David Harris-New UNI AD
- Thread starter 1UNI2ISU
- Start date
In all honesty it will be a big hire for Jamie. David was the guy in charge of the major sports.
Didn't have enough fundraising and facilities experience.
The next AD at UNI has two big tasks--
1) Total renovation of the Dome so that it lasts another 40 years. There are plans drawn up that put the price tag in the $50 Million range
2) Continue to fund Full Cost of Attendance to keep UNI in the second level of football. UNI is one of 6 FCS schools that have committed to full cost of attendance for all sports. Its a necessity so that when the big split comes, UNI ends up with the top of FCS/Group of 5 level rather than the new FCS which is basically going to be Division 2.
Those two things along with letting Ben Jacobson continue to have the freedom that he currently has along with continuing to find money for him and the program are the stated and main goals of the new AD. Harris has the best profile of the three finalists and I'm really glad that the committee doing the hiring saw it the same way.
David Harris has learned from one of the best at getting money out of athletics.
But...UNI fans are going to have to do their part. From my experience UNI fans tend to think that the athletic department is there to serve them. They are going to have to commit financially in order to sustain their success in football and in basketball.
My parents get UNI season basketball tickets. Not because they are huge UNI fans, but because the tickets are cheap. A program with the success of UNI basketball should have waiting lists for season tickets.
H
HGPuck
Guest
UNI could not do any better if he is in fact the hire.
Only good news is that it makes it more likely Harris will be Pollard's replacement when that day comes.
Only good news is that it makes it more likely Harris will be Pollard's replacement when that day comes.
Agreed on all points.
Its a really weird dichotomy. There is a group that thinks we should be all in on getting young families in and keeping things as cheap as possible so that we grow 'future generations' of UNI fans. This is the group that is crazy upset that there are now minimum donations required for prime seating and a $10 facility fee being added for season tickets this year. Then you have the group, most of us younger, that realize its going to take serious cash to keep the success going. We're willing to pay the price necessary and willing to do whatever it takes to keep Ben Jacobson and keep enough money into the football program to finally get over the hump and win a national title before the big split comes.
We take less general fund money than any other MVC/MVFC school and have more success than anybody not named Wichita (though the fall is coming with Bake and VanVleet graduating) and NDSU. There comes a point where you can't do everything on a shoestring budget anymore. There isn't any more money coming from the general fund anytime soon and a fair number of the big donors are about tapped out. Its up to the everyday UNI fan to purchase season tickets and make PSC donations in order to keep this thing going.
Great hire for UNI, the only surprise is David waited this long to move out on his own. Jamie has trained him well.
Outside of one crack pot state senator from Western Iowa, who has ever proposed this? We play guarantee games, at a reduced rate, in football and have given up asking either school to come play us in Cedar Falls in Men's Basketball. UNI uses .0006% of the state budget to fund athletics, far lower than any other peer institution.
Let's all hope that David Harris is really successful at UNI, both for him and his career and for UNI Athletics to continue to take less General Fund money. Its a win/win for everyone.
From those that know the athletic administration at Iowa State a bit better, how active is he in fundraising? We're told he's a fantastic administrator but the fundraising experience is a bit lacking? It this accurate?
