3 ms·

The university I went to is in the top 20 (top 8 when I went)(this is just for context not to start an argument about rankings). The school is also in the top 2

The university I went to is in the top 20 (top 8 when I went)(this is just for context not to start an argument about rankings). The school is also in the top 20 in endowments. When I was there they did an analysis of alumni donations. One thing they found out was that if you did 2 or more activities in high school you were likely to do 1 or more activities in college. (these numbers are ballpark) If did ANY activities in college you were around 60% more likely to donate to the school. If you did NO activities and just took class you were only 20% likely to donate. If you did MORE activities you were even more likely to donate. The amount of your donation was related heavily to your income and found to be an independent function from your activities. Thus the school decided that recruiting multi-sport atheletes to play Division 3 sports (which we were) was revenue positive for running an athletic department. Their goal was to provide a positive feeling at all the sports so that everyone felt good about their experience. So the school got very into (even to the chancellor level) attempting to be on par with stanford's numbers in the Sears Trophy (now the ncaa directors cup) for most National Championships in a year. Which means you have to be good at pretty much everything, golf (m&w), tennis (m&w), swimming (m&w), volleyball (w), football, basketball (m&w), etc. And that's what they did. I'm not saying this is the only reason they did what they did, they were very genuine about providing great experiences for the student athletes as they should if they're doing their jobs. Anyway the overall point is that some schools also focus on alumni donations which ARE driven by school loalty, which are driven by sports. One could consider people buying school athletic merch as a form of alumni donation. I'm not explaining or excusing why college sports it the big business it is in D1 as it is. I've got problems with that as well, but mainly I think the schools should be required to provide a real education for the players at ANY time in their life post graduation and some kind of revenue sharing.

hobofan 7y ago
Are those millionaire/billionaire alumnis making donations? To me it sounds really strange that "normal" alumni would donate to their university in addition to the already expensive tuition they pay off over decades.
- save_ferris 7y ago
  Yes, and quite often those donations come with major athletics perks. I went to a big basketball school (several NCAAM titles), and I was in the band/drum line which did a ton of entertaining for wealthy alumni during games. Basically the way it works is that you make a “donation” to the school in order to access blocks of tickets to games. The more you “donate”, the better your tickets are. If you “donate” enough, you even get access to exclusive pregame events that usually entail comped drinks and live entertainment (band and cheerleader performances). Some of the biggest donors even get to travel with the team on road games. There was a small group that would travel with university personnel and get some interaction with players during tournament trips.
- grogenaut 7y ago
  Many of the major donors who were doing things like funding buildings would also toss in a tennis court or jerseys for all of the teams. The low end donations were also a lot higher for anyone in a club. The school allows targeted donations. So if you wanted you could donate to sports. They also have smart alumni things. For instance for $2000, I can buy a plaque over the locker for the player with my number (essentially buying the number). It would have been $500 but 2 of them got in a bidding war, and $2k is the price to knock them both out.
tracer4201 7y ago
I donate nothing to my school. Student loans kept me drained for quite a while after graduation. My school spent a ton of funds on landscaping and general appearance but our engineering college had cabinets and tables that hadn’t been so much even dusted in at least a decade. Looking back, so many electives I was required to take were pure fluff and had no connection to reality or life or income skills. As for classes that mattered, a good portion were taught by TAs. So yeah thanks but no thanks - I’m certainly not going to offer them a penny. If anything, the college model is egregiously expensive and exploitative. We need innovation and a better alternative to what these institutions provide.

hobofan 7y ago

Are those millionaire/billionaire alumnis making donations? To me it sounds really strange that "normal" alumni would donate to their university in addition to the already expensive tuition they pay off over decades.

save_ferris 7y ago
Yes, and quite often those donations come with major athletics perks. I went to a big basketball school (several NCAAM titles), and I was in the band/drum line which did a ton of entertaining for wealthy alumni during games. Basically the way it works is that you make a “donation” to the school in order to access blocks of tickets to games. The more you “donate”, the better your tickets are. If you “donate” enough, you even get access to exclusive pregame events that usually entail comped drinks and live entertainment (band and cheerleader performances). Some of the biggest donors even get to travel with the team on road games. There was a small group that would travel with university personnel and get some interaction with players during tournament trips.
grogenaut 7y ago
Many of the major donors who were doing things like funding buildings would also toss in a tennis court or jerseys for all of the teams. The low end donations were also a lot higher for anyone in a club. The school allows targeted donations. So if you wanted you could donate to sports. They also have smart alumni things. For instance for $2000, I can buy a plaque over the locker for the player with my number (essentially buying the number). It would have been $500 but 2 of them got in a bidding war, and $2k is the price to knock them both out.

tracer4201 7y ago

I donate nothing to my school. Student loans kept me drained for quite a while after graduation. My school spent a ton of funds on landscaping and general appearance but our engineering college had cabinets and tables that hadn’t been so much even dusted in at least a decade. Looking back, so many electives I was required to take were pure fluff and had no connection to reality or life or income skills. As for classes that mattered, a good portion were taught by TAs. So yeah thanks but no thanks - I’m certainly not going to offer them a penny. If anything, the college model is egregiously expensive and exploitative. We need innovation and a better alternative to what these institutions provide.