How many folks here got the recent Crimson Club survey asking how satisfied you are with all the things they do for you? I may be on an island by myself on this, but it sort of rubbed me the wrong way and my responses were pretty terse. Among the things that bugged me:
Asking how happy I am being included in Crimson Club activities. My thought was, “What activities?” I don’t remember the last time there was something that seemed like they were doing anything for anyone except the level 9s and up. We attended the Utah at CU game two weeks ago. There wasn’t anything there. The Alumni Association didn’t do anything either that I knew of. We also bought our tix through the U at our allotted CC time and had the worst seats in the stadium. That may be blamed on CU, but if it’s CC priority that gave us seats farther away from the field than empty ones, that doesn’t work.
Where I’d prefer them to have the CC lounge at basketball games. Let’s see, that’s for level 8s for non-conference games ($14k minimum donation) and level 9s for the whole year. For that privilege you can stand in line for 30 minutes at halftime, missing a good chunk of the 2nd half in the process, to get a hot dog and some disgusting looking nachos. Even if they would let me in, I’d pass. Then I look at the line there, and I’m puzzled by those giving levels and their relationship to the people I see in that line. It doesn’t match up.
I noted to them that my CC number is 164, and my donation, now “obligation” so that there’s no chance to deduct it if I can itemize, is literally 100x what my first donation was. Forty years ago Chuck Stobart came out to work and had lunch with the CC members, for instance. I don’t see anything like that going on now and haven’t remembered one in 30 years.
Six years ago my CC level got me football parking across from the UMFA. Now I get to pay another $100 to park east of the Institute. For basketball I used to be able to park in the parking structure across from the JMHC. Then it moved to just outside, and then across the street to the south of there. Now it’s 1/2 mile away north of McCarthy Track or, ironically, where I used to be able to park at the UMFA. Nobody checks to see if you’ve even got the pass to get in there.
I know this is whiny, but I think the CC is completely out of touch with the majority of the U Athletics customers. I fully get the money they get from the high rollers is vital and more than what they get from the rest of us, but when they want to pretend like we’re appreciated by asking us how important things are we’re not allowed to participate in, it pisses me off.
I also thought it was a useless survey. I did make one suggestion and would like some of your thoughts on it. Utah struggles to get butts in the seats for everything except football and gymnastics. My suggestion is to allow every season ticket purchaser to purchase one pass per season ticket that will get them a GA admission to all other Ute athletic events with the exception of football, gymnastics and selected men’s basketball games. The pass would cost $100. I don’t know how many people would purchase them. I think I would.
I probably would buy two of those so my sons could decide which basketball games they’d each want to go to and take their sons. Back in the day I’d take my two boys and sit up in the rafter 2 for 1 seating. They have great memories of it, but now their kids don’t have the same opportunity.
Edit to add: Given that the most students I’ve counted at a basketball game is 32, maybe those ticket vouchers should be good for whatever tickets in that section haven’t been claimed as well.
No doubt. There’s no way those 20-something young women ponied up $14k to get a hot dog a few times a year. It was strange when we asked people in line what level they were to get in. None of them knew. I think that’s more evidence supporting your theory.
I resemble those people. I have had opportunities to sit front court at Jazz games (with all food free), sit in nice boxes both behind the backstop and suites for baseball games, and etc. All, because I knew somebody.
I think I supported the CC for 20+ years. But we stopped due to the shifts in college sports and the relatively meh level of perks for many tiers. When our seats went away and the only alternative for equivalent seats was to quadruple what we paid we decided that was enough.
Conmbined with game times that didn’t work to us there just wasn’t the appeal.
I’ve posted here before, I shifted my donations to academic departments I valued and haven’t felt bad about it at all. NIL makes me think I made the right decision. And I don’t miss the surveys.
Last academic year I volunteered with the Mech. Eng. Department to mentor a group doing a senior project to enter a collegiate rocket competition that was last June. I also made a financial contribution to the Engineering College. Things seemed to be going great with the project except for some nagging bureaucracy issues with ASUU that we thought we had resolved. Then, in May right after the semester ended, I was copied on an email that indicated ASUU never paid the entry fee for the competition, essentially screwing the kids who had built the rocket. That was the last communication I’ve gotten from them. As a result, I’m not sending the college anything this year. A good friend of mine is on the college’s advisory board and I think I’m going to let her know why. Totally ridiculous in my opinion.
That’s super honorable! Bravo! Now that the Dept of Education might simply disapear, it’s even more significant… Substantial cuts are occuring thoughout acadamia. Maybe a local reporter will write an accurate and compelling story that links to regional and national trends?