The University of Mississippi Athletics
Grove-Side Q&A
1/30/2008 | Athletics
This is the first 2008 installment of OleMissSports.com's Grove-Side Q&As and features Ole Miss Director of Athletics Pete Boone. Questions were sent in by fans through OleMissSports.com in recent weeks and touch on a variety of topics. Grove-Side Q&As are a regular feature on OleMissSports.com and provide Rebel fans interactive opportunites with some of the key figures in Ole Miss athletics.
Q: How do we attract fans that aren't currently season ticket holders?
I think the main thing we can do is win. What attracts people is a winning program. We’ve seen that in basketball. That is evidence what a winning program can do for attendance. Regardless of the marketing, you have to put a good product on the field, and I think we’re headed in that direction.
Q: Why don’t we have a net behind the goal post like a lot of other schools?
When
Q: Are there any current plans to bowl in the north endzone of the stadium, whether it be adding skyboxes or just making it concrete?
There are no plans in the next several years. Obviously, we would all like to have it bowled in in some configuration. But probably at best, it would be the bowling in without adding anything, just filling in the vacant areas and attaching the north endzone to the stadium. I think we’re a long way from adding skyboxes or premium seats.
Q: How much control do we have in scheduling dates for games or open dates?
We have very little control of the open dates. The SEC controls that for television purposes, and right now, we’re trying to get an SEC schedule that takes us out to 2020, which is close to being around the corner. What they’re trying to do is spread out the SEC games for television, so all of the TV entities we contract with, from Raycom to CBS, have a good inventory of games. That’s what the SEC tries to extend by putting a big name team like a
Q: When do you expect to have the basketball practice facility finished?
Our plan is to be in that facility by the fall of 2009.
Q: What were the factors that led to the decision that a basketball practice facility was needed rather than a new arena?
It’s apples and oranges for a couple reasons. The practice facility is needed for practice, so the men’s and women’s teams can schedule practices that fit their academic schedules. It’s also a way of creating chemistry on a team, having player lounges, coaches offices and film study all there. The lounges will house computers and be an area where they can do academic work. A practice facility is also an excellent recruiting tool. It will obviously be one of the best in the nation. And it’s $12 million versus $40 or $50 million. The university controls the coliseum. Obviously, basketball has priority over any events that might go on there. But any change in the coliseum would be a university decision and not an athletics department decision.
Q: Is it possible to remove the floor of Tad Smith Coliseum and add seats by digging down?
No. We would be disturbing the foundation of the coliseum, plus we have added about as many seats we could add. We would also have line-of-site restrictions. We have squeezed out all of the seats we can, regardless of the concrete floor.
Q: What is the present debt situation, and how does it affect your ability to expand and enhance athletics facilities?
We are very comfortable with the cash flow that is needed to service our debt. We have good reserves in place. With the projects that we have on board now, the baseball stadium renovation cash flows itself based on ticket sales, proceeds, etc. With the basketball practice facility, we will have to create debt on that, but we feel certain that the donors will step up and be able to pay that off in five years. As we speak, our cash flow needed to service the debt we have and the debt we will incur is solid.
Q: Can you hang a 1928 Southern Conference Basketball Championship banner in the coliseum?
We’ll look into it, and see the appropriateness of hanging that banner.