FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[wartknight]

I know when SJU put SprinTurf down at Clemens Stadium in 2002 the school actually saved money.
I worked for Br. Mark Kelly on the grounds crew, and after a few years of not having to mow, re-seed, paint lines, etc., the turf paid for itself. It should be no different at BU.

So who do I forward this information to at Bethel?  It would be great to convince them to install turf.

+k oz!

[SagatagSam]

I'm sure it does pay for itself, at least to some degree.

The issue is the up front capital required...probably in the $1-2 million range? I have no clue.  By itself, that's really not a huge amount (if my guess was anywhere in the vicinity of the ballpark) but the issue is that it is lined up behind other not yet fully paid off items like the student center, and the new fitness center that they just broke ground on.

Maybe once those are checked off, they can focus their fundraising efforts in that direction.

From what I remember, the 2002 installation at Clemens Stadium was somewhere in the $175,000 to $225,000 range. But, that was over a decade ago.

[SagatagSam]

I guess there is an expert at Mizzou that says I'm full of crap:

http://cafnr.missouri.edu/research/turfgrass-costs.php

"In a 16-year scenario, Fresenburg came up with an annual average cost for each field type as follows: the natural soil-based field, $33,522; the sand-cap grass field, $49,318; the basic synthetic field, $65,846; and the premium synthetic field, $109,013."

"The basic synthetic field would cost $600,000 initially and have an estimated $5,000 annual maintenance budget. The premium artificial turf installation was estimated to cost $1,000,000, plus $20,000 annually for maintenance."

[OzJohnnie]

I guess there is an expert at Mizzou that says I'm full of crap.

You don't need to go clear to Missouri to get that message, Sam.

[SagatagSam]

I guess there is an expert at Mizzou that says I'm full of crap.

You don't need to go clear to Missouri to get that message, Sam.

You got me!

[Touchdown Tommy]

Benchwarmer:  I assume you watched your squad play on the video on Saturday.  Do TDT a favor.  Break it down for us.  What stood out?  Strengths/Weaknesses from Wartburg etc.

Just wanted to say hello to my pals Chewey & Brice who I know have been lurking here on the MIAC PP.  Good seeing you goofy meatheads at the game on Saturday.

[RoyalsFan]

Nobody was saying that the score would be the same. The only argument was that the crappy field conditions favored one team. They both played on the same field so nobody could use the field as a an excuse.

It's not that the field conditions favored one team over the other, rather that it negated one team's advantage which makes the 2 teams more evenly matched (and no, I'm not using it as an excuse, but it was a factor in the game which you can deny all you like). An underdog always has a better chance in bad field/weather conditions in a football game.

[Pat Coleman]

Congratulations to Sam Sura on being named a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy.

http://www.d3football.com/notables/2014/11/gagliardi-semifinalists-announced

Well deserved.

I cast my ballot 

I did as well.

Note to Pat or anyone else associated with the fan voting:  There is a simply and fairly well known means of circumventing the single-vote mechanism of Survey Monkey.  If fan vote is a determining factor in the award then this needs to be looked at.  If it's just a data point for a committee to consider then all is fine.

Feel free to take that to the J-Club. The fan voting is one ballot out of 41 so it's not going to be a significant deal if people delete their cookies. If people want to waste their time digging in and deleting cookies, hey, whatever.

[OzJohnnie]

Well, I tried.  The athletic staff directory link was broken.

[OzJohnnie]

Cricket is by and large an amazingly boring sport. But it has idiosyncrasies. One of them is that bean ball is not only legal but a legitimate part of the game. A player was pinged today by a high, hard bouncer and is in critical condition undergoing brain surgery.  The delayed reaction is terrifying.

A news report from a New Zealand channel (the accents are a whole different kind of terrifying.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7QaD3l1yQA

[OzJohnnie]

It must be What the Heck is Going On news day. A woman in an Melbourne suburb was hanging out the laundry when a sinkhole opened up and swallowed her.  They got her out at least.

[57Johnnie]

Congratulations to Sam Sura on being named a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy.

http://www.d3football.com/notables/2014/11/gagliardi-semifinalists-announced

Well deserved.

I cast my ballot 

I did as well.

Note to Pat or anyone else associated with the fan voting:  There is a simply and fairly well known means of circumventing the single-vote mechanism of Survey Monkey.  If fan vote is a determining factor in the award then this needs to be looked at.  If it's just a data point for a committee to consider then all is fine.

Feel free to take that to the J-Club. The fan voting is one ballot out of 41 so it's not going to be a significant deal if people delete their cookies. If people want to waste their time digging in and deleting cookies, hey, whatever.

I only voted once. I'm a Johnnie.

[DuffMan]

From what I remember, the 2002 installation at Clemens Stadium was somewhere in the $175,000 to $225,000 range. But, that was over a decade ago.

I believe the initial install in 2002 was in the neighborhood of $750K.  That included the excavation, installation of the base and drainage, and the turf.  Subsequent replacements are cheaper because the under-workings are already in place.  Maybe Redtooth can chime in--he was a big part of that project.

[sjusection105]

I know when SJU put SprinTurf down at Clemens Stadium in 2002 the school actually saved money.
I worked for Br. Mark Kelly on the grounds crew, and after a few years of not having to mow, re-seed, paint lines, etc., the turf paid for itself. It should be no different at BU.

So who do I forward this information to at Bethel?  It would be great to convince them to install turf.

The fundraising could go something like this:
Contact all the players from the past 30 years. I know there is attrition from freshmen year to senior year, so let's just say their are 25 core players per class, so 750 core football players over 30 years. Bring them in to the auditorium and make a presentation. Ask them to commit $500 each over the next year. The pledge can be one lump sum,quarterly or monthly, you have $375,000.00 plus 750 evangelists for the project.

Next send out a letter from Steve Johnson to all  football parents during Johnson's time at BU asking for a donation to the project and asking them to spread the word about the project. There may be another $50K-$100K. The parents who sent their kids to BU to play for Johnson,love Steve Johnson.

Next send a letter to all BC/BU graduates over the past 30 years. Of those BC/BU graduate you may get 20% who donate $100.00, so that's another $400,000.00.

Next find "key donors" someone or a group that will do matching funds on the campaign,or find 50 people or couples who will donate $50,000. It's easier to find 50 @ 50K than one @ $2.5M.

Now, all of a sudden BU has $3M+ for a field, weight room & locker room for the football team. This is just an illustration of how this could work.

[DuffMan]

...or get yourself a Bill Clemens!