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| Athletic campaign
to fund improvements |
By
Jessica Hines
Associate Editor |
James Nix | The Appalachian |
In an effort
to match funds generated from student fee increases, the Campaign
for Athletics Leadership Team developed a plan to raise $15-17
million for the athletics facilities improvements.
The plan, presented to the Board of Trustees
Friday, outlines specific goals and strategies for the $32
million improvement plan, according to an information packet
provided to the BOT.
Student fees will generate approximately
half of the cost of improvements, $15 million. They will be
used to fund student support facilities, such as the Owens
Field House renovation, conversion of Varsity Gym into an
indoor practice facility and replacement of the artificial
turf and running track in the stadium, according to the plan.
The Campaign for Athletics hopes to raise
the remainder of the cost through private fundraising and
marketing, according to the plan. These funds will be used
to renovate and upgrade the stadium, adding guest boxes and
expanding seating to 21,500. |
“We’re looking at a 5-year process,” Director
of Athletics Roachel J. Laney said Monday. “I would hope
that within three years we would sit down and see where we
are, and at that time what has been raised and what we can
afford to do because we’re going to move forward.
“We’re going ahead—and it
might not be the grandiose scale that we’re wanting to,
but we’re going to improve and do some big things,”
Laney said.
Any fundraising for the Campaign for Athletics
must not interfere with current fundraising activities, or
it must sustain support for the approximately $700,000 in
athletic scholarships each year, according to the plan.
Current athletic fundraising has two components.
The first component is the Yosef Club, which funds athletic
scholarships. The second component is current marketing and
sponsorship. This includes advertising, programs, signage
and game sponsors, Laney said.
“We now have probably 60-75,000 alumni
who are looking for a cause to try to make this school something
significant and special in our state,” said J. Edgar
Broyhill II, campaign leadership team chair. “That is
this capital campaign. [It] provides them an opportunity to
become volunteers and to participate in the fundraising effort.
“This capital campaign and the building
of the athletics program—and beyond that a facility that
will house the summer festival and the other Olympic sports
activities that are here—it will inspire an economic
development opportunity,” Broyhill said. “It’ll
bring entertainment value to thousands of people who may not
have been around Boone or been here to Boone before, and certainly
that will have a very positive impact here, and in the community
and in the region.”
Laney said the capital campaign will be
a challenge.
“Our strength is our detriment. Where
we’re located, people want to come here for the environment,
the beauty, the atmosphere, but because of where we are it’s
hard for people to get here, and there are no major media
outlets,” Laney said Monday.
“When you have a mission and you can
share that with people they buy it,” Laney said. “We’re
very successful, so it sells well. The good thing I believe
for Appalachian, while we’ve had success, our focus is
still on the student athlete.
“We have the overzealous alumni, and
we have the people who want us to win at all costs, but that’s
not what we do. We’re still graduating kids. Kids who
come here have the ability to be successful in school. That’s
important. If we lose sight of that, then the idea would be
very hard for me to sell,” Laney said.
Athletic improvements began with the current
replacement of the Field Turf at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The project should be completed in time
for the Appalachian Summer Festival in July, Vice Chancellor
for Business Affairs Jane P. Helm said Friday at the Board
of Trustees meeting.
Other athletic improvements have not been
started because the North Carolina General Assembly has not
approved them, Helm said Friday.
“We expect that to be approved,”
Helm said. “Those projects that do, get through because
they do not require state dollars.”
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