Missouri Tiger Athletic Director Laird Veatch met with the media on Thursday to discuss the Tigers’ plans going forward after the passing of the House settlement.
Here’s a few of the quotes I found most telling and what I think went unsaid in them.
If you want to look back at Part 1, you can find that here.
When asked about his biggest concern with the still-evolving moment
What Veatch said: “I’d say just the concern is really just more of the operational and financial pressures that go into it. I mean, they’re as significant for us as they are for everyone. I do genuinely look at this as an opportunity for Mizzou. I think we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this and continue to elevate, so, you know, we’re taking that stance. It is a lot to manage and there’s decisions that have to be made that can be difficult at times and there’s, those decisions sometimes include taking a step back in areas that we’ve spent so we’re trying to be much more efficient with our dollars and look at ways where we might be able to pull back in some other areas so that we can invest those dollars now into rev share or other types of areas that are going to really help us be successful.”
What went unsaid: I’m not sure what exactly I expected from this answer, but I guess it was something more.
Ya, it’s a lot to deal with, it is for everyone, that’s a fair concern to have. The landscape is still changing, Veatch and the athletic department will have to keep adjusting and keep working on shifting ground.
And I guess needing to be more efficient with the spending can be a fair concern if it means some tough decisions are coming. But I guess the biggest concern for me would be the specifics of those tough decisions.
Are programs going to need to be cut? What specific changes do you see down the line as coming from needing to stockpile money year to year?
But instead, we get a general pulling back in some areas.
(This next part is completely an example I am creating, this has no basis in anything I have heard or expect moving forward) I don’t think any AD would come out and say “My biggest concern is that we’re going to have to cut the soccer program so we can save the money we use on their travel and coaching budget so we have enough to spend on our football roster,” but something more specific would have been nice.
Again, that was completely a fabricated example. I have heard nothing that leads me to believe that there is currently concern programs may need to be cut soon.
When asked about what some of the cut backs on spending have been to prepare the budget
What Veatch said: “We looked at an in depth level on the expense side, not just the revenue-generation side, and certainly we’re asking more of our people with the ticket prices, how we’re adjusting some of our fundraising, etcetera, but we looked at areas like travel and dining and equipment and specific elements to what we do. And stepping back from a staffing standpoint, how do we approach certain areas, where do we need to apply our resources?”
What went unsaid: There’s some more specifics at least on what’s happened the past year.
But from an outside view, I’m confused on the idea the athletic department has cut back at all.
Even without the massive funds used on the NEZ construction project, the women’s basketball coaching staff is making significantly more money going forward than it did in the past, the project to re-turf the baseball field just began and the men’s basketball program just created a new general manager role.
I’m sure there’s ways they have pulled back on equipment and travel like Veatch said, but to think that could possibly outweigh the masses of money that have been poured into the athletic department in just the past year, or even the past six months, seems crazy to me.
When asked about the big picture revenue wise
What Veatch said: “Any athletic director worth their salt is going to say they’re not pleased yet with the revenue where we’re at. I do feel like we’ve made significant improvements there and I feel really good about the decisions we’ve made how that’s been embraced in the response we received from fans. Our ticket sales continue to go really well, renewals are up to … 85 percent, which, where we’re at, is tracking really well as compared to last year. That’s just from a season ticket standpoint in football as an example. But the response to our new fundraising efforts, how that’s been received by our donors, has been really good. So I feel like we’re tracking really well. We are making significant progress.”
What went unsaid: That part I do buy. That 85 percent number is solid with a couple of months to go before the season and Veatch went on to talk about the increased possible revenue once the NEZ project is completed. The Tigers desperately needed to raise their overall athletic revenue and from everything I’ve heard, they’ve taken some big strides there. Whether that will continue year-over-year is a different question. But right now, that part of all of this is going pretty well.
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