Louisiana State University Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director Joe Alleva issued a letter to fans prior to the game reminding them of the impact that a successful football program can have on a university. His candid letter to fans and supporters also provided a unique look into the inner-workings of a big time athletics department and how the success of a football team on the field can translate into overall success for an entire university. Instead of paraphrasing his letter, we thought it would be an excellent idea to post it in it’s entirety.

Dear Tiger Fan,

As we welcome a New Year and as the LSU Tigers prepare to play in their third BCS National Championship Game in nine seasons, it is a good time to reflect on the value of a successful football program and the impact athletics can have on a University and the surrounding community.

Just last week, Forbes Magazine ranked the LSU football program the best in the SEC and in the top five in the country among “College Football’s Most Valuable Teams.” It measured programs primarily for their financial impact on their universities and revenue generated for other sports teams in their athletics programs.

We say it often but it cannot be said too much – LSU Athletics uses no state tax dollars and no student fees. All funding for the athletics program comes from sports tickets sales, radio and TV revenues, concessions and merchandise sales, corporate sponsorships, Southeastern Conference revenue distribution and private donations.

In fact, LSU has one of the few athletics programs in the country – and the only one in Louisiana — that not only fully funds its entire operations and capital outlay but also contributes back to the financial well-being of the university.

As state general appropriations for LSU has dropped by $92 million over the last three years, the Athletic Department has stepped forward to assume even a greater financial burden in support of the University. You may have read last week that, to help the university survive an $8.1 million mid-year budget cut, the Athletic Department will take on $1.5 million for funding the Academic Center for Student-Athletes. That is only the tip of the iceberg of what Athletics does for LSU.

Consider the following. In the last 10 years the Athletic Department has contributed to the University more than $5 million to enhance the appearance of the campus, such as replace and repair sidewalks, protect the oaks and magnolia trees and build paved areas for students to enjoy between classes.

The Athletic Department has contributed more than $4 million in the last decade for classroom repairs and renovations including the replacement of hundreds of chairs and desks, many of which were decades old.

The Athletic Department has also spent more than $5 million in the last 10 years to build or assist with the building of parking lots that are used not only for sporting events but for the day-to-day use of students, faculty and staff.

And the success of the Athletics program helps drive logo licensing sales, generating more than $34 million over the last decade, half of which is retained by the University.

In the last two academic years alone, Athletics contributed more than $7 million to the academic side of the University, including $3.4 for the construction of a new Band Hall, $1.3 million toward the construction of a new complex for the College of Business plus regular contributions to the Campus Beautification Fund at $1.3 million, the Classroom Renovation Fund at $1 million and the Chancellor’s Excellence Fund at $400,000.

When we say LSU Athletics is self-sustaining, it is truly a boat on its own bottom. Besides generating all of its own revenues, the Athletic Department pays five percent of its revenues to the University each year to compensate for campus services such as LSU Police, accounting services, purchasing, human resource management and so on. Last year Athletics paid $4.4 million to the University for these purposes.

Meanwhile, the Athletic Department is financially responsible for maintaining all athletics facilities, including payment for utilities, as well as game day costs such as cleanup and security. And some athletics facilities are regularly used as classrooms.

A fact that often goes overlooked is that the Athletic Department pays tuition and fees for all 450 of its scholarship student-athletes. Athletics paid nearly $9.8 million in scholarship costs last year alone, making it one of the University’s best customers.

In all, in the academic year 2010-11, the Athletic Department passed nearly $17 million to the University for services provided, scholarship costs and direct contributions. Meanwhile, it took zero dollars away from the academic mission of the University.

There are other great benefits for a university to have an ultra-successful athletics program. It has been shown that in the year following a national championship, enrollment to the school increases and private donations soar.

It has also been shown that a successful athletics program plays a vital role in its community. The existence of LSU Athletics means millions of dollars to the local economy. Businesses do better, hotels are full, restaurants are booked, sporting goods sales are up and grocery store lines are backed up when the Tigers win.

Thank you for the role you play in making LSU Athletics as successful as it is. The passion of our fans is what sets Tiger sports apart from the rest. The tickets, hot dogs, Cokes and merchandise you buy, the donations you make and your support of our sponsors give our student-athletes the tools they need to win and to graduate and provides for a better University for all students. Your passion and enthusiasm lead directly to the success of our students, the epitome of our Love Purple/Live Gold motto.

As you settle onto your sofa or into your easy chair in front of the television next Monday night, or as you take your seat in the Superdome to watch LSU play Alabama for the national championship, you can take pride that your athletics program makes a difference and does it the right way.

As always, we welcome your comments at athletics@lsu.edu. Unfortunately we cannot answer every e-mail we receive, but please be assured they are all read.

Geaux Tigers!

Joe Alleva

Rosary will be said Sunday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at McAulay and Wallace Mortuary, 902 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, CA, 92832.

Many are planning to meet at Joe Florentine’s Grill (Titan football player) on Sunday to hang out, eat and watch football.  The restaurant opens at 12:00 pm and is a short drive to where the Rosary will be held.  It is located on the corner of Harbor and Commonwealth Ave in Fullerton.

Florentine’s Grill
102 North Harbor Blvd.
Fullerton, California 92832
Phone:  (714) 879-7570
WEB: Florentine’s Grill

A funeral mass will be held Monday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. at St. Juliana Catholic Church, 1320 N. Acacia Ave., Fullerton, CA, 92831.

(Coach Murphy requested that men wear green ties in honor of his Irish heritage).

A reception will follow from 1 to 4 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton’s Portola Pavilion in the Titan Student Union. 

Please note that there is an $8.00 fee for parking.

Hastin was the Titan Football head film curator in the final years of the program before it was suspended. Hastin shot these two interviews in March 2009 during the Titan Football Reunion that was held on campus at Cal State Fullerton.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr-apZuduwg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbQVpxiytD8

Murphy had undergone surgery on Tuesday to treat esophageal cancer and was recovering normally. Unfortunately complications from the surgery had caused Murphy’s heart to stop twice on Friday. Twice doctors and medical staff were able to successfully resuscitate Murphy however they were unsuccessful the third time his heart stopped. Despite the fact that the Cal State Fullerton Football program has been on hiatus since 1992, Murphy’s influence was still prevalent to the day he died.

It’s debatable whether Murphy’s impact was greater on the players he coached or the impressive legacy of coaches whom he hired and mentored. For a man coaching at what would be considered a “small school”, Murphy produced some big time players and coaches.

Three of the most notable players that Murphy recruited and coached were Damon Allen, Mike Pringle and Allen Pitts. Allen won four Grey Cups in the Canadian Football League and was once professional football’s all-time passing yardage leader. Pringle holds the CFL record for rushing, was twice voted the CFL Most Outstanding Player and was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Pitts played for Murphy and went on to tremendous success in Canada retiring as the CFL’s all-time leading receiver in term of career yardage until he was passed by Milt Stegall in 2008. Pitts was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and was enshrined on the Stampeders Wall of Fame in 2005, with the retirement of his jersey number 18.

One other notable player that went to have tremendous success after being coached by Murphy was defensive back, Mark Collins. Collins was drafted 44th overall by the New York Giants and went on to win two Super Bowls (Super Bowls XXI and XXV) while playing for the team that drafted him. Collins also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks and finished his career with 27 interceptions, eight sacks and scored two touchdowns as defensive back.

Murphy’s impression does not end with the mentoring of players but his greatest legacy may come in the form of his “coaching tree”. Numerous professional and major college football coaches can trace their roots back to Cal State Fullerton after ultimately being hired by Gene Murphy. Murphy had an eye for coaching talent and was not afraid to take risks in hiring unproven and green coaches. A number of Murphy’s hires eventually went on to head coaching positions in the NFL.

Current Oakland Raiders Head Coach, Hue Jackson, was an assistant coach under Gene Muprhy in 1990 and 1991 serving as running backs coach and special teams coach. Jackson went on to coach in the NFL as an offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders before ascending to the head coaching position in which he now holds.

Jackson replaced another Murphy protege in Tom Cable. Cable was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2008 to 2010 but started his coaching career at Cal State Fullerton under Gene Murphy in 1990. A third NFL head coach who cut his teeth as a young coach under Gene Murphy was Steve Mariucci. Mariucci was one of Muprhy’s first hires after taking over the Cal State Fullerton program in 1980. Mariucci went on to be the head coach at California-Berkley and was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.

The Murphy coaching tree not only extends into the professional ranks but also into major college football. Current head coach of Army Rich Ellerson, Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, Northwestern defensive coordinator Jerry Brown and Oregon State defensive coordinator Greg Newhouse all called Gene Murphy “boss” at one time in their coaching career.

Murphy is survived by a 15-year-old daughter, Aileen, and her mother, Christine McCarthy, as well as two adult sons, Tim and Mike and four grandchildren. Services are pending and most likely are more than a week away.

In June 2011, legendary football coach Lou Holtz said during a speech in Memphis,

“When you are successful in football, there is a pride among the student body that can’t be duplicated in any other way, there is an association with the alumni that binds them back to the school, there is a pride in the city and state that we are committed to excellence.”

Wise words from a legendary football coach who understands the ways of college football. So is it any wonder why eight new football programs will begin playing in the 2011 season?

The list of soon to be football schools includes UT-San Antonio, Ave Maria University, Concordia University (MI), Presentation College (SD), Robert Morris University, Siena Heights University, Stevenson University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg.

17 more programs will begin competing in football between 2012 – 2014.

Those colleges include Atlanta Christian College, Bluefield College, Finlandia University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Misericordia University, Wayland Baptist University, Florida Tech, George Fox University (OR), Hendrix College, Mercer University, UNC – Charlotte, Oklahoma Baptist University, Reinhardt University, Stetson University, University of New Orleans, and Houston Baptist University.

The reasons for bringing on a football program vary from school to school. Some of the colleges are trying to increase enrollment. Others are trying to address gender imbalance. Others are hoping that football will bring more regional attention to the school.

No matter what their reason, the fact remains that they believe football will help achieve their goals. Yet Cal State Fullerton’s football program lays dormant and has been dormant for nearly 20 years. Anyone else see a problem with that?

ESPN.com: More schools turning profits

Within that report, it discloses that 22 Football Bowl Subdivision schools (formerly Div. 1-A) made money in 2009-10, eight more than the previous year. The report goes on to say that schools not in the top tier football division, those competing at the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Div. 1-AA), were able to decrease their overall athletic budget spending by 8 percent. This is compared to non-football playing schools that had an increase in athletic department spending by over 9 percent.

When comparing FCS schools and non-football playing schools, there is almost a 20% difference in the amount of money the athletic departments needs to spend to sustain the entire athletic program. Bottom line? Football schools make money for their athletic programs and thus can help fund other underfunded sports.

When you have someone discount your claim of bringing back Titan Football is too expensive, make sure to refer them back to this report.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDHzDi0gM7w

An on-campus and online campaign to gather petition signatures is currently underway to place a referendum on the Spring 2011 Associated Students ballot.The petition being circulated on Cal State Fullerton’s main campus will be available to sign on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, between the hours of noon to 4 pm. A table has been reserved on Titan Walk that day and the table will be Table No. 1. Students currently enrolled at Cal State Fullerton only need to provide their name and campus ID number to sign the petition. Signees will have their signatures validated once the minimum number is achieved. By signing the petition, students are requesting a student activity fee be added to help fund the return of Titan Football along with three other women’s sports.

Reinstating the football program would require a student activity fee of $86 per semester phased in over five years (year 1 $25, year 2 $25 + $17 ($42), year 3+ $25 ($67), year 4 +$13 (80), year 5 + $6 (86) ) . This activity fee would not only finance NCAA men’s football, but NCAA women’s crew, lacrosse and field hockey. Scholarships as well as the necessary athletic trainers, coaches and associate directors that would need to be hired would also be covered in this fee.

Since this petition is calling for a ballot measure, only currently enrolled students may sign the petition for the signatures to be counted as valid. Faculty, alumni nor community supporters can sign the petition because in order for a signature to be counted, that person must provide a valid student ID.

Students who will not be on campus on Wednesday, March 23rd can sign the petition online. The same exact petition students will be signing in person on campus is also available on the web. The same rules apply for those signing the online version of the petition. The signees must be a currently enrolled student and must provide their campus ID number.

To sign the online petition please visit: GoPetition.com/petition/43489.html

Recently two ideas have surfaced that could potentially fully fund not only the Titan Football program but also pay for additional women’s sports and infrastructure improvements to locker rooms, training rooms, coaches office space and stadiums and arenas. Both options would require an increase in student activity fees paid to the Cal State Fullerton Associated Students, Inc. and would require a vote by the student body to levy the increased fees. Both plans would increase athletic department funding to achieve three objectives and goals.

Objective 1 – Fully fund all athletic programs, scholarships, staff and administrative staff. Currently Cal State Fullerton is LAST in the Big West Conference in terms of athletic funding. This proposal would bring CSUF to the TOP of the Big West Conference in funding. Although CSUF is successful in many varsity sports, can you imagine what Titan life on campus would be like if the athletic programs were fully funded?

Objective 2 – Capital improvements on ALL facilities, including the creation of a Multi-Purpose Events Center. This would be similar to the Honda Center in Anaheim where events can be held on campus. The Multi-Purpose Events Center could hold debates, concerts, sporting events, performances, etc. The possibilities are limitless!

Objective 3 – Reinstate Titan Football at the NCAA FCS level (Formerly known as Division 1-AA)

The first option is a small fee increase that would be built on a long term schedule over the course of 10 years. The second option is a larger increase in student fees but would only apply to new students. Students currently enrolled would be exempt. Here are the details of the two potential student fee increases:

Vision 2020 (Long Term Plan):

This proposal, dubbed the “Graduated Student Fee Investment Referendum” would take place over eight to 10 years. Individual student investment would be $10.00 per semester or $20.00 per year. Each year after, the student fee would increase by $10.00 per semester / $20.00 per year. By the tenth year, the cost would be $100.00 per semester / $200.00 per year. With and estimated 35,000 current students, the proposal would bring in the following estimates. Please note that with the increase of students on campus, the estimates would change.

Year 1: $750,000
Year 2: $1.5 million
Year 3: $2.25 million
Year 4: $3 million
Year 5: $3.75 million
Year 6: $4.5 million
Year 7: $5.25 million
Year 8: $6 million
Year 9 $6.75 million
Year 10: $7.5 million

Five Year Plan (Short Term Plan):

This proposal is to institute a higher fee only on incoming students. Students currently enrolled at Cal State Fullerton would be “grandfathered in” and would be exempt from any of the increased fees. Based on average graduation rates, 95% of the students would be paying the higher fees within five years.

Based on a student population of 35,000 students, all incoming freshmen and transfer students matriculating to Cal State Fullerton in Fall 2011 would be subject to a $85 per semester student athletics fee. Figuring that roughly 20% of the Fall 2011 student population are incoming freshmen and transfers, 20% of 35,000 students is 7,000. 7,000 x $85 = $595,000 per semester and would total $1,190,000 for the year. Here is the year by year breakdown of potential revenue.

Year 1: $1,190,000
Year 2: $2,380,000
Year 3: $3,570,000
Year 4: $4,760,000
Year 5: $5,950,000

The rationale behind using the $85 per semester figure came from the Georgia State University model who just recently started their own football program from scratch. The students there voted themselves an $85 per semester fee increase in order to start a football program.

Current students may be frightened off by the large dollar figure proposed, however these fees would only apply to new freshmen and transfer students. Current students would be voting on a referendum to raise fees on future students while not increasing their own.

This rationale is based on previous voting patterns in the general populace. Many times voters will pass propositions that raise taxes on a certain income bracket while lower incomes are left alone. These “millionaire” taxes will tax those individuals making $1,000,000 or more. Not everyone in the voting population makes over $1 million a year yet 100% of the registered voters are able to vote how a small percentage of people will be taxed.

The argument could be made that those incoming transfers and freshmen may not be happy about the newly imposed fees but if they are unhappy they were not able to vote on the fees, they do have the option of choosing to not attend Cal State Fullerton. The total increase in fees would be $170 per year for each student. At $85 per semester and on average each semester consisting of 16 weeks, that averages to under $6 a week.

So what do you think? We have included a poll to gauge your opinion on these two potential revenue generating proposals. After you are done voting in the poll, feel free to leave a comment below and let your opinion on this subject be heard.