April 23, 2002
Jeffrey Hathaway: (12:58 PM ET ) Welcome everyone!
Aaron (Loveland, CO): Why don't we have future schedules defined in football? Are we going to start?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (12:59 PM ET ) When I arrived here in Sept I realized a lot of future scheduling had not been done. Future scheduling is done usually from 5-10 years in advance so it became an immediate priority for Coach Lubick and I to get schedules in place the way they should be.
Kevin (Denver): Mr. Hathaway,
The CSU athletic department has so many needs right now. Could you please summarize the priorities as you see them? If you could also include a few brief comments on how you plan to address your priorities.
Thank you,
Kevin
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:01 PM ET ) I think that like all athletic programs we have needs and we're trying to place those into a priority list. On top of the list would be additional facilities, keeping coaches in place at CSU, assuring the best sports entities for our student-athletes, and provide our coaches the resources to go out and recruit the best student-athletes possible.
Myles (El Paso, TX): Mr. Hathaway, has the current bowl tie-in contracts with conferences hurt the ability of schools to lure athletes to certain universities?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:04 PM ET ) I feel very good and more importantly our football coaches feel good about the bowl alliances that we have. To be associated with a long-standing bowl like the Liberty Bowl is beneficial to the MWC and our recruiting efforts. And while we had a very positive experience with the New Orleans Bowl the conference felt very strongly to align with bowls in the western region of the country. We are very excited about the potential of the San Francisco Bowl since Coach Lubick recruits heavily out of the state of California and we have a lot of alumni in that state as well.
Aaron (Loveland, CO): What is CSU going to do next year to increase attendance at Men's BB games?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:06 PM ET ) I think the first thing is that the product on the floor is going to be very good. The return of Matt Nelson and Brian Green as well as our two recruits from the state of Texas. We're going to reach out and be more aggressive with marketing men's basketball. The goal is to bring back the same excitement and atmosphere as when Boyd Grant was the coach.
Grant Gibson (Parker Co): What are your plans to increase the radio coverage of CSU sports in the Denver Metro area?
Is the athletic department serious about adding a new team sport or is that rumor just media talk? What is the most likely candidate?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:09 PM ET ) We have talked with our radio partner about this. To expand radio coverage of all of our teams is a priority. Obviously this is not an easy fix, if it were it would have been resolved a long time ago. We will continue to explore getting more radio coverage for our teams throughout the state of Colorado. The Denver market is important to us from a fan base perspective as well as all the alumni that live in the area.
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:13 PM ET ) Currently the NCAA is adding additional requirements for Division I-A membership. It appears that the only requirement we will need to adjust is in the minimum number of sports required. Currently we have 15 and the new legislation requires 16. So we will be looking at what that 16th sport will be so that we can continue to offer a broad based athletic program at CSU.
Obviously everybody has a favorite sport and numerous suggestions has been received from our vast number of loyal fans, from equestrian to women's soccer which is currently sponsored by seven of the eight MWC member schools.
JJ (Denver): Are there any plans in place for expansion/upgrades to Hughes Stadium? It seems that CSU needs to do something with Hughes Stadium to keep pace with the rest of the Mountain West Conference facilities. Thanks for your time.
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:16 PM ET ) I would certainly agree that renovations of Hughes Stadium would make it a better facility for both our fans and football team. When I arrived in September I was given a preliminary drawing that was produced by a nationally renowned sports athletic firm. To make this project a reality we will need to secure a leadership gift to get the project off the ground. With a project of this magnitude that leadership gift will need to be in the $5-6 million dollar range. Our campus development staff is certainly working hard to identify individuals or corporations that have the capability to make a generous gift of this magnitude.
Andy from Chicago: Hi Jeff-
As a CSU alum and huge Ram sports fan, I have been extremely disappointed by the past administrations efforts to contact and inform Ram alumni about what's going on in your dept. I have many successful friends that would be willing and able to help in your fundraising efforts but they are very upset that the Athletic Dept has never contacted them. What steps is your administration taking to market to the 100,000 or so CSU alumni such as myself to inform and eventually to ask for monetary support?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:21 PM ET ) Since arriving at Colorado State I have worked very closely with the alumni association board of directors. If we work together it will benefit the alumni association, the athletic department and the university as a whole. We believe that our cooperative efforts are beginning to take hold and though we have a lot of work ahead of us we are moving forward. Again it will take time to get these communications in place to reach out to alumni across the country. At the same time I would ask that all alumni support our student-athletes and coaches and to reach out and share an email address, phone number or an address with us and we will certainly make contact with you and continue to work together to make CSU better.
Bryan (Denver): Jeff, what are your feelings on MWC expansion? Is it in the works and are there any schools that have been targeted if it is?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:22 PM ET ) Currently there is not expansion talk. The MWC Board of Directors has placed an expansion moratorium on the conference until 2004. Obviously they have the ability to move this date but there has been no discussion to do so at this point. Because of that I don't believe there are any schools targeted for expansion.
Lt Nate, San Antonio: Mr. Hathaway, are there any plans to revive the intercollegiate baseball program at CSU? I understand the limitations that Title IX present, however, CSU is also the only MWC school without a women's soccer program.
It seems to me that with Colorado being such a women's soccer stronghold and with the outstanding Colorado baseball prospects leaving the state to find opportunities these two programs would be perfect fits for CSU.
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:25 PM ET ) There are a great deal of baseball fans that would like to see CSU bring the program back. Unfortunately the reality of continuing our work and adhering to Title IX guidelines would prevent that at this time. Again we are staying open-minded to all of our options but don't see baseball returning as a varsity sport at this time.
Jeff (Fort Collins): Hi Jeff--
I've always appreciated your openness and the fact that you do things like this over the Internet, and host meetings with users of ramnation.com. Many ADs (including the one down the road in Boulder) try to avoid the Internet. Why have you embraced it? And speaking of the Internet, when will the csurams.com site be renovated? Keep up the good work!
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:30 PM ET ) Thank you very much for your kind words. I am very fortunate to be at a quality institution such as CSU where we have great student-athletes and outstanding coaches. I will always do my best to be open and honest with the many constituents that are so important to the university and it's athletic program.
I am a tremendous believer of the importance of the Internet and our website. Since arriving here I have initiated conversations of how we can improve the quality of CSURams.com. We are currently engaged in a total rebuilding of that site which will include a new look, increased information and hopefully as we continue to grow the ability to purchase Ram gear, order tickets, make contributions and basically be the primary conduit to all good things associated with Rams athletics. The website is a priority and we hope to unveil the new look website in mid-summer.
Joel (Denver): I noticed that you and assoc. AD Neal Eskin have placed CSU on the www.AFCA.org website as a football program looking to fill open dates over the next 10 years. Has that helped generate any leads, and how is the advance scheduling coming? Any new potential opponents you have been talking with?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:35 PM ET ) Yes we have utilized the www.AFCA.org website which has a scheduling component as well as the newly created AD's website. It has produced a lot of calls and conversations for us and as responses come in Coach Lubick and I evaluate those that have responded to see how they fit into our programs needs. Not all the teams that have responded are necessarily what we're looking for. We're always interested to play series and other Division I opponents that make sense for the goals that we have for our football program. As we solidify future teams and schedules we will be sharing this information with the media and fans.
Joe (Denver): Have there been any efforts to look into naming rights for Moby and Hughes Stadium? This seems to be the trend around the country for raising significant funds for expansion/renovation efforts and may help with the need for a significant lead gift for your expansion plans.
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:40 PM ET ) Obviously everybody in today's marketplace is looking for ways to generate revenues. Naming rights are certainly one of those avenues that are available. It's important to keep in mind that given the economy of the nation over the past year there have not been many new naming rights that have become available. I also always caution people that naming rights for university facilities do not attract the revenue potential of a venue such as Invesco Field or the Pepsi Center particularly in the case of a Pepsi Center where they may host 150-200 events a year. With all that being said I can assure you that during the coming year and beyond we will look very closely at every potential revenue generating possibility available to this university. While we do not know what the end result of exploring these opportunities are it will help us find out our value in the marketplace.
Jeff: Jeff - is there an opportunity to begin the Hughes expansion by selling private suites?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:42 PM ET ) Again to get this project off the ground its going to take a significant leadership gift. While suites are a revenue generator, expansion would include a limited number of suites. And that as a stand-alone is not enough to put a shovel in the ground at this point. The leadership gift is an essential part of this renovation process.
Collen (Colorado Springs): I know that the MWC Conference is looking to tie in with the San Francisco Bowl for the MWC #3 team. Any possibilities for a fourth bowl tie in?
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:45 PM ET ) I can only speak for CSU and I'll say that we'd be very excited to see a fourth bowl for the MWC as long as it's a bowl that makes sense for the continuation of the conference. I think anything that we can do to further enhance football in the MWC's position is good for all of us involved. I don't know if the fourth bowl will happen this year but conversations are ongoing and if it doesn't happen next year I am hopeful we will continue to work on it as a conference.
Dave (Denver): When you were at Connecticut, did that athletic program make any positive changes that would help at CSU and be feasible to do with this program. Thanks! GO RAMS!!!!!
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:52 PM ET ) Thanks for the question. I was very fortunate to be part of a very special time at the University of Connecticut. I would never compare UConn and CSU because both are very unique in their own special way. But I would say that I hope my experiences from the Chicago White Sox, University of Maryland, and University of Connecticut will provide me with insights to see what we might be able to do here that would better CSU. However at the same time I know there are many things at CSU that other universities have emulated in the operation of their athletic program. There are not a lot of original ideas in the athletic business, we all tend to share a lot of thoughts and see what works at our respective schools.
Jeffrey Hathaway: (1:54 PM ET ) Thanks to everyone that participated in this chat room. I hope that I will be asked to come online again and answer some more questions. I would like to thank all the great Rams fans out there that support the university and in particular our student-athletes and coaches. Thanks for your time!
