk out on AU with no buyout in his 1.6 million contract.

Jay Jacobs can't write big checks without the review, oversight, and approval of the BOT. He can negotiate contracts for salaries, services contracts, etc. but they don't get the final execution and AU stamp of approval without the approval of the BOT. Auburn athletics is BIG business and it's making money. Jay Jacobs is doing his job.

You are wasting your time Keesler. auburn4Never will never have anything positive to say about anything related to Auburn University, nor will he bother to actually read what people post here to counter his ridiculous, and totally inaccurate comments. He has no clue how something like the athletic department operates, yet (thinks he knows) what it takes to be the AD at a MAJOR D1 school. He just parrots the same stuff day after day.

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