Burton: “We want to be a leader in NIL in Group of Five”

[goalline]

Pasqualoni would have had a winning season in his first two seasons had he hired anyone but DeLeone for OC.

Absolutely.

 

[Dizzy21]

They didn't start taking this stuff seriously until 2010.

UConn Foundation chief to end five-year tenure in August

The leader of the University of Connecticut’s fundraising arm for the past five years will leave his post in mid-August to return to an executive fundraising post tied to Emory University in Atlanta.

ctmirror.org

Newton raised $400M but didn't even start until 2013.

I remember telling Newton in 2014 or so that you couldn't even create a monthly donation on the UCONN website. I had been complaining about it for years, but the employees didn't understand it because they could have money taken out of their checks so it wasn't relevant to them. But I'm involved at SCSU and have had monthly donations on my Amex card since 2005.

He was super embarrassed. So you can't look at this as a straight line. If he raised $400M in 5 years - the money is out there.

According to the UConn endowment report, the endowment spent $69 million over his 5 years. It grew from $339 to $439 million during that time. If he raised $400 million during that time, then where is the extra $240 million plus market gains? The market almost doubled during that time.

It is promised future gifts and the $400 million is not over 5 years, but rather over a much longer time period, perhaps never to happen. If you take out the $69 million spent over 2014 to 2018 in the first year and just let that $270 million leftover stay in the market, you get about $430 million in the endowment in 2018. That would be the simple minimum with no donations to be in the account and the money taken out before it actually was. By simple math, the endowment is either losing a lot of money over that time period or not getting any actual money donations in those years. Add the numbers up yourself. Below are the references for your research.

https://www.foundation.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/UF2367-Endowment-Report_2022-FOR-WEB.pdf

Head of UConn Foundation, Credited With Boosting Endowment, To Leave In August

Joshua R. Newton, president and CEO of the UConn Foundation, will leave the fundraising arm of the state’s flagship university in August to return to Emory University, where he had worked bef…

www.courant.com

 

[Dizzy21]

They didn't start taking this stuff seriously until 2010.

UConn Foundation chief to end five-year tenure in August

The leader of the University of Connecticut’s fundraising arm for the past five years will leave his post in mid-August to return to an executive fundraising post tied to Emory University in Atlanta.

ctmirror.org

Newton raised $400M but didn't even start until 2013.

I remember telling Newton in 2014 or so that you couldn't even create a monthly donation on the UCONN website. I had been complaining about it for years, but the employees didn't understand it because they could have money taken out of their checks so it wasn't relevant to them. But I'm involved at SCSU and have had monthly donations on my Amex card since 2005.

He was super embarrassed. So you can't look at this as a straight line. If he raised $400M in 5 years - the money is out there.

Here are the actual tax numbers reported from the endowment where your buddy says they raised $400 million. $81 million raised during his tenure and $30 million spent on administrative expenses. And that $81 million raised includes grants that were not donations. All for the small sum of 600k a year paid to Newton who claims multiple times as much money was raised than he actually did.

for well below market returns and marginal fundraising.

 

[RC111]

Exactly. I could tell stories about UConn fundraising in the late 1990s that were embarassing as well. And, some very recent ones as well.

If you want money from someone, don't make it painful for them to give.

I told one of their callers I had just made an online donation during one of their giving months. The student said he couldn't see it in my profile, and I said they needed to work on their system. He apologized and said great, he'd make a note so that I stopped getting calls. I then got weekly calls/ texts for the next two months asking me to make a donation since I hadn't for a year.

Told all of them the same thing. They all apologized and said they had made a note. I still want to support the university, but man do they make it obnoxious to do so.

 

[J187Money]

Foundations are generally credited with the pledges they receive. The endowments show the invested cash.

So if (as an example) someone pledges $100M to be paid over 10 years, they will be credited for the $100M on day 1 but the money won't show up in the endowment till it shows up in the numbers. The financials will show pledges receivable.

Also - and the below is a good example - the Werths donated $4.5M for facilities. None of that money goes into the endowment so by your math the money wasn't raised at all. At the time of the article - $17M of the $30M was raised by private commitments. There is a lot of money that doesn't go into the endowment. BTW - the schools PREFER that money be given for current use because the spending caps.

Fundraising Campaign for New Athletics Facilities Builds - UConn Foundation

The UConn Foundation Fundraising Campaign for New Athletics Facilities Builds . Supporting the University of Connecticut.

www.foundation.uconn.edu

My overall point is you can't just look at the endowment in a vacuum.

https://www.foundation.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Annual-Report-2022-1.pdf

Between 2021 and 2022 the endowment went down $42M but it was a record fundraising year with $115M in new gifts and commitments.

 

[J187Money]

If you want money from someone, don't make it painful for them to give.

I told one of their callers I had just made an online donation during one of their giving months. The student said he couldn't see it in my profile, and I said they needed to work on their system. He apologized and said great, he'd make a note so that I stopped getting calls. I then got weekly calls/ texts for the next two months asking me to make a donation since I hadn't for a year.

Told all of them the same thing. They all apologized and said they had made a note. I still want to support the university, but man do they make it obnoxious to do so.

Finally - they have given us statements of the total amount of giving we have done since inception. They were woefully behind and have finally gotten their s together.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Foundations are generally credited with the pledges they receive. The endowments show the invested cash.

So if (as an example) someone pledges $100M to be paid over 10 years, they will be credited for the $100M on day 1 but the money won't show up in the endowment till it shows up in the numbers. The financials will show pledges receivable.

Also - and the below is a good example - the Werths donated $4.5M for facilities. None of that money goes into the endowment so by your math the money wasn't raised at all. At the time of the article - $17M of the $30M was raised by private commitments. There is a lot of money that doesn't go into the endowment. BTW - the schools PREFER that money be given for current use because the spending caps.

Fundraising Campaign for New Athletics Facilities Builds - UConn Foundation

The UConn Foundation Fundraising Campaign for New Athletics Facilities Builds . Supporting the University of Connecticut.

www.foundation.uconn.edu

My overall point is you can't just look at the endowment in a vacuum.

https://www.foundation.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Annual-Report-2022-1.pdf

Between 2021 and 2022 the endowment went down $42M but it was a record fundraising year with $115M in new gifts and commitments.

And Josh's approach at the time were 5 year renewable gifts. So if I pledged $100K, I would do 20 K a year for 5 years and then they would look to renew after the 5 yr period with a bump.

 

[J187Money]

And Josh's approach at the time were 5 year renewable gifts. So if I pledged $100K, I would do 20 K a year for 5 years and then they would look to renew after the 5 yr period with a bump.

Right.

There is no question that UCONN was terrible at this for a loooooooooong time. That being said, we have done much better in recent years and have raised a lot of money that went to build out all of the state-of-the art facilities we have. The endowment still lacks v. our peer group, BUT that isn't really germane to the health of the athletics department - or the NIL discussion for that matter.

If the school can raise $115M in a year - it isn't hard to think that the school (or rather the collectives) couldn't raise $5M a year for NIL - the money is out there.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Imagine being so stupid that you go out on a limb for a mediocre retread like Paul Pasqualoni; while knowingly alienating the family whose name is on your football building.

That’s the history of UConn Football in a nutshell.

Yeah, not a good move. He wanted Daz but he was recently hired by Temple. AD David Benedict got rid of BD but may have secured a buyout. RE was popular with the boosters. Didn’t seem like a “Dave” hire.

 

[ZooCougar]

This is a serious post?

Sorry Skib.

Diaco took us to a new low. Then Edsall said hold my beer while I take the program to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Yeah, not a good move. He wanted Daz but he was recently hired by Temple. AD David Benedict got rid of BD but may have secured a buyout. RE was popular with the boosters. Didn’t seem like a “Dave” hire.

The BD dismissal was a situation that needs to be viewed in a vacuum. When AD Dave realized how far from reality BD was operating, he tried to bring in a veteran HC (Jerry Kill, who at that time was unable, due to health issues, to fully run a program) to mentor Diaco and help the program. Diaco refused and also refused to change anything about how he was running the program.

DB realized we needed to move on from Diaco immediately but the trustees were against buying out the contract (they would take this approach again when DB wanted to move on from KO), so to get approval he needed to sell a new head coach who was a) a bargain and b) someone who he could tell the board was capable of being successful here. That's how we ended up with RE 2.0.

 

[ZooCougar]

 

[Patman]

The BD dismissal was a situation that needs to be viewed in a vacuum. When AD Dave realized how far from reality BD was operating, he tried to bring in a veteran HC (Jerry Kill, who at that time was unable, due to health issues, to fully run a program) to mentor Diaco and help the program. Diaco refused and also refused to change anything about how he was running the program.

DB realized we needed to move on from Diaco immediately but the trustees were against buying out the contract (they would take this approach again when DB wanted to move on from KO), so to get approval he needed to sell a new head coach who was a) a bargain and b) someone who he could tell the board was capable of being successful here. That's how we ended up with RE 2.0.

I think years always cause forgetfulness and sequencing... always amazing how things a mere weeks in the past become all screwed up.

Blessed are the stubborn I think because they often remember the reasons.

 

[Patman]

Sorry Skib.

Diaco took us to a new low. Then Edsall said hold my beer while I take the program to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

It is sad just how much Edsall mailed things in

 

[ZooCougar]

It is sad just how much Edsall mailed things in

Skib was one of the biggest Edsall apologists. It’s tough to let go.

 

[PackTheRent]

Here are the actual tax numbers reported from the endowment where your buddy says they raised $400 million. $81 million raised during his tenure and $30 million spent on administrative expenses. And that $81 million raised includes grants that were not donations. All for the small sum of 600k a year paid to Newton who claims multiple times as much money was raised than he actually did. View attachment 93723 View attachment 93724 for well below market returns and marginal fundraising.

This is some serious analysis by you and J187. Well done. I would love to be optimistic about the future of the program in this new financial environment, but I just can't see it. Collectively we don't contribute much to the endowment, and our alumni base is relatively small and not as wealthy as other schools. That's why the football program and athletic department are way at the top of the list every year for money-losers. I am happy to donate to UConn Foundation with my seat-back season tickets, but otherwise it's tough. Let's recruit bleed-blue guys who want to be here. If not, they can go to Rutgers

 

[rich1122]

Pasqualoni would have had a winning season in his first two seasons had he hired anyone but DeLeone for OC.

Edsall left him no QB. Endres smoked out. Casey concussion. Whitmer. Well it was the best that we could do.

We got Johnny. He could throw it to the basketball hoop but no D1 scholarship.

So three years of no QB. Deleone not the problem.

 

[J187Money]

Another example:

The new hockey arena cost $70M - $20M of that came from private donations. $0 of which will show up in the endowment.

UConn Moving Forward to Build New On-Campus Ice Hockey Rink - UConn Today

UConn will build a new ice hockey arena on the Storrs campus, with plans to open in time for the Fall 2022 season.

today.uconn.edu

If we can raise $20M for a hockey facility, we can raise money for football NIL (assuming that anyone actually cares about football).

 

[J187Money]

Let's just say that you wanted to fund the UCONN Football Coaching Staff as a donor, and let's say as an example that you wanted to set the budget at $5M a year. There are a couple of ways to do it.

1) Donate $5M a year for current use

Expensive but compared to the alternative....

2) Set up an endowment that will fund the $5M/year in perpetuity.

Choosing #2 means you have to donate $117.6M in order to be able to distribute $5M/year at the 4.25% spending rate.

On the field, the results are the same. #1 is invisible to the endowment, #2 makes the endowment look great, but nearly 20% of the endowment would be for a single purpose.

Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but not everyone understands how foundations/endowments work.

 

[UConnJim]

This is some serious analysis by you and J187. Well done. I would love to be optimistic about the future of the program in this new financial environment, but I just can't see it. Collectively we don't contribute much to the endowment, and our alumni base is relatively small and not as wealthy as other schools. That's why the football program and athletic department are way at the top of the list every year for money-losers. I am happy to donate to UConn Foundation with my seat-back season tickets, but otherwise it's tough. Let's recruit bleed-blue guys who want to be here. If not, they can go to Rutgers

I'm more optimistic. There are plenty of alumni with money, but UConn hasn't done a good job of cultivating them. I've explained this before, but UConn was so heavily funded by the state, they never really tried to build the endowment until recent years. Private schools always had to build the endowment because that helps fund operations and is the financial safety net. UConn's safety net is the state.

I'll give you a few buckets of where the wealthy alumni are:

1) Financial professionals who work in NYC or Boston

2) Engineers who worked for startup companies and owned stock or became company officers.

3) Real estate professionals.

4) Entrepreneurs/business owners.

5) Lawyers who made partner or started their own firm.

And, there are many other possible paths to success from UConn in areas like health care, accounting, ...

Plus, there are people who grew up in Connecticut who became a UConn sports fan, but didn't attend UConn.

 

[ZooCougar]

Let's just say that you wanted to fund the UCONN Football Coaching Staff as a donor, and let's say as an example that you wanted to set the budget at $5M a year. There are a couple of ways to do it.

1) Donate $5M a year for current use

Expensive but compared to the alternative....

2) Set up an endowment that will fund the $5M/year in perpetuity.

Choosing #2 means you have to donate $117.6M in order to be able to distribute $5M/year at the 4.25% spending rate.

On the field, the results are the same. #1 is invisible to the endowment, #2 makes the endowment look great, but nearly 20% of the endowment would be for a single purpose.

Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but not everyone understands how foundations/endowments work.

This post should be sticky in all of these threads that are talking about money.

 

[gioff2323]

Keep in mind as to endowments

It’d be a breach of fiduciary duty to allocate everything to equities, so a “market” return is unrealistic

They have to spend/disburse a certain amount - typically 4.5-5% per year

 

[Patman]

Skib was one of the biggest Edsall apologists. It’s tough to let go.

I thought he was the best choice but his attitude particularly during the covid year was dreadful

 

[Kolumbo]

USF has to be one of the leaders. And they are making a yuge investment on campus. First, AAU, and now a stadium. On campus stadium brings so many positives which UConn sorely needs.

Future USF On-Campus Stadium

www.usf.edu

 

[DoctorWho85]

Edsall left him no QB. Endres smoked out. Casey concussion. Whitmer. Well it was the best that we could do.

We got Johnny. He could throw it to the basketball hoop but no D1 scholarship.

So three years of no QB. Deleone not the problem.

We had that kid that transferred to Fordham with after Moorhead left. Had they kept Moorhead at OC, that’s still an 8 win team in 2011.