View from the corner office
10/1/2010 3:41:00 PM | Athletics
He was a major influence in not only my personal life, but also my athletics career. He was a player who played at Rice in the Cotton Bowl and football was a big part of his life. He was a high school coach, a college coach and an NFL scout. But the most important thing he taught me was how to have a positive impact on people. That was demonstrated by the turnout to his service and the comments people shared with me and my mom.
I am especially appreciative of the Sam Houston University community and the Southland Conference community for taking the time to share their thoughts and prayers with our family.
In my coaching and administrative career, the week leading up to the home opener is always a fun and stressful week, so it was a different feeling missing that week of work. I returned to Huntsville in time for the game on Saturday and was pleased to see how great everything was and how it all went off with out a hitch. It demonstrated how proud I am of what our staff does. I would like to thank everyone in our department for putting on a great show.
The feedback has been so positive about the event. Everyone has told me they haven't seen an atmosphere like that at Bowers Stadium in a long time. Despite the rain at the beginning of the game, we still had a large, loud, energetic crowd. From winning the game to the postgame fireworks, it was just a great opening weekend.
It was what Division I football is supposed to look like. Speaking of Division I football, I want to address the feasibility study that was conducted by NACDA Consulting.
Late October, the feasibility study team is coming back to make a presentation to the university senior staff, the championship committee and the athletic department. I have been asked many questions on where we are on the feasibility study and I wanted to keep you updated on this.
Due to the many changes that happened with the college football landscape across the country this summer, we needed to go back and reevaluate the proposal and see if the benchmarks that are in place are realistic and possible. We understand the process is always evolving and we want to be as comfortable as possible with whatever challenges or circumstances present themselves to us.
Our focus going into this feasibility study, and upon completion of this study, has not changed. Our goals are to improve our current performance levels in the Southland Conference and the FCS, while exploring opportunities that are created by the changes in the NCAA membership.
The benchmarks that are being provided allows us to improve our development, marketing and generation of revenue through fundraising, ticket sales, etc., to help us achieve our goals. Within the last year, we have dedicated nearly half a million dollars toward developing that aspect of our department. What you saw on Saturday night, as well as the movement of the Battle of the Piney Woods game to Houston, and this feasibility study, are all part off the dedication of this department to make it attractive no matter what level of play we are competing.
