I VOTED AGAINST THE $49 MILLION LASCH EXPANSION— THIS IS THE EXPLANATION FOR MY VOTE

[Harrisburg Dave]

[QUOTE="LMTLION, post: 5400688, member: If you cannot recognize simple tenants of finance, you don’t belong in the position.
[/QUOTE]

You are being sarcastic, aren’t you?

 

[Art]

I'd feel better about his vote if he said that.

Nobody is saying that because then they'd have to deal with.

Football generates enough of a surplus to pay for top-notch facilities, better coaching salaries, everything in Franklin's wettest dream. Instead that surplus pays for Sandy's Stupid Shit.

 

[NittanyOpp]

When I hear homeless students, I stop funding athletics!

 

[Raffycorn]

I have no dog in this fight but I do question the purpose of this quote:

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

Simple: Lubrano decided to use the quote that’s engraved on Joe’s tombstone as a cudgel to beat James Franklin with for not being sufficiently Joe-like when it comes to facilities.

 

[psu00]

PSU and the BIG are absolutely screwed if there are limits on fans in the fall.

$49m is nothing to get the necessary facility upgrades. Most of it was supposed to funded by donors, but that seemingly fell short of expectations. Maybe you should be looking into why the shortfall within ICA fundraising?

That falls under Sandy and apparently no one is allowed to question her competence or failures with regard to fundraising.

 

[JayWye]

With this thinking, you need to eliminate all sports with perhaps the exception of football and basketball. Take it all the way back to high school. The only sports that charge admission in my district are football and basketball. Swimming. Golf. Field hockey. Lacrosse. Volleyball. Baseball. Water polo. Track and field. Cross country. Soccer. Softball. None of them generate any revenue.

That viewpoint seems very short-sighted

Financial support for high school sports comes out of school budgets...not the case (supposedly) for P5 college sports

 

[NittanyDave]

It is moving forward for better or worse so case closed. Voting NO when you know the outcome is YES is not leading your cause. Just an excuse.

 

[cvilleelkscoach]

These are the comments I made prior to my decision to vote AGAINST the proposed $49 million Lasch Building renovations.

My fellow Trustees, I stand opposed to this resolution at this time. My reasons are twofold. The first financial while the second is more philosophical.

As Pennsylvania's only land grant university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. Our duty as university fiduciaries is, among other responsibilities, to ensure the affordable attainment of a PSU education.

No question but that athletics serves as the window through which our great University is seen by many. No doubt football occupies the largest pane. It is the engine that allows all 31 varsity sports to run.

However, as all of you know, we have a myriad of headwinds and uncertainties facing us over the next year.

First, and primarily, we have the challenge of the pandemic. Last year we lost ~$38 million in football ticket revenues not to mention the loss of gameday revenues. We filled some of that gap by allowing season ticket holders to roll their 2020 ticket purchases into 2021. Consequently, we have a large issue facing us this fall. How do we replace those revenues this year?

In addition, we seemingly lost 10% of our season ticketholder base by virtue of the way we handled the refund of 2020 season ticket purchases.

Finally, what happens if we can’t play football this fall in front of a a capacity crowd in Beaver Stadium?

Second, we don’t yet know the impact of recent image and likeness legislation on colleges and universities. What if the result of this is a drag on athletics revenues?

Finally, we seem to be deviating from our policy of philanthropic commitments in writing in hand before commencing. Instead, we intend to utilize $48.3 million of borrowings from a February 4, 2020 taxable bond offering. Moreover, does this approach not create a gender equity problem for us given our direction to the Women’s Field Hockey team?

Women’s Field Hockey would like to spend $9 million on a new venue. To date, they have received $7 million in committed gifts yet they have been told they cannot break ground without the full $9 million in hand.

Additionally, the Student Food Pantry has been told that they must raise the $250,000 required for expansion that is so desperately needed. In a time when we have homeless students living in the HUB and showering in Rec Hall, what message are we sending with this decision?

With respect to my philosophical concerns, I have heard some of you as well as University leadership refer to an arms race as it pertains to football. Let me suggest that such a race is unwinnable and frankly, in my opinion, a fools errand.

Let me remind all of you that Penn State, between 2014-2018, ranked 7th in football related expenditures, averaging almost $41 million. In 2018, the spend in football was $48 million.

Alabama was #1 at almost $60.5 million, Florida State followed at almost $50 million. Ohio State was 4th at almost $43 million while Michigan was 5th at ~$41 million. Clemson followed at just under $40 million.

Interesting to note that Notre Dame (~$39.5 million), Georgia (~$39 million) and Oklahoma (~$37 million) all spent less on football than us yet all have reached the final four.

Parenthetically, Alabama is the 143rd ranked school in the most recent US News and World Report whereas Clemson ranks 73rd.

A very wise man many of us knew liked to quote a line from the poet Robert Browning.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

In my opinion, we would be wise to delay this project.

I find it amusing that you are so vocal regarding this spending but silent as other capital projects are far over spent in many cases lining the pockets of your fellow board members. Building dorms at branches at a cost twice what the cost per square foot is at other schools.

If you were consistent in your messaging, it would be one thing. But you are not. Then we have you and Jay dragging out quotes from Joe to somehow bring gravitas to you and your message. Sorry, but this all rings rather hollow.

 

[kwg]

Weren’t we one of the first programs in college football to start this type of spending and construction of a “state of the art” football facility that was built in an attempt to put us on the map nationally ?
Was it a bad idea then Mr Lubrano.?
Shortly after its opening we went through some of the worst seasons under Joe’s tenure. Were you and Jay Paterno as vocal in 1999/2000 about this kind of spending and the need for a such an elaborate facility after winning 2 national championships in the 80s and what should have been a third in 1994 ? A run of success that wasn’t matched in the years prior to James Franklin’s arrival at Penn State. Did either of you suggest to Joe that the money spent then could have had better use? I get that there was no pandemic at the time but the end of the nineties and 2000 was a volatile financial time for this country as well.
I think we had a significant Lasch building renovation in 2015 and went on to win the Big Ten title the following year. Do I think that the 2015 upgrade was THE factor in that 2016 success- of course not, but your statistics and analogies are similarly flawed and don’t prove a direct correlation for the success or failure of this venture.
Bottom line is that those of us who love Penn State football, believe in James Franklin and are proud of both as the front porch of this university are willing to support it financially with our donations to help the program pay back these loans and are happy to see this advancement happen.
I think you and Jay should be more concerned about how expensive Penn State is in comparison to other institutions in and out of state while we declining steadily in its national ranking and scholastic performance. Be concerned about how we continuously boast of having the largest dues paying alumni association and aren’t close to the top ten in total dollar donations by alumni despite this rank. How about spending a little time explaining how football earns its keep and as we all know pays for many other outstanding student athletes’ scholarships as a result. Explain how this process is separate from donations to the university so that when all of your followers rush to stand behind you they should be told that when you don’t donate to football or athletics they are having very little negative impact on the university and its administration they seem to hate so much since 2011. How about educating them that by not continuing support to the program all they are doing is hurting the great legacy that Joe Paterno started. Do you really think that Joe would be proud of the obvious disenchantment ( to me anyway) you appear to have with the program which results in being indirectly unsupportIve to these young men and opposite to how I’m sure Joe be if he were here today

 

[IANit]

So you think spending $48mm on a funhouse will help PSU beat OSU? It's amazing that Oregon loses a game.

Maybe if we directed the $48mm to player salaries we'd catch tOSU and Alabama. They'd probably still be outspending us.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I find it amusing that you are so vocal regarding this spending but silent as other capital projects are far over spent in many cases lining the pockets of your fellow board members. Building dorms at branches at a cost twice what the cost per square foot is at other schools.

If you were consistent in your messaging, it would be one thing. But you are not. Then we have you and Jay dragging out quotes from Joe to somehow bring gravitas to you and you message. Sorry, but this all rings rather hollow.

Exactly. Bottom line is that if this renovation were to anything other than a football building Tony and Jay would STFU and vote yes. Like I said in another thread if the Lasch plan included a provision for the statue both would have been wholeheartedly on board. Thankfully BWI is the only place/group of people who care what either of them say.

 

[Art]

Weren’t we one of the first programs in college football to start this type of spending and construction of a “state of the art” football facility that was built in an attempt to put us on the map nationally ?
Was it a bad idea then Mr Lubrano.?
Shortly after its opening we went through some of the worst seasons under Joe’s tenure. Were you and Jay Paterno as vocal in 1999/2000 about this kind of spending and the need for a such an elaborate facility after winning 2 national championships in the 80s and what should have been a third in 1994 ? A run of success that wasn’t matched in the years prior to James Franklin’s arrival at Penn State. Did either of you suggest to Joe that the money spent then could have had better use? I get that there was no pandemic at the time but the end of the nineties and 2000 was a volatile financial time for this country as well.
I think we had a significant Lasch building renovation in 2015 and went on to win the Big Ten title the following year. Do I think that the 2015 upgrade was THE factor in that 2016 success- of course not, but your statistics and analogies are similarly flawed and don’t prove a direct correlation for the success or failure of this venture.
Bottom line is that those of us who love Penn State football, believe in James Franklin and are proud of both as the front porch of this university are willing to support it financially with our donations to help the program pay back these loans and are happy to see this advancement happen.
I think you and Jay should be more concerned about how expensive Penn State is in comparison to other institutions in and out of state while we declining steadily in its national ranking and scholastic performance. Be concerned about how we continuously boast of having the largest dues paying alumni association and aren’t close to the top ten in total dollar donations by alumni despite this rank. How about spending a little time explaining how football earns its keep and as we all know pays for many other outstanding student athletes’ scholarships as a result. Explain how this process is separate from donations to the university so that when all of your followers rush to stand behind you they should be told that when you don’t donate to football or athletics they are having very little negative impact on the university and its administration they seem to hate so much since 2011. How about educating them that by not continuing support to the program all they are doing is hurting the great legacy that Joe Paterno started. Do you really think that Joe would be proud of the obvious disenchantment ( to me anyway) you appear to have with the program which results in being indirectly unsupportIve to these young men and opposite to how I’m sure Joe be if he were here today

All of the previous spending you outline was funded by donations.

And since you're so willing to write support football and James Franklin financially, just write bigger checks and this discussion ain't happenin', Apparently there ain't enough of you out there or you've been suddenly plagued with writer's cramp.

 

[lionville]

Nope. Football is the engine that drives the entire athletic department and you people lived on the cheap relative to football for decades. I toured Lasch in 2011 and it was a run down dump. If you people had kept with the times you wouldn't have to play so much catch-up. That being said I support the renovations 100% and the minute I feel the administration wants to win on the cheap is the minute I give up my tickets.
Treat your cash cow with the respect it deserves. The 60s, 70s, and 80s are over.

As a former season ticket holder, I can tell you that you won’t be missed by Sandy when you give up your tickets.

 

[Ian]

Franklin will never be happy with the facilities and will always use it when pondering other opportunities to get more money for him and his staff. It’s what he and his agent do. It gets tiring every year with the same crap. Stop the fleecing and draw your Rubicon! But Sandy needs a legacy, too. Barron has his Royal garden and museum complex which will draw thousands of visitors and create a boom for the region.... so he told the state legislature. The B&B has done nothing to advance the University but spend, spend, spend! Two new wise people will realize that the AD has to be trimmed to about 20 varsity sports moving forward. It’s reality. No dancing around the fact.

 

[BobPSU92]

It is moving forward for better or worse so case closed. Voting NO when you know the outcome is YES is not leading your cause. Just an excuse.

So Anthony should have voted “Yes” because he knew it was going to pass? Alternatively, do you think Anthony could have swayed the vote with his position ahead of time? Impossible, though he may have tried.

 

[BobPSU92]

All of the previous spending you outline was funded by donations.

And since you're so willing to write support football and James Franklin financially, just write bigger checks and this discussion ain't happenin', Apparently there ain't enough of you out there or you've been suddenly plagued with writer's cramp.

Give early, often, and in large sums.

 

[WDLion]

It is moving forward for better or worse so case closed. Voting NO when you know the outcome is YES is not leading your cause. Just an excuse.

So nobody should ever vote their beliefs?

 

[Omar81]

You voted to choke an asset, the football program, that produces both intangibles like school pride and actual profit for the university. One of the core tenants in business is investing in that which produces margin so as to protect and grow that margin. My friend, you have failed. If you cannot recognize simple tenants of finance, you don’t belong in the position.

Tenets. The word is tenets. If you’re going to lecture a multimillionaire on the topic of business acumen using a tone of superiority, you might want to work on your vocabulary.

 

[PSUFBFAN]

These are the comments I made prior to my decision to vote AGAINST the proposed $49 million Lasch Building renovations.

My fellow Trustees, I stand opposed to this resolution at this time. My reasons are twofold. The first financial while the second is more philosophical.

As Pennsylvania's only land grant university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. Our duty as university fiduciaries is, among other responsibilities, to ensure the affordable attainment of a PSU education.

No question but that athletics serves as the window through which our great University is seen by many. No doubt football occupies the largest pane. It is the engine that allows all 31 varsity sports to run.

However, as all of you know, we have a myriad of headwinds and uncertainties facing us over the next year.

First, and primarily, we have the challenge of the pandemic. Last year we lost ~$38 million in football ticket revenues not to mention the loss of gameday revenues. We filled some of that gap by allowing season ticket holders to roll their 2020 ticket purchases into 2021. Consequently, we have a large issue facing us this fall. How do we replace those revenues this year?

In addition, we seemingly lost 10% of our season ticketholder base by virtue of the way we handled the refund of 2020 season ticket purchases.

Finally, what happens if we can’t play football this fall in front of a a capacity crowd in Beaver Stadium?

Second, we don’t yet know the impact of recent image and likeness legislation on colleges and universities. What if the result of this is a drag on athletics revenues?

Finally, we seem to be deviating from our policy of philanthropic commitments in writing in hand before commencing. Instead, we intend to utilize $48.3 million of borrowings from a February 4, 2020 taxable bond offering. Moreover, does this approach not create a gender equity problem for us given our direction to the Women’s Field Hockey team?

Women’s Field Hockey would like to spend $9 million on a new venue. To date, they have received $7 million in committed gifts yet they have been told they cannot break ground without the full $9 million in hand.

Additionally, the Student Food Pantry has been told that they must raise the $250,000 required for expansion that is so desperately needed. In a time when we have homeless students living in the HUB and showering in Rec Hall, what message are we sending with this decision?

With respect to my philosophical concerns, I have heard some of you as well as University leadership refer to an arms race as it pertains to football. Let me suggest that such a race is unwinnable and frankly, in my opinion, a fools errand.

Let me remind all of you that Penn State, between 2014-2018, ranked 7th in football related expenditures, averaging almost $41 million. In 2018, the spend in football was $48 million.

Alabama was #1 at almost $60.5 million, Florida State followed at almost $50 million. Ohio State was 4th at almost $43 million while Michigan was 5th at ~$41 million. Clemson followed at just under $40 million.

Interesting to note that Notre Dame (~$39.5 million), Georgia (~$39 million) and Oklahoma (~$37 million) all spent less on football than us yet all have reached the final four.

Parenthetically, Alabama is the 143rd ranked school in the most recent US News and World Report whereas Clemson ranks 73rd.

A very wise man many of us knew liked to quote a line from the poet Robert Browning.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

In my opinion, we would be wise to delay this project.

Anthony - there are times I agree with your positions and times I disagree. Regardless, I do appreciate that you are the ONLY trustee that comes to this board to discuss issues. A couple of the others have shown up from time to time asking for votes, only to never be heard from again after the election. Please return often to let us know your opinions on the variety of issues affecting PSU. Thanks for stopping by.

 

[CF LION]

View embedded media

Tenets. The word is tenets. If you’re going to lecture a multimillionaire on the topic of business acumen using a tone of superiority, you might want to work on your vocabulary.

Maybe his business happens to be real estate leasing.....

 

[Texas Lion]

Is the BOT going to implement a "non-fire" policy for the coaches? Lose in recruiting and you usually lose on the field. Again, I am fine with every decision anyone makes. But every action has a reaction. Don't keep up with facilities= losing recruits. Losing recruits= not as strong of a program. Not a strong of a program = more losses per season. More losses per season = pressure on the coach or they are fired.

Mr. Lubrano and Jay Paterno need to wake up and realize this isn't 1960 anymore and them hanging on to that will only hurt the University.

 

[Nitt1300]

Anthony - there are times I agree with your positions and times I disagree. Regardless, I do appreciate that you are the ONLY trustee that comes to this board to discuss issues. A couple of the others have shown up from time to time asking for votes, only to never be heard from again after the election. Please return often to let us know your opinions on the variety of issues affecting PSU. Thanks for stopping by.

this is worth repeating

 

[Connorpozlee]

So nobody should ever vote their beliefs?

Correct. Likewise, we should all start rooting for Alabama and Clemson.

 

[RockyMtnLion]

No you don't. You just remove budget responsibility for all of the money losing sports (except for women's basketball which is a sacred cow) from ICA and transfer into an orgnaization/process that is responsible for student/recreation/cultural activities and fund it accordingly. Much better transparency and accountability.

Art, I’m intrigued y this suggestion. I think it may be a step in the right direction, but would it be viable with the constraints of Title IX?

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

Art, I’m intrigued y this suggestion. I think it may be a step in the right direction, but would it be viable with the constraints of Title IX?

They can cut teams and comply with Title IX.

Im ok with cutting any of the women’s teams. I could care less about them. Ditto with men’s teams, other than football. If B1G rules allowed I would be ok with getting rid of men’s basketball. Golf, Baseball, soccer, tennis, They can go too.
VB, swimming?

 

[PearlSUJam]

 

[crazytoadie]

I have no dog in this fight but I do question the purpose of this quote:

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

I also found this odd...seems counterintuitive to end the argument for fiscal conservancy during unsettled times with a quote to aim for more than you can grasp.

 

[BobPSU92]

View embedded media

I hate us.

 

[Still in State College]

I have always had the question of what value does fielding a men's and women's golf/tennis/swimming/gymnastics/fencing team provide to any school? I see no benefit to the school fielding non-revenue generating sports with the exception of the possibility of a few more meaningless trophies in the hallway that no one cares about.

It is always a tough question. Should PSU rid itself of the financial loser that is Wrestling or women's volleyball? They are both quite popular but they cannot support themselves. Currently only Football, Men's Basketball and Men's Ice Hockey operate on the good side of the ledger.

 

[86Engineer]

I find it amusing that you are so vocal regarding this spending but silent as other capital projects are far over spent in many cases lining the pockets of your fellow board members. Building dorms at branches at a cost twice what the cost per square foot is at other schools.

If you were consistent in your messaging, it would be one thing. But you are not. Then we have you and Jay dragging out quotes from Joe to somehow bring gravitas to you and your message. Sorry, but this all rings rather hollow.

Good post. You pretty much have them pegged.

 

[Countrylion]

These are the comments I made prior to my decision to vote AGAINST the proposed $49 million Lasch Building renovations.

My fellow Trustees, I stand opposed to this resolution at this time. My reasons are twofold. The first financial while the second is more philosophical.

As Pennsylvania's only land grant university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. Our duty as university fiduciaries is, among other responsibilities, to ensure the affordable attainment of a PSU education.

No question but that athletics serves as the window through which our great University is seen by many. No doubt football occupies the largest pane. It is the engine that allows all 31 varsity sports to run.

However, as all of you know, we have a myriad of headwinds and uncertainties facing us over the next year.

First, and primarily, we have the challenge of the pandemic. Last year we lost ~$38 million in football ticket revenues not to mention the loss of gameday revenues. We filled some of that gap by allowing season ticket holders to roll their 2020 ticket purchases into 2021. Consequently, we have a large issue facing us this fall. How do we replace those revenues this year?

In addition, we seemingly lost 10% of our season ticketholder base by virtue of the way we handled the refund of 2020 season ticket purchases.

Finally, what happens if we can’t play football this fall in front of a a capacity crowd in Beaver Stadium?

Second, we don’t yet know the impact of recent image and likeness legislation on colleges and universities. What if the result of this is a drag on athletics revenues?

Finally, we seem to be deviating from our policy of philanthropic commitments in writing in hand before commencing. Instead, we intend to utilize $48.3 million of borrowings from a February 4, 2020 taxable bond offering. Moreover, does this approach not create a gender equity problem for us given our direction to the Women’s Field Hockey team?

Women’s Field Hockey would like to spend $9 million on a new venue. To date, they have received $7 million in committed gifts yet they have been told they cannot break ground without the full $9 million in hand.

Additionally, the Student Food Pantry has been told that they must raise the $250,000 required for expansion that is so desperately needed. In a time when we have homeless students living in the HUB and showering in Rec Hall, what message are we sending with this decision?

With respect to my philosophical concerns, I have heard some of you as well as University leadership refer to an arms race as it pertains to football. Let me suggest that such a race is unwinnable and frankly, in my opinion, a fools errand.

Let me remind all of you that Penn State, between 2014-2018, ranked 7th in football related expenditures, averaging almost $41 million. In 2018, the spend in football was $48 million.

Alabama was #1 at almost $60.5 million, Florida State followed at almost $50 million. Ohio State was 4th at almost $43 million while Michigan was 5th at ~$41 million. Clemson followed at just under $40 million.

Interesting to note that Notre Dame (~$39.5 million), Georgia (~$39 million) and Oklahoma (~$37 million) all spent less on football than us yet all have reached the final four.

Parenthetically, Alabama is the 143rd ranked school in the most recent US News and World Report whereas Clemson ranks 73rd.

A very wise man many of us knew liked to quote a line from the poet Robert Browning.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

In my opinion, we would be wise to delay this project.

How much money has football generated for this University over the last 50 years? How many sports did football support over those 50 years? How many people had scholarships in Olympic sports because of football over the last 50 years. And yet you cannot vote yes when football asks for $40M? Time for you to resign,

 

[Lion84]

My question is - when these project are approved do they go out for competitive bidding? or are they kept in the incestuous club that runs the BOT - as someone mentioned why do PSU Dorms cost twice as much per square foot to construct than other Schools - does the BOT have no Fiduciary responsibility at all?

 

[BBrown]

These are the comments I made prior to my decision to vote AGAINST the proposed $49 million Lasch Building renovations.

My fellow Trustees, I stand opposed to this resolution at this time. My reasons are twofold. The first financial while the second is more philosophical.

As Pennsylvania's only land grant university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. Our duty as university fiduciaries is, among other responsibilities, to ensure the affordable attainment of a PSU education.

No question but that athletics serves as the window through which our great University is seen by many. No doubt football occupies the largest pane. It is the engine that allows all 31 varsity sports to run.

However, as all of you know, we have a myriad of headwinds and uncertainties facing us over the next year.

First, and primarily, we have the challenge of the pandemic. Last year we lost ~$38 million in football ticket revenues not to mention the loss of gameday revenues. We filled some of that gap by allowing season ticket holders to roll their 2020 ticket purchases into 2021. Consequently, we have a large issue facing us this fall. How do we replace those revenues this year?

In addition, we seemingly lost 10% of our season ticketholder base by virtue of the way we handled the refund of 2020 season ticket purchases.

Finally, what happens if we can’t play football this fall in front of a a capacity crowd in Beaver Stadium?

Second, we don’t yet know the impact of recent image and likeness legislation on colleges and universities. What if the result of this is a drag on athletics revenues?

Finally, we seem to be deviating from our policy of philanthropic commitments in writing in hand before commencing. Instead, we intend to utilize $48.3 million of borrowings from a February 4, 2020 taxable bond offering. Moreover, does this approach not create a gender equity problem for us given our direction to the Women’s Field Hockey team?

Women’s Field Hockey would like to spend $9 million on a new venue. To date, they have received $7 million in committed gifts yet they have been told they cannot break ground without the full $9 million in hand.

Additionally, the Student Food Pantry has been told that they must raise the $250,000 required for expansion that is so desperately needed. In a time when we have homeless students living in the HUB and showering in Rec Hall, what message are we sending with this decision?

With respect to my philosophical concerns, I have heard some of you as well as University leadership refer to an arms race as it pertains to football. Let me suggest that such a race is unwinnable and frankly, in my opinion, a fools errand.

Let me remind all of you that Penn State, between 2014-2018, ranked 7th in football related expenditures, averaging almost $41 million. In 2018, the spend in football was $48 million.

Alabama was #1 at almost $60.5 million, Florida State followed at almost $50 million. Ohio State was 4th at almost $43 million while Michigan was 5th at ~$41 million. Clemson followed at just under $40 million.

Interesting to note that Notre Dame (~$39.5 million), Georgia (~$39 million) and Oklahoma (~$37 million) all spent less on football than us yet all have reached the final four.

Parenthetically, Alabama is the 143rd ranked school in the most recent US News and World Report whereas Clemson ranks 73rd.

A very wise man many of us knew liked to quote a line from the poet Robert Browning.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

In my opinion, we would be wise to delay this project.

We could always ask for the money back that the B1G stole from us. That might help.

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

As a former season ticket holder, I can tell you that you won’t be missed by Sandy when you give up your tickets.

Interesting that you say that. It was stated by the OP that 10 % of the season ticket holders were lost due to the way PSU handled the refund of 2020 season tickets.

This, added to the supporters lost in the scapegoating for the Sandusky mess, among other administrative blunders, and you have your choice of reasons for the problems with fund raising.

Another poster noted that they felt ignored by Sandy and Barron at f.und raising events.

Does anyone ever get held responsible for these shortfalls in obtaining donations and the need for borrowing?

 

[BBrown]

Nope. Football is the engine that drives the entire athletic department and you people lived on the cheap relative to football for decades. I toured Lasch in 2011 and it was a run down dump. If you people had kept with the times you wouldn't have to play so much catch-up. That being said I support the renovations 100% and the minute I feel the administration wants to win on the cheap is the minute I give up my tickets.
Treat your cash cow with the respect it deserves. The 60s, 70s, and 80s are over.

Why do keep referring to us as "you people".

 

[Harrisburg Dave]

How much money has football generated for this University over the last 50 years? How many sports did football support over those 50 years? How many people had scholarships in Olympic sports because of football over the last 50 years. And yet you cannot vote yes when football asks for $40M? Time for you to resign,

I dont get this line of argument. How many tens of millions does this program have to spend on football to satisfy you?

The football team had chances in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 to beat tOSU and Michigan AND win the B1G. It did not happen. Franklin came close, but you know the line about hand grenades and horseshoes.

An expanded playground for coaches and players will not bring the "elite" status set as the goal by Franklin. Coaching will.

 

[NittPicker]

View embedded media

A cake was sent to Old Main but Barron ate it before anyone else had a chance at it. 🎂

 

[Media Fan]

I have always had the question of what value does fielding a men's and women's golf/tennis/swimming/gymnastics/fencing team provide to any school? I see no benefit to the school fielding non-revenue generating sports with the exception of the possibility of a few more meaningless trophies in the hallway that no one cares about.

Title IX. Period.

 

[step.eng69]

Simple: Lubrano decided to use the quote that’s engraved on Joe’s tombstone as a cudgel to beat James Franklin with for not being sufficiently Joe-like when it comes to facilities.

YEP, It's A FACT 😥

 

[Art]

How much money has football generated for this University over the last 50 years? How many sports did football support over those 50 years? How many people had scholarships in Olympic sports because of football over the last 50 years. And yet you cannot vote yes when football asks for $40M? Time for you to resign,

So it is preferable that surplus generated by football goes to provide, among other things, financial aid for some who might not need it (think: golf, tennis, swimming) than re-invested in the football program or, perish the thought, to some non-athlete who otherwise could not afford a PSU education? Wonder what CJF's thoughts might be on the matter.