Money pouring into Miami

[TIGER-PAUL]

http://news.miami.edu/stories/2015/05/um...-goal.html

"Momentum 2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami" passed its $1.6 billion goal more than a year ahead of schedule — a considerable feat of fund raising under outgoing UM President Donna Shalala. The total of $1,618,034,779 raised to date for Momentum2 is from 137,890 donors.

Combined with $1.4 billion raised during the initial Momentum campaign completed in 2007 -- first time that a private university established in the 20th century had reached a billion-dollar fundraising goal -- the university has raised more than $3 billion during 14 years of leadership by Shalala, who is stepping down in June to head the Clinton Foundation. Julio Frenk, dean of faculty at Harvard’s school of public health and a former minister of health in his native Mexico, has been tapped as her replacement.
-- Miami Herald

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Clinton Foundation…..so she knows about “fuzzy math"

 

[JHud986]

That is great for Miami. I hope they meet their goal. People need to remember that a large portion
of this money is going to the general fund. It is unknown how much is earmarked for the athletic
department.

 

[PittMan 72]

http://news.miami.edu/stories/2015/05/um...-goal.html

"Momentum 2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami" passed its $1.6 billion goal more than a year ahead of schedule — a considerable feat of fund raising under outgoing UM President Donna Shalala. The total of $1,618,034,779 raised to date for Momentum2 is from 137,890 donors.

Combined with $1.4 billion raised during the initial Momentum campaign completed in 2007 -- first time that a private university established in the 20th century had reached a billion-dollar fundraising goal -- the university has raised more than $3 billion during 14 years of leadership by Shalala, who is stepping down in June to head the Clinton Foundation. Julio Frenk, dean of faculty at Harvard’s school of public health and a former minister of health in his native Mexico, has been tapped as her replacement.
-- Miami Herald

Very good effort on Miami's part. But not as good as Pitt's most recently completed major capital fundraising campaign initiative, according to this University Times article from Oct., 2012.
http://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=23103

 

[Las Panteras]

This should surprise no one. This is an excellent school with a fantastic number of successful alums. Additionally, the location in South Florida.....with an incredible local wealth/ culture/corporate hub can only benefit the school.

The moniker of "Thug U" should piss off any alum of Miami. I also happen to believe that Shalala put up little resistance when the U moved to the Dolphins house. I suspect the idea of playing closer to school (Coral Gables would be out of the question) generated no interest from her and the admin.

 

[Pghfan]

Find it weird that colleges scream bloody murder about cutbacks and you see fund raisers bringing in billions. Wonder if Miami's successful campaign will stop tuition increases? Doubt it

 

[PittMan 72]

Find it weird that colleges scream bloody murder about cutbacks and you see fund raisers bringing in billions. Wonder if Miami's successful campaign will stop tuition increases? Doubt it

Most of the time, people donate because they want to. Not because they are forced to or expect something tangible in return for their donation. If potential donors feel that a cause or an institution is unworthy, then there is a simple solution: don't donate to them. But evidently that wasn't the case here. Because hundreds of thousands of donors donated billions of dollars.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Very good effort on Miami's part. But not as good as Pitt's most recently completed major capital fundraising campaign initiative, according to this University Times article from Oct., 2012.
http://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=23103

Pitt raised $2 billion over 12 years. Miami raised $3 billion in 14 years, including $1.6 billion in the past 3&1/2 years. Miami crushed Pitt.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Most of the time, people donate because they want to. Not because they are forced to or expect something tangible in return for their donation. If potential donors feel that a cause or an institution is unworthy, then there is a simple solution: don't donate to them. But evidently that wasn't the case here. Because hundreds of thousands of donors donated billions of dollars.

And, they usually donate for specific causes. Donating a $55 million medical education building doesn't do squat to bring down the cost of undergrad tuition.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

When I watched the Miami 30 for 30 documentary, it became very clear that they saw football as a necessary evil.

The football program essentially hijacked that university and campus and there was a very clear battle going on between the university itself and the football program.

The documentary was told distinctly from the football program's point of view, which I get. However, I also see things from the administrators' perspective.

They are, after all, a university first and the football program second. I understand that a lot of people do not realize the importance of that distinction but Miami clearly didn't realize it and it caused a lot of internal strife for years and years and years on that campus.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

When I watched the Miami 30 for 30 documentary, it became very clear that they saw football as a necessary evil.

The football program essentially hijacked that university and campus and there was a very clear battle going on between the university itself and the football program.

The documentary was told distinctly from the football program's point of view, which I get. However, I also see things from the administrators' perspective.

They are, after all, a university first and the football program second. I understand that a lot of people do not realize the importance of that distinction but Miami clearly didn't realize it and it caused a lot of internal strife for years and years and years on that campus.

Doc, I think that is very true of Pitt too. Especially after Sherrill left, and the Gottfried era was wrought with questionable tactics (we employed Frank D'Alonzo for chrissakes) and the BB program under Evans (Calipari and the NYC fireman) and the washout of the "Prop 48 Five" recruiting class that the Administration finally said "ENOUGH" and basically did what the could to crush athletics for period of time.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

When Miami first announced that it was leaving the Big East for the ACC, I was not sure they were making the right decision.

I saw it as what was essentially a parallel move with about the same financial upside. In fact, with the way the Big East was willing to play ball at the end, I thought Miami could make more money in the Big East than it ever would in the ACC.

However, what I eventually came to understand was that the primary driver in the Hurricanes' decision was not the money itself but rather how the money was allocated.

As members of the ACC, Miami would be guaranteed X amount of dollars per year no matter what. They did not need to finish in first place in the conference to cash a big check. They were guaranteed that money by virtue of being in the conference in the first place – in the same way that Wake Forest, Duke, Boston College, etc., are all guaranteed that same amount of money.

From a decision-maker point of view, that makes a lot of sense. That allowed the University of Miami to split the baby, as it were. They could still afford to fund a high-level football program but they did not need to compromise their institutional integrity to do so.

I think what we have seen at Miami over the past 5–10 years is an institution trying to find its equilibrium between excellence on the field and off it. Personally, I think they will eventually get there but as we have all learned at the University of Pittsburgh, that is not an easy balance to strike.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Doc, I think that is very true of Pitt too. Especially after Sherrill left, and the Gottfried era was wrought with questionable tactics (we employed Frank D'Alonzo for chrissakes) and the BB program under Evans (Calipari and the NYC fireman) and the washout of the "Prop 48 Five" recruiting class that the Administration finally said "ENOUGH" and basically did what the could to crush athletics for period of time.

I think that is absolutely right, recruits. I definitely think Pitt and Miami share a lot of similarities.

 

[HailtoPitt]

You can bet that Pitt will be launching another multi billion dollar campaign at some point in the near future. This is how it is now. With less public funding available, the need for private contributions at colleges and Universities will continue to proliferate. I think schools need to be smarter when raising money so that the pace of new endowed scholarship donations can keep pace with other funding priorities.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

When I watched the Miami 30 for 30 documentary, it became very clear that they saw football as a necessary evil.

The football program essentially hijacked that university and campus and there was a very clear battle going on between the university itself and the football program.

The documentary was told distinctly from the football program's point of view, which I get. However, I also see things from the administrators' perspective.

They are, after all, a university first and the football program second. I understand that a lot of people do not realize the importance of that distinction but Miami clearly didn't realize it and it caused a lot of internal strife for years and years and years on that campus.

Well- when you consider the negative stigma their program tends to cast on what is ACTUALLY a pretty darned good academic school...
and then consider the Total Revenue going into the university- and how football is a fraction of it..

Can you blame the academics for holding their noses and fighting for THEIR own best interest?

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Well- when you consider the negative stigma their program tends to cast on what is ACTUALLY a pretty darned good academic school...
and then consider the Total Revenue going into the university- and how football is a fraction of it..

Can you blame the academics for holding their noses and fighting for THEIR own best interest?

Oh, no, not at all. I hope I did not imply otherwise. I completely agree with Miami's administration. They were out of control and needed to be a reeled back in. If that upsets the Luther Campbell's and Nevin Shapiro's of the world, so be it.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Oh, no, not at all. I hope I did not imply otherwise. I completely agree with Miami's administration. They were out of control and needed to be a reeled back in. If that upsets the Luther Campbell's and Nevin Shapiro's of the world, so be it.

was making more of a general comment- and how it could likewise apply to Pitt and others...despite protestations from the knuckle-draggers who tend to post on these forums.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Oh, I get it. Yes, people definitely lose perspective on things like this.

A few weeks back, I was out of town and catching up with some friends who now live all over the country and who root for a bunch of different teams.

We were sharing a few beers when the subject of Oregon's football facilities came up. People started talking about the walls of televisions and video games in it and the Ducks' famous locker room waterfall and how that is so impressive to recruits. They were all lamenting that their programs did not do the same.

Everyone knows that I am a college football fanatic and I think they were surprised when I told them that stuff like that and what Alabama had done with its facilities were disgusting.

I don't want to be preachy but there are so many worthy causes out there – academic and otherwise – which are in desperate need of funding. I cannot tell you how many nonprofits would kill for a fraction of the money that is just flooding into many of these athletic departments.

It makes me sick when these billionaire egomaniacs prioritize a vanity project - which is precisely what Phil Knight and Oregon are – over making an actual difference in peoples lives.

Again, I am not bemoaning this at the base level. I have no problem with people donating to an athletic department and the athletic department spending that money on recruiting. That is how this whole thing works and I get and accept that.

However, when it starts to get to the point where we are making some of these locker rooms look like the lobby of the Bellagio, maybe we have lost our way?

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I donate fairly generously to Pitt's AD. However, if I found out that they were using it for opulence instead of necessity, that would turn me off.

If I was fortunate enough to come into a great deal of money, like via a Powerball win for example, the University of Pittsburgh would benefit tremendously from my good fortune.

However, they would be pretty far down my list of charities to whom I would donate because, frankly, they don't need the money and don't do nearly the amount of good that some of these other charities and nonprofits do every single day.