AU Sports Having To Cut Budgets 10%

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

Didn’t Au raise a billion dollars a few years back ?? I remember during a day they made an announcement 

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

Just now, JDUBB4AU said:

Didn’t Au raise a billion dollars a few years back ?? I remember during a day they made an announcement 

I believe that was earmarked for the endowment and some academic capital projects.  It had nothing to do with athletics as far as I know.  It was a long overdue attempt to increase the endowment.

 

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

20 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

I believe that was earmarked for the endowment and some academic capital projects.  It had nothing to do with athletics as far as I know.  It was a long overdue attempt to increase the endowment.

 

Oh ok . Thanks 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,679]

On 6/27/2019 at 12:16 PM, aujeff11 said:

Ok. Stop sending our boys off on a bus when others travel by plane then. 

I don’t think Auburn can afford to give leisures to every sport tbh. I feel like football (when not terrible) and basketball are gonna recoup plane costs. I don’t know if the sport that routinely has empty seats...

[ellitor 33,108]

18 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Ok. let's step back from the ledge and help me get something clarified:

1. Was it proven that Gus' actually said he had NO idea what he wanted in a FOF?

@steeleagle Per people close to the program yes.

18 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Or was that Gus being Gus, in that he never wants to explain something to a reporter or to the media when directly asked for specifics? 

I wasn't talking about things said to reporters. That is his media persona. What I'm talking about is what he said to the BOT & PTB. Not the time to play that card & not a good look for him. He's still viewed as just a "High School Coach" by some influential people in the program. He needs to do all he can to endure himself to them as much as he can within reason, especially with his career likely on the line this season.

18 hours ago, steeleagle said:

If Gus is donating 2 Mil to this project, I simply can not believe he has NO idea what he wants.

It's easy to believe. Mostly Gus knows & wants to know about is drawing up plays & calling them.

18 hours ago, steeleagle said:

for 2 mil he has to have some specifics in mind(like a built in Waffle House maybe

You would think. Most people would.

18 hours ago, steeleagle said:

take the best from those that ARE the best in the country), and that makes sense in that someone else is given the responsibility to tour CURRENT FOF on campus'  to see what athletes like as well as the athletic programs.

That'd be nice but that's not Gus. He didn't even say that much.

18 hours ago, steeleagle said:

4. As in Alabama's FOF , i think the AD and other personnel are housed in their building too, so it would seem that our newly formed committee would look at other utilizations of a FOF and not just what Gus needs or wants.

Never said nor implied it should be only about what Gus wants but he should have some specifics in mind even if it's taking stuff from other FOFs.

[CR 2,446]

On 6/28/2019 at 8:40 PM, ellitor said:

 Understood. Just know that one of the people who have said the same as what WDE has posted on here before is BTA from the bunker and he is rarely wrong with Auburn info.

Ellitor, have you listened to the new Tate/Matthews podcast? They discuss some issues regarding AU fundraising and overall financial state of the program. Good stuff.

[Mikey 16,640]

Is Gus bi-polar or are his critics?

Last year the gripe was that Gus wanted to put his own design and features in the FOF and the Board of Trustees wanted a professional team to do the designing, thus the stalemate. Now it's said that Gus doesn't have any idea of what he wants.

I wish the bashers would make their minds up!

[McLoofus 35,182]

25 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Is Gus bi-polar or are his critics?

Last year the gripe was that Gus wanted to put his own design and features in the FOF and the Board of Trustees wanted a professional team to do the designing, thus the stalemate. Now it's said that Gus doesn't have any idea of what he wants.

I wish the bashers would make their minds up!

Those two assertions aren't mutually exclusive. Especially when Gus put $2 million skin in the game. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

15 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Is Gus bi-polar or are his critics?

 

Gus is the punching bag going forward. Nothing he says or doesn’t say,  nothing he does or doesn’t do will be enough for many on here. Gus has never had an interest in designing the FOF and made that known early on. Yet, despite most of the board population wanting Gus to be gone yesterday, they still want his remnants to be scattered throughout within the design of the building and that doesn’t even make sense.  

Just a recap of Gus’s influence on the FOF: 

-Right after 2013 season when the the figuratively speaking stove was hot, Gus said his facilities were fine. This is really the only gripe that can be made. That we didn’t strike then.

-Couple year’s later he warms to the idea. Recently, he announces the only thing we need is a FOF, and has been having discussions with the AD.

- Donates 2 million to the project with no strings  nor conditions attached.

- Uninvited and all, Greene and Malzahn show up to a BOT meeting after it was announced the FOF wouldn’t be on the docket and literally beg for the FOF. Apparently, this prompted the board to tell Leath to get out of the way. 

 

Gus has not been delaying the FOF from being built. Lets just let him go back to being a football coach. 

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

40 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Gus is the punching bag going forward. Nothing he says or doesn’t say,  nothing he does or doesn’t do will be enough for many on here. Gus has never had an interest in designing the FOF and made that known early on. Yet, despite most of the board population wanting Gus to be gone yesterday, they still want his remnants to be scattered throughout within the design of the building and that doesn’t even make sense.  

Just a recap of Gus’s influence on the FOF: 

-Right after 2013 season when the the figuratively speaking stove was hot, Gus said his facilities were fine. This is really the only gripe that can be made. That we didn’t strike then.

-Couple year’s later he warms to the idea. Recently, he announces the only thing we need is a FOF, and has been having discussions with the AD.

- Donates 2 million to the project with no strings  nor conditions attached.

- Uninvited and all, Greene and Malzahn show up to a BOT meeting after it was announced the FOF wouldn’t be on the docket and literally beg for the FOF. Apparently, this prompted the board to tell Leath to get out of the way. 

 

Gus has not been delaying the FOF from being built. Lets just let him go back to being a football coach. 

Part of being a HC is overall program management.  He's not just there to draw up plays on napkins.

[steeleagle 2,945]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

@steeleagle Per people close to the program yes.

I wasn't talking about things said to reporters. That is his media persona. What I'm talking about is what he said to the BOT & PTB. Not the time to play that card & not a good look for him. He's still viewed as just a "High School Coach" by some influential people in the program. He needs to do all he can to endure himself to them as much as he can within reason, especially with his career likely on the line this season.

It's easy to believe. Mostly Gus knows & wants to know about is drawing up plays & calling them.

You would think. Most people would.

That'd be nice but that's not Gus. He didn't even say that much.

Never said nor implied it should be only about what Gus wants but he should have some specifics in mind even if it's taking stuff from other FOFs.

I am not sure why we should be frustrated w/ Gus on this FOF. He showed up at the BOT meeting to enhance the need to get going on the FOF. Now whether it was his idea or AD Greene's to show up unannounced I don't know but he was there. Gus maybe is just not that dominant HC like others who demand control or the upper hand. He is more of a team guy, and works within the chain of command. Like it or not, he is now working in his own ways to get what the program needs.

And I really don't think that enduring himself to the BOT and PTB is going to do diddly-squat with his career. The ONLY thing that will quiet the 'Just a high school coach' group is winning big on the field. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

27 minutes ago, dyehardfanAU said:

Part of being a HC is overall program management.  He's not just there to draw up plays on napkins.

I can imagine Gus has been just as involved with the FOF as he was with the scoreboard, and Auburn football locker room renovations. 

[AU-24 3,107]

On 6/27/2019 at 4:58 PM, keesler said:

  I love you (no homo)

As I said earlier, it is in poor taste to slap Basketball/Baseball/Golf/Equestrian across the face with budget cuts when they are freaking rocking it.  

I appreciate the transparency, but let's not act like there will be no repercussions from this information being released to the public is laughable.  We all understand winning cures everything, but several programs are winning and I don't think they should be penalized because the main revenue sport is consistently mediocre while the staff pulls a top 5 salary year after year after year.

Totally agree! Some people simply can’t believe what their eyes are seeing and their ears are hearing.

[AU-24 3,107]

On 6/28/2019 at 10:45 AM, keesler said:

I also though Greene's response was clear and concise and I think he has a real vision for the future for Auburn athletics.

The article mentions, "The Board of Trustees recently asked to fast-track the FOF building, but the athletic department has struggled to make any firm commitments.  It simply doesn't have enough money to fund a $70million project - even one that deserves fast-tracking."  We've heard that from 65 to 75% of the funds have been pledged for the FOF, so I wonder what the holdup is an why the AD has struggled to make any firm commitments?

 

Inexperienced. Which is not his fault, he just wasn’t that experienced when they hired him. Approximately 80% of the board hates Gus and loves Greene, regardless of facts presented.

Fact: Year and a half on the job for Greene and we’ve seen no significant facility upgrades even with most of the money available.

This isn’t anti-Greene, it’s simply factual. On another note Greene and Gus get along very well; their families do a lot together outside of work etc.

[ellitor 33,108]

5 hours ago, CR said:

Ellitor, have you listened to the new Tate/Matthews podcast? They discuss some issues regarding AU fundraising and overall financial state of the program. Good stuff.

Meant to but not yet.Meant to but not yet.

[steeleagle 2,945]

Has anyone heard actual backlash or just reactions from the current sports programs HCs about this 10% cut? I've heard some don't like, but that doesn't really tell me anything. No manager likes having their budgets cut...

It will be interesting to see if AG does anything to clarify or add to what he already has directed...

[AU-24 3,107]

6 hours ago, Mikey said:

Is Gus bi-polar or are his critics?

Last year the gripe was that Gus wanted to put his own design and features in the FOF and the Board of Trustees wanted a professional team to do the designing, thus the stalemate. Now it's said that Gus doesn't have any idea of what he wants.

I wish the bashers would make their minds up!

Most of the bashers have no inside information, nor any idea what they’re talking about.

[AU64 10,122]

17 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I don’t think Auburn can afford to give leisures to every sport tbh. I feel like football (when not terrible) and basketball are gonna recoup plane costs. I don’t know if the sport that routinely has empty seats...

That's a point but when considering travel,, unless you plan to charter planes for all smaller squads like baseball or basketball, a bus might be more comfortable and convenient.....anyone flying these days on airlines knows what a hassle it can be and considering where AU is located, most plane rides also include a bus ride on each end.    Golf, Tennis Volleyball and probably lots of others likely travel by van/bus to their events and with any luck can get some sleep on the way home.; 

JMO but this grips is just another pot shot at someone in the athletic department.     As I've said, I'm glad someone is gonna look after the pennies as well as the dollars....since it's pretty easy to be loose when you are not spending ;your own money. 

[doc4aday 1,887]

I think if we could pull back all of the layers concerning this from A to Z, we will find some kind of bammer underhandedness behind all of this.  Makes sense in that you are not hearing of any financial issues with bammer.  I think bammer dislikes us so much that they would go to just about any lengths to cause anything to do with Auburn sports, a bad name.

I learned my lesson last fall with all of the reporting of Gus being gone and all of the other wild stories about the state of Auburn football. My lord, we just played in the final 4, college world series, and other sport successes and now we are hearing all kinds of budget woes. That school in west Alabama will stop at nothing to make Auburn look like it is going out of business if draconian cuts are not implemented.

Our beat reporters have nothing news worthy to report on, so making Auburn sports appear to be on the brink of financial collapse is something they can run with and then some. My guess is that things financially are in much better shape than our beat reporters and other rumor mongering  outlets are spewing out in grand proportions.  I would guess that in a month or so, all of this will go away and we will be back on sound footing across all Auburn sports.

[Mikey 16,640]

14 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Those two assertions aren't mutually exclusive. Especially when Gus put $2 million skin in the game. 

First saying Gus has his own design for the facility and then saying he has no idea what he wants is indeed putting forth mutually exclusive information. Both statements can't be correct.

According to some, Gus was meddling in minute details last year and now the same people are saying Gus doesn't know what he wants this year. Which is it?

Gus putting $2 million into it has no bearing on their conflicting stories.

[AU64 10,122]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

First saying Gus has his own design for the facility and then saying he has no idea what he wants is indeed putting forth mutually exclusive information. Both statements can't be correct.

According to some, Gus was meddling in minute details last year and now the same people are saying Gus doesn't know what he wants this year. Which is it?

Gus putting $2 million into it has no bearing on their conflicting stories.

JMO but comments about Gus regarding the project are put out in whatever way that will seem to make him look bad.  It was a big deal in my view for him to make the donation and maybe a way for him to try and move the project along more quickly and show his backing. 

The time you take in planning is usually well spent. Reminds me of an old saying from my shipyard days...."there is never time or money to do the job right.... but always plenty of both when it's necessary to make the corrections."     

[McLoofus 35,182]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

First saying Gus has his own design for the facility and then saying he has no idea what he wants is indeed putting forth mutually exclusive information. Both statements can't be correct.

According to some, Gus was meddling in minute details last year and now the same people are saying Gus doesn't know what he wants this year. Which is it?

Incorrect. You were correct with your previous post that I responded to:

23 hours ago, Mikey said:

Last year the gripe was that Gus wanted to put his own design and features in the FOF and the Board of Trustees wanted a professional team to do the designing, thus the stalemate. Now it's said that Gus doesn't have any idea of what he wants.

It is true that people said "that Gus wanted to put his own design and features in the FOF". They did not say that he actually had a design in mind at the time. 

Also, I'm still unclear on the reporting. I'm not sure if he told the Board that he didn't have ideas, or just declined to share any. 

[EagleEye67 1,940]

On 6/27/2019 at 1:19 PM, aujeff11 said:

Should probably consider selling the candles and the video board to make ends meet.

Selling the stadium MegaJumbotron will fix everything!

[ToraGirl 5,498]

48 minutes ago, EagleEye67 said:

Selling the stadium MegaJumbotron will fix everything!

It would hush me up on one of my soapboxes, for sure. That board's arrival coincided with an avalanche of dashed expectations, embarrassment, however it's to be phrased. Pride goeth...went... 

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, ToraGirl said:

It would hush me up on one of my soapboxes, for sure. That board's arrival coincided with an avalanche of dashed expectations, embarrassment, however it's to be phrased. Pride goeth...went... 

Those State of Auburn shirts were pretty fly, though.