Why is no one talking about the re-seating at Moody?

[RGV Pony]

I mentioned in another post, it would have been fantastic to be invited to a one on one prior to this being rolled out. I think it would have provided the powers that be some good insight in order to achieve the goals of the program with the help of their most loyal fans. I think SMU missed a good opportunity to shore up loyalty to the program when it is on the rise.

they did do one-on-one meetings prior to it being rolled out. I know this because I was at a couple of them. there was/is no point in thinking that they were going to schedule roughly 1,900 one-on-one meetings with every season ticket holder. that's wildly inefficient use of the athletic department/directors' time.

another thing to point out is that this isn't the first time this has been considered. it was supposed to be done a couple years ago, then they reeled it in b/c of the sanctions and post season ban. all things considered, our basketball tickets are still a bargain compared to other programs over the last 5 years that have won as many games as we have.

Glad that you got a one on one to get your input. I take it you agree with the process, but maybe that is because you were involved in it. That is kind of my point. Now, I do not think it is a waste of resources to "invite" 1900 people to meet with a representative about this change. It is a big part of what you do as a collegiate booster club...you meet with boosters. Not everyone is going to schedule a meeting anyway, but the courtesy would have gone a long way.

It is like a broken record with the ticket prices, but that is not the issue here. Prices have really not increased much and I have no problem in rising ticket prices. It is the stripping of peoples tickets with no option to re-purchase that is the issue here. We are all well aware of the Free Market Economy.

To get support, you make people a part of the solution. SMU did not do that with their loyal fans and it remains to be seen what the results of that will be.

Blunt, what you are describing is exactly what the MC board is. Passionate people with congruent but unique points of view wanting to have a voice. If you'd like to be involved, have someone nominate you, or pm me. Obviously 1900 separate conversations can be unwieldy but as Dutch mentioned there were many, not to mention some colorful and at times heated board meetings as differing views and concerns were discussed.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

As to what was 'necessary,' the main thing was for people to be able to get credit for all of their gifts. Excellence funds count for Mustang Club. Other incidental gifts count for Mustang Club. Gifts for Athletics count for Mustang Club. The Mustang Club no longer needs to be a bunch of folks upstairs at Ford dialing for dollars while eating cold Campisis. It is, in effect, a giving society that recognizes giving across the entire Athletics Department. Gone are the days of, say, giving to a capital project as some of us have, then having to ask if we get Mustang Club credit for that. That's "why that was necessary," especially in light of the reseat...which is in effect a "select your seat event" in which the order of selecting your seat is determined by giving. Can't say giving total determines order without giving credit for all athletics related giving.

Thank you RGV for all you do!

I do think it is a bit misleading to mix the "everything counts towards the Mustang Club" argument with the reseat priority when the donor guide which arrived in the mail yesterday clearly states "seating requirements must be fulfilled with a gift to this fund" for the new Mustang Athletic Fund.

I agree it is a great move to have more people be Mustang Club members and hopefully feel more attached to SMU athletics because we need everybody we can get, but for the purposes of the reseat I think it is important for people to realize if they give $1k to the Mustang Athletic Fund and $1k to the excellence fund of their favorite sport they will still only be eligible for $1k donation seats in Moody.

[One Trick Pony]

Applebee's has rats in their Cobb salad lol

[PonySnob]

I do think it is a bit misleading to mix the "everything counts towards the Mustang Club" argument with the reseat priority when the donor guide which arrived in the mail yesterday clearly states "seating requirements must be fulfilled with a gift to this fund" for the new Mustang Athletic Fund.

I agree it is a great move to have more people be Mustang Club members and hopefully feel more attached to SMU athletics because we need everybody we can get, but for the purposes of the reseat I think it is important for people to realize if they give $1k to the Mustang Athletic Fund and $1k to the excellence fund of their favorite sport they will still only be eligible for $1k donation seats in Moody.

Not how it was explained at the Moody Re-seat meeting I attended. All funds donated to anything in the athletic department will be counted towards priority in picking seats for basketball is what they said.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

I do think it is a bit misleading to mix the "everything counts towards the Mustang Club" argument with the reseat priority when the donor guide which arrived in the mail yesterday clearly states "seating requirements must be fulfilled with a gift to this fund" for the new Mustang Athletic Fund.

I agree it is a great move to have more people be Mustang Club members and hopefully feel more attached to SMU athletics because we need everybody we can get, but for the purposes of the reseat I think it is important for people to realize if they give $1k to the Mustang Athletic Fund and $1k to the excellence fund of their favorite sport they will still only be eligible for $1k donation seats in Moody.

Not how it was explained at the Moody Re-seat meeting I attended. All funds donated to anything in the athletic department will be counted towards priority in picking seats for basketball is what they said.

You are correct in that it will count towards your priority order, but if you have to donate $1k for the honor to buy your seats at least $1k of your total donation has to be to the Mustang Club general fund.

[Blunt Pony]

Blunt, what you are describing is exactly what the MC board is. Passionate people with congruent but unique points of view wanting to have a voice. If you'd like to be involved, have someone nominate you, or pm me. Obviously 1900 separate conversations can be unwieldy but as Dutch mentioned there were many, not to mention some colorful and at times heated board meetings as differing views and concerns were discussed.[/quote]

Let's just say I think this re-seat was handled poorly. Time will tell whether it is a success or not. I am going to keep my donation at the same level and see where that puts me. Heck, I may improve my seats which would be great. I did a stint on the Mustang Club board and do appreciate all the work that goes into volunteering. Maybe one day and I can find time to do it again. Keep up the good work!

[Dutch]

Glad that you got a one on one to get your input. I take it you agree with the process, but maybe that is because you were involved in it. That is kind of my point. Now, I do not think it is a waste of resources to "invite" 1900 people to meet with a representative about this change. It is a big part of what you do as a collegiate booster club...you meet with boosters. Not everyone is going to schedule a meeting anyway, but the courtesy would have gone a long way.

just to clarify, i wasn't meeting with members of a booster club. i was meeting with members of the athletic department. Hart, Pottkotter, Peters, Noesen. it would be a waste of their time/resources to meet with 1900 people. that's also the reason the school is hosting all the group sessions. knock out more info delivery in efficient manner.

just to be frank on this though, the reseat isn't going to drastically affect many outside of the "1%ers" who handle 95% of the funding to get [deleted] done. the MAF is a way to reward the guys who give millions. there are so few though that this is so much energy wasted on so little lasting effect.

how many of you complaining are facing the possibility of being bumped from your courtside seats? i'm guessing zero. how many might lose red seats? a small handful. still not many. and i suspect anyone who is facing a move from red seats to above the rail doesn't really mind b/c Miller Club access isn't tied to the seat anymore.

[SMU Section F]

just to be frank on this though, the reseat isn't going to drastically affect many outside of the "1%ers" who handle 95% of the funding to get [deleted] done. the MAF is a way to reward the guys who give millions. there are so few though that this is so much energy wasted on so little lasting effect.

how many of you complaining are facing the possibility of being bumped from your courtside seats? i'm guessing zero. how many might lose red seats? a small handful. still not many. and i suspect anyone who is facing a move from red seats to above the rail doesn't really mind b/c Miller Club access isn't tied to the seat anymore.

I'm losing my "above the rail" seats, which to me is a pretty drastic effect since I've been sitting there since I stopped getting free student tickets over a decade ago.

Sure, there's a possibility I could keep them if I gave the "right" amount, but I don't gamble. There are so many better ways the Athletic Department could have handled this if the intentions are as you and RGV Pony have stated in this thread. (I do appreciate your insight however, as y'all are clearly better connected than I am.)

[Dutch]

just to be frank on this though, the reseat isn't going to drastically affect many outside of the "1%ers" who handle 95% of the funding to get [deleted] done. the MAF is a way to reward the guys who give millions. there are so few though that this is so much energy wasted on so little lasting effect.

how many of you complaining are facing the possibility of being bumped from your courtside seats? i'm guessing zero. how many might lose red seats? a small handful. still not many. and i suspect anyone who is facing a move from red seats to above the rail doesn't really mind b/c Miller Club access isn't tied to the seat anymore.

I'm losing my "above the rail" seats, which to me is a pretty drastic effect since I've been sitting there since I stopped getting free student tickets over a decade ago.

Sure, there's a possibility I could keep them if I gave the "right" amount, but I don't gamble. There are so many better ways the Athletic Department could have handled this if the intentions are as you and RGV Pony have stated in this thread. (I do appreciate your insight however, as y'all are clearly better connected than I am.)

there's nothing stating your current seats will be gone when it's your time to select (or that they will be available either). but seriously, this isn't some tectonic shift. if you're on the isle in 104, and end up on the other side of that same isle in 105, is that really a drastic change in view? or even if you end up back a row or two because you want to stay on the isle instead of mid-row? the last row in 104 is row 10. that's 15 rows from the floor. still good seats. i think there's a lot of misunderstanding and gross misinformation from a vocal minority on this subject.

hasn't one of the things that created moody magic been that there isn't a bad seat in the house b/c it's a shallow bowl with a low ceiling? makes it loud. also means everyone is relatively close to the action. my suggestion to you would be to just call their bluff, give what you've always given. $1000 as you mentioned may be a lot of money, but you'll still be guaranteed a seat in the stadium if you want one. if there is absolutely no seat to your liking when it's your time to pick, then walk away, take your tax credit (b/c if it's not part of a seat license, you still get the donation credit) and know you helped the athletic department one last time.

[SMU Section F]

just to be frank on this though, the reseat isn't going to drastically affect many outside of the "1%ers" who handle 95% of the funding to get [deleted] done. the MAF is a way to reward the guys who give millions. there are so few though that this is so much energy wasted on so little lasting effect.

how many of you complaining are facing the possibility of being bumped from your courtside seats? i'm guessing zero. how many might lose red seats? a small handful. still not many. and i suspect anyone who is facing a move from red seats to above the rail doesn't really mind b/c Miller Club access isn't tied to the seat anymore.

I'm losing my "above the rail" seats, which to me is a pretty drastic effect since I've been sitting there since I stopped getting free student tickets over a decade ago.

Sure, there's a possibility I could keep them if I gave the "right" amount, but I don't gamble. There are so many better ways the Athletic Department could have handled this if the intentions are as you and RGV Pony have stated in this thread. (I do appreciate your insight however, as y'all are clearly better connected than I am.)

there's nothing stating your current seats will be gone when it's your time to select (or that they will be available either). but seriously, this isn't some tectonic shift. if you're on the isle in 104, and end up on the other side of that same isle in 105, is that really a drastic change in view? or even if you end up back a row or two because you want to stay on the isle instead of mid-row? the last row in 104 is row 10. that's 15 rows from the floor. still good seats. i think there's a lot of misunderstanding and gross misinformation from a vocal minority on this subject.

hasn't one of the things that created moody magic been that there isn't a bad seat in the house b/c it's a shallow bowl with a low ceiling? makes it loud. also means everyone is relatively close to the action. my suggestion to you would be to just call their bluff, give what you've always given. $1000 as you mentioned may be a lot of money, but you'll still be guaranteed a seat in the stadium if you want one. if there is absolutely no seat to your liking when it's your time to pick, then walk away, take your tax credit (b/c if it's not part of a seat license, you still get the donation credit) and know you helped the athletic department one last time.

I'm not sure about others, but I've discussed my concerns enough with the Athletic Department that I'm pretty sure I understand my situation. If the SMU Athletic Department wants my money, they can tell me how much it will cost me to get which seats. They have stated definitively that they will not. That is not misinformation.

If the projections/estimates are supposedly good enough to guide my decision, why is that same data not good enough to set a donation level and price for each seat? Maybe I've talked to the wrong people, but I have not received an answer to that question that didn't feel incredibly evasive.

[PerunasHoof]

I would assume that's because until everyone makes their donation and puts their bid in for seats, everything is up in the air. They probably don't want to promise anything that can obviously change up until the March 31 deadline.

[Pony81]

That's the point..... there are a handful of large donors - less than 100 - than should be accommodated with the best seats.
So, instead of throwing everything in turmoil, survey this group as to their desired location - likely sections 104 and 204 - then simply jack up the prices in those sections and to a lesser degree others to get the movement needed to make room for those donors.

The big money donors may not get THE seat they want but they will get a good seat in a good section. As was stated - is there really a difference between section 104 and 105?
SMU fans understand supply and demand, the need for funds to support the program and move away from a handful of big money donors.....
Now though, a loud, supportive home court environment - the #1 aspect a BBall program needs according to Jank - has been jeopordized by the vast majority of season ticket holders pissed off and either dropping out, cutting back tickets, or playing wait and see.

[SMU Section F]

I would assume that's because until everyone makes their donation and puts their bid in for seats, everything is up in the air. They probably don't want to promise anything that can obviously change up until the March 31 deadline.

If it was a bid for seating locations - whereby I pledged a certain amount if I got certain seats, but owed nothing if I was outbid - I would absolutely increase my donation. No question.

If it was a price increase - whereby I paid a certain amount for certain seats - I would absolutely increase my donation. No question.

But I'm not gambling for a chance to possibly get seats that I might want.

I should probably stop discussing. Obviously I'm not happy about the way the re-seat has been handled. I know it, the Athletic Department knows it, and now PonyFans is well aware. Not sure re-hashing it anymore is good for me. Time to go back to discussing basketball.

[smusportspage]

I feel your pain. I have been a season ticket holder since the early 80's. Have seen a lot of ups and downs. However, I guess my desire to attend the basketball games on a regular basis and support the team is greater than yours. I am not so willing to just give up that experience. I will be making a donation, probably at the same level as before. That level being what I can afford.

[SMU Section F]

I feel your pain. I have been a season ticket holder since the early 80's. Have seen a lot of ups and downs. However, I guess my desire to attend the basketball games on a regular basis and support the team is greater than yours. I am not so willing to just give up that experience. I will be making a donation, probably at the same level as before. That level being what I can afford.

Oh, I'll still be going to the games. Just not contributing to SMU or the Mustang Club anymore. I figure if I'm not getting the seats I want, I might as well save a few grand.