Fundraising

Started by MilesDeep, December 13, 2018, 02:35:05 PM

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MilesDeep

Sorry if this is an old topic, I recently joined.  My son is now playing for a D3 baseball program and I am stunned at how much the parents are asked to pay for.  Trips, gear, equipment.  You know some of this isn't required but we all know, for some, it's required.

When did this all begin?  Are we so conditioned by the travel ball model that colleges now believe they can extort money from parents?  When do we just say no?  My thought is; if the college can't afford to send kids south for winter ball-don't.  If the college can't afford a sports program-shut it down.  It's sports...it's not that important.

This feels like glorified travel ball.  Sad. 

Bishopleftiesdad

My son played D3 in Ohio. This was one of the questions we asked during the recruiting process. What was the cost of incidentals and travel. Some of the schools were quite expensive, however there were fund raising opportunities. (we heard this from one or two d1 schools as well) To at least one school where they paid for everything from cleats and possibly a glove/bat to travel. My son ended up at a school where there was a cost. The first year package was more than I liked, however after that it was not bad. We had to supply his cleats and we had to by one clove the four years he played.
The school had a Diamond club that collected donations and held events to help pay for the items the school did not. They ran concessions at the games and fed the boys on game days. They would hold fundraisers through out the year, and were allowed to rent the field for tournaments. However if the fundraising cam up short of the budget, the players and parents were asked to make up the shortfall.
Especially at the D3 level some schools are loath to put money into Athletics. There is a perception, that it is money that could be better spent on Academics.

Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)


It really varies a lot from school to school.  I wouldn't assume any d3 school would supply equipment beyond uniforms and maybe practice gear - that is something that might be a surprise to parents.  As for travel, usually special trips are fund-raised - either from wealthy donors or opportunities the coaches arrange for players.

With so many schools, I have no idea how much money is left up to players to come up with for these things - I imagine the totals vary widely.  Some schools travel often and it's part of the athletic budgets, others have alumni donors who foot the bill.  Some schools never travel anywhere.  I'm guessing every single experience is pretty unique.
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Dave 'd-mac' McHugh

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on December 14, 2018, 06:37:37 AM

It really varies a lot from school to school.  I wouldn't assume any d3 school would supply equipment beyond uniforms and maybe practice gear - that is something that might be a surprise to parents.  As for travel, usually special trips are fund-raised - either from wealthy donors or opportunities the coaches arrange for players.

With so many schools, I have no idea how much money is left up to players to come up with for these things - I imagine the totals vary widely.  Some schools travel often and it's part of the athletic budgets, others have alumni donors who foot the bill.  Some schools never travel anywhere.  I'm guessing every single experience is pretty unique.

To follow up on Ryan's point .. each school and conference is going to be different. International trips are limited to every three year and most schools fundraise for those. In-season tournaments can be anything from a budget item once a year to every two or three years to fundraising for each. It really varies across the board depending on the institution and athletic department.

I know of programs that run camps as a way to earn more money into their budgets so they can travel or have other perks. I know programs who have very wealthy donors who help out. I also know of programs that basically do next to nothing.

You are going to run the gambit with this stuff in DIII because of how athletic departments are budgeted at a wide-range of institutions. I am quite sure it becomes part of the recruiting decisions for parents and student-athletes. I wouldn't say your experience is unique ... I wouldn't say it is common, either.

It isn't the norm ... it isn't isolated. Really depends on the institution, department, program, and coach (some coaches are better at fundraising and alumni relations than others as well).
Host of Hoopsville. USBWA Executive Board member. Broadcast Director for D3sports.com. Broadcaster for NCAA.com & several colleges. PA Announcer for Gophers & Brigade. Follow me on Twitter: @davemchugh or @d3hoopsville.