I think this deserves its own topic (maybe again)
I attended a talk given by the top assistant AD a week or so ago. It was part of the Gainesville GT Alumni Assoc. He said that GT is not going to play the money game (think Texas A&M). And, if they do, it will be toll gate based...resume, career fair, intership...all things that align with a "Tech Man"... He told a story of a recent top player, who was huge and nice as can be...rode with Jeff up the elevator. Jeff (assist AD) said if there is anything he needs or anything he can do for him now and after football...to let him know. This OLB thanked him, went straight into the office of his coach and said, where is my $50 grand and a car? "We don't so things that way here at GT." He went out and hit the portal. That is where things are these days.
GT is positioning itself as "most college grads get out and make $40K a year. Ours get out and make $80K a year" That difference...that pay gap....sticks with you through your entire career. That's a huge amount of money and far and away more valuable than the $50K a year you get paid to play at Texas A&M. Besides, only 1.3% go on to play in the NFL and most of them Not For Long. So, GT is the better value. Football and Basketball (M) young men probably do not recognize that. However, we see that the non-revenue sports do (think women's sports too). Our ladies are doing very well nationally thank you very much. So, they recognize the value of GT. This is the essentially the official pitch of Georgia Tech Athletics. 52,000 applicants for 2500 to 3000 spots. Clearly, there is some reason for that.
Its also interesting to note that Kelly brought up some years ago that the NFL rise in popularity ultimately hurt GT's value proposition in football. It is worth noting the GT Golf does not seem to follow the same trajectory. PGA money is big time and GT Golf is still strong, self funded, and getting stronger (IMHO). Different kinds of kids for sure...but that is a top notch model sport. The GTAA touts time and time again the success that GT SA's go on to have...and that is by design to demonstrate the above model I tried to lay out.
There are some avid supporters and bundlers out there. The problem is our most avid fans are men in their mid-60's. There was a big push to reach a younger crowd. By and large it has been successful with metrics on social media. For example, we went from dead last in the ACC to by far the leader in the ACC for GT affiliated sports social media interactions. I don't know what that translates to, but it is worth noting. Also, there is a shift in our marketing partners and systems going on now, so the GTAA is not just sitting in an office all day.
Finally, it is worth noting that GTAA did a self reflection on their scholarship sponsors vs the SA's. When asked around the AA (those who sponsor a scholarship) who their SA was...folks didn't know. Think about it. The folks all around GT Nation that sponsor an SA are wealthy, successful, connected and committed enough fund such an important endeavor. GT wants to intimately connect the two. That is a big gap and one that they will probably remedy this year as the "booster" rules have changed. There was a lot of discussion about that during the talk I attended.
I hope this is not out of line...but I think it was worth noting what I took from this event.
I attended a talk given by the top assistant AD a week or so ago. It was part of the Gainesville GT Alumni Assoc. He said that GT is not going to play the money game (think Texas A&M). And, if they do, it will be toll gate based...resume, career fair, intership...all things that align with a "Tech Man"... He told a story of a recent top player, who was huge and nice as can be...rode with Jeff up the elevator. Jeff (assist AD) said if there is anything he needs or anything he can do for him now and after football...to let him know. This OLB thanked him, went straight into the office of his coach and said, where is my $50 grand and a car? "We don't so things that way here at GT." He went out and hit the portal. That is where things are these days.
GT is positioning itself as "most college grads get out and make $40K a year. Ours get out and make $80K a year" That difference...that pay gap....sticks with you through your entire career. That's a huge amount of money and far and away more valuable than the $50K a year you get paid to play at Texas A&M. Besides, only 1.3% go on to play in the NFL and most of them Not For Long. So, GT is the better value. Football and Basketball (M) young men probably do not recognize that. However, we see that the non-revenue sports do (think women's sports too). Our ladies are doing very well nationally thank you very much. So, they recognize the value of GT. This is the essentially the official pitch of Georgia Tech Athletics. 52,000 applicants for 2500 to 3000 spots. Clearly, there is some reason for that.
Its also interesting to note that Kelly brought up some years ago that the NFL rise in popularity ultimately hurt GT's value proposition in football. It is worth noting the GT Golf does not seem to follow the same trajectory. PGA money is big time and GT Golf is still strong, self funded, and getting stronger (IMHO). Different kinds of kids for sure...but that is a top notch model sport. The GTAA touts time and time again the success that GT SA's go on to have...and that is by design to demonstrate the above model I tried to lay out.
There are some avid supporters and bundlers out there. The problem is our most avid fans are men in their mid-60's. There was a big push to reach a younger crowd. By and large it has been successful with metrics on social media. For example, we went from dead last in the ACC to by far the leader in the ACC for GT affiliated sports social media interactions. I don't know what that translates to, but it is worth noting. Also, there is a shift in our marketing partners and systems going on now, so the GTAA is not just sitting in an office all day.
Finally, it is worth noting that GTAA did a self reflection on their scholarship sponsors vs the SA's. When asked around the AA (those who sponsor a scholarship) who their SA was...folks didn't know. Think about it. The folks all around GT Nation that sponsor an SA are wealthy, successful, connected and committed enough fund such an important endeavor. GT wants to intimately connect the two. That is a big gap and one that they will probably remedy this year as the "booster" rules have changed. There was a lot of discussion about that during the talk I attended.
I hope this is not out of line...but I think it was worth noting what I took from this event.
