Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
Fellow SouthernFACTS supporters,
Back in March of 2007, many of us decided that the time for standing idly by had come and gone. By banding together in a grassroots effort, we were able to set and achieve our goal of convincing the University to pursue a FBS Feasibility study. Sometime next month, we will learn the results of that study and should be able to gauge where we stand in our pursuit of bringing better competition to Paulson Stadium.
Today we have launched our second grassroots effort in coordination with Southern Boosters and GSUFans.com – we are looking to raise money to endow ONE football scholarship.
Southern Boosters has set the cost of this endeavor at $50,000 and if we hope to add the 22 additional scholarships necessary to compete at the FBS/I-A level then we have to start gathering these funds now. We raised over $2,000 last time very quickly just out of a few donors to do some simple advertising – today we need you all to pitch in to directly help the football program ramp up for what’s next.
We ask that you visit SouthernFACTS.org and click on the ChipIn link on the right hand side. Send over whatever you can offer, $5, $10, $100, $1000 or more. The money will go directly to the Southern Boosters bank accounts and Dan O’Dowd and his crew will be able to give you credit for your donations just as if you had mailed the check in yourself.
So get your end of the year donations in and help us make a difference!
If you can’t give, then go out of your way and recruit a new booster to the program – have them ChipIn! – and make sure to let us know that you did so! Every little bit helps!
As an incentive to the largest donor during the month of December, I will personally mail you my last original copy of the coveted NCAA Drive to Dixie poster which celebrates Erk Russell’s undefeated 1989 national championship season. These originals have gone for over $500 on eBay and are great find for the GSU collector in your home.
So dig deep, and if you want to spread the word you can add a ChipIn widget to your sites by clicking this link.
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
Nine months have passed and today we electronically delivered our report to the leaders of the Southern Boosters, Georgia Southern University’s athletic fundraising arm. The report contains the names of approximately 1,100 supporters who have expressed support of the I-A study recently announced by the University.
Some quick facts about the report:
|
Statistic
|
Explanation |
|
96.2%
|
The percentage of signatories who wanted to see an independent study. |
|
$322,644.63
|
The total amount of new money pledged in the first year (excluding student fees). |
|
377
|
The total number of current and potential boosters who are signatories to the survey. |
|
94.6%
|
The percentage of students willing to increase student fees by $28 per semester to support I-A football. |
|
$33,631.05
|
The total amount of one time donations pledged. |
|
$168,353.58
|
The total amount of new annual renewable donations pledged. |
|
$97,320.00
|
The total dollar amount of new season ticket purchases pledged. |
|
$23,340.00
|
The additional revenue from single ticket purchases pledged by the signatories to the survey. |
|
$294.12
|
The average increased pledge amount of the signatories to the survey. |
|
124
|
The number of season ticket holders who are signatories to the survey. |
|
166
|
The number of current boosters who are signatories to the survey. |
|
344
|
The number of current students who are signatories to the survey. |
|
226
|
The total number of individuals who pledged to become Southern Boosters. |
|
139
|
The total number of non-students who pledged to become Southern Boosters. |
|
115.2%
|
The stated projected increase in single ticket purchases by the signatories to the survey. |
|
$1,232,000.00
|
The amount of money that could be raised per year with a $28 increase in student athletic fees. |
|
24
|
The number of athletic scholarships that could be endowed every year with the increase in student athletic fees. |
The public summary can be found archived here. The public report merely provides a short summary of the data gathered and a few supplemental site traffic reports. The detailed report was delivered to the Southern Boosters this afternoon with the signatures and answers to the survey questions for all those who signed up.
Friday, September 7th, 2007
We’ve made it! Here’s a picture of Raymond Gross & Carl Miller hold up the 1990 national championship trophy. GSU fans everywhere were riding high that day! On top of the world with only one way to go – up. The clipping even refers to comments by CBS Sports announcers on the school going to Division I-A football.
What exactly happened?
Who failed?
Who is remedying this?
SouthernFACTS has pledged to follow up on this issue for as long as it takes!
As it stands, this image marks the last of the Countdown to Kickoff images for 2007 … we’ve posted OVER 100 IMAGES of sports at GSU and that was just the tip of the iceberg. And this movement is just getting started! We have hundreds of signatures, over $300,000 in new money pledged to the University, and a lot of good will from alumni and fans which will keep the site growing.
We hope you will continue to read and post on the forums here, we’ll be posting news and stories regularly throughout the coming weeks (all related to GSU, and only a few specific to I-A).
Make sure to continue to spread the word … football season is here and people NEED to hear about this!
But most of all, don’t rely on us … DO YOUR PART! We’ll never get anywhere without your help!
Monday, August 20th, 2007
Last Thursday’s announcement by the NCAA is just another footnote in a long line of complaints around the country about the powerful monopoly which has resulted in numerous lawsuits.
This new moratorium has not changed much for us here at SouthernFACTS, quite the opposite it has actually given us a hard and fast date. The latest article in the Statesboro Herald draws a hard line between where the University’s administration stands and where the majority of supporters want the University to be.
If University officials do not choose to communicate with the Herald, that’s their perspective. But if the support organizations such as Southern Boosters members are asking for a public plan, they at least deserve to know why the University is unwilling to trust them with the knowledge of the detailed plans for the athletics program over the next 5 to 10 years. They want to be involved and as shown by the signatures on this website … they want to do more than their share to help!
Like it or not, we are now burdened with a hard four-year period to which we are unable to move. We choose to see this as a great opportunity to set some actual timelines.
8/1/2011
The Clock Has Started!
More…
Monday, July 23rd, 2007
As of this weekend over 1000 people have signed on pledging support for a I-A study. The current numbers show that 1,003 support the study while only 40 oppose it. Among students, 98% of students support the study while 94.7% of respondents support increasing their own fees to help make the I-A move happen!
With Jacksonville State’s recent announcement, the talks of a Conference USA realignment heating up, the regional press picking up on the story, and the fervor of our fanbase, it’s no wonder this site has been such a huge hit … at least with the community.
Also, here’s another image for the cause … it shows the I-A schools by state. Its missing a few of the new ones (*sighs*), but it’s a great visual aid to show the big gap in Georgia :)
The key to remember here at SouthernFACTS.org is that we don’t know if I-A is the best option for GSU, but we do believe that a I-A study would be the best way to find out.
So join us and add your name to the hundreds before you!
The report will be out soon, will your name be on it?
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007
Alright, there’s not been a lot of status updates as things have been hectic at my house lately. But believe it or not, we are busting our humps for the cause and I thought I’d show you some pictures.
Thanks to a great donation from one of our supporters (thanks Scott!), we’ve been a hit on the manufacturing floor of a small Georgia printing company. Believe it or not it’s someone just like you and me … but he’s making a huge difference. (Consider these the countdown to kickoff pictures for today! :))
As a result, we have over 1200 laminated wallet sized football schedules, 200 large posters, and 500 laminated handouts (great for hanging up on a tailgating tent or a wall or displaying in a storefront).
I will be down in Statesboro this weekend (assuming my daughter’s over the strep) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday if anyone wants to volunteer to pick up and distribute some of this stuff. It’s free to anyone who is willing to help pass them around or distribute them in their store … I’ll be happy to meet you somewhere. Just drop me an email.
We’re also approaching 1,000 signatures and $200,000 in pledged increased donations. This movement is gaining ground and our alumni are no longer willing to sit quietly on the I-A topic. The administration merely needs to pick this low-hanging fruit as it’s ripe for the harvest.
THE TIME FOR A STUDY IS NOW.
Here are some more pictures of the manufacturing action :)
More…
Monday, July 9th, 2007
Congrats to Keith Loewy, one of our Atlanta faithful, for winning one of our SouthernFACTS.org ballcaps. The number drawn out of the hat was 93.
Remember to be entered for the drawing you must do the following:
1. Sign up on the petition for an independent I-A study. If you’ve already filled it out, you can login here.
2. Confirm your email, if you haven’t already.
3. And make sure that the survey has your mailing address listed!
Also we’d like to thank everyone who’s continued to donate to the cause, we’re getting close to the estimated total we need for our advertising blitz, so please do whatever you can! I’m sending out 5 hats this week, so look for yours soon!
If you DONATE $35 or more to SouthernFACTS.org, we will send you one of the hats (navy blue with white logo) as a token of our appreciation!
Look for another drawing next Monday! Congrats again to Keith!
Monday, July 2nd, 2007
Congrats to Larry Ellgass, one of our Statesboro faithful, for winning one of our SouthernFACTS.org ballcaps. Larry, we have sent an email to confirm your mailing address. The number drawn out of the hat was 60.
Remember to be entered for the drawing you must do the following:
1. Sign up on the petition for an independent I-A study. If you’ve already filled it out, you can login here.
2. Confirm your email, if you haven’t already.
3. And make sure that the survey has your mailing address listed!
Also we’d like to thank everyone who’s continued to donate to the cause, we’re getting close to the $1600 total we need for our advertising blitz, so please do whatever you can!
If you DONATE $35 or more to SouthernFACTS.org, we will send you one of the hats (navy blue with white logo) as a token of our appreciation!
Look for another drawing next Monday! Congrats again to Larry!
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007
This is something we’ve talked about quite a bit recently here. And we all know that it’s always about the money as Scott has challenged us to go at it with real dollars.
This is from the latest from his final but not quite final post in his 3 part, 4 part, or heck 6 part series covering his shift in opinion of I-A at GSU.
The next step, individually or collectively, should be pretty clear if anyone actually takes the $1 million challenge. The start, though, would be tremendous. It would tell GSU athletics—administration, fans, athletes, coaches—that no matter where they stand, the fans are ready to help. Even when they don’t agree on the specifics, the fans care about the generality: Georgia Southern sports is important, for whatever reason.
This will not happen this year at SouthernFACTS – it just isn’t feasible given that renewals are due this month. Do we want to take this on in the next year or two? If we assume that our representatives aren’t wanting to do the legwork – then sure thing. That could well be our next step – likely after football season is over.
Three months in though, we’re still hopeful that this one or this one (or better yet, either of these two) are hearing the calling…
Either way though, we’re listening…leave us your thoughts?
Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
The Southern Boosters will be soliciting for your renewals this week if you haven’t already renewed. At this point in time, you should be able to renew your football season tickets and Southern Boosters donations if you are a member. If you aren’t a member, then you can sign up here. If you do, make sure to credit SouthernFACTS.org as your reasoning in big bold letters on the form. There’s not a field for it, so make one!
With all that said, make sure to use the opportunity presented to talk about the I-A / FBS issue – the Boosters and student-athletes don’t have a lot of pull in this area, but they do need to hear your thoughts especially while they are asking for your money. We’ve made our opinions known, have you?
The Baseball Eagles (32-24) start their stint in Cullowhee tomorrow, after winning against Mercer last night. The Cats are eyeing a sweep to put them at the 40 win mark. The 3 games are the best opportunity GSU has for a bid to the tourney, so show your support!
