It's not about dollars and cents; it's the projection of our culture. He sound like he wants to be the "Secretary of State," instead of The AD at Texas. texas-ad-hints-golf-and-basketball-will-play-in-dubai-no-football
Will the Texas Exes who live in the ME be paying for the teams' airfares and hotels, or is that where all of these ticket price increases are going? I don't like this guy.
Yes, everyone knows it's all about the money. Why is Patterson doing all this? Is he auditioning for another professional job as general manager or some other position? I would think that he might want to solve some very real problems going on in Austin, before branching out to the rest of the world. The alumni and fans of UT athletics would like to see success return on the field and court here be the priority, above all else.
Patterson may already think that the problems are fixed with the hiring of Strong, and thus is looking ahead.
That trip is too damned far and the security over there isn't the greatest with the terrorist group just up the way in Iraq.
Wow. SP should have the position of UT Ambassador, not Athletic Director. All I'm seeing is completely wrecking the things that directly effect our sports programs, and then a global goodwill and entrepreneur focus. SP didn't land Shaka, the opportunity did. All SP had to do was be non-repellent in that meeting. Let's not forget, SP offered Barnes the coward option to stay. if Barnes was weak of character like SP, he would've agreed and made patsies of his assistant coaches. Shaka would still be at VCU. Same deal with our hiring Strong. There was no way Strong was passing on us even with a different AD. Both coaches were making a large jump to a VERY lucrative opportunity. The UT football and basketball jobs weren't just normal top school openings. Both our programs were in desperate need of a savior to reach the next level again. And these coaches have the unique chance to become legends here if they succeed. Not to mention stars in a hip city overflowing with national buzz and admiration. Regardless of what Strong has done and may do, right now he's 6-7. So even though I think Strong would've came with or without SP asking, I'm still not gonna mark a check next to a great hire for SP. We'll see. Shaka is a solid get, but not counting chickens until they hatch there either. So yeah, maybe SP gave us hope in those programs. But really, any good AD could've done that with the opportunities we had. Let's just put it very nicely...I really, really, really do not like SP. What he has done with our tradition, pride, and the destruction of ways our fans support and feel close to our team is beyond despicable.
Why thank you. I think I'm getting addicted to SP posts. This whole ordeal just doesn't seem to digest.
i get the point patterson is trying to drive home but this quote "“Was anybody buying a Kobe Bryant T-shirt in China 40 years ago? No." makes me laugh because i'm pretty sure kobe is only 36 or so.
Well, technically he’s correct. So obviously SP has been given a strong mandate to sell, sell, sell the brand. Or his compensation includes a percentage of revenues, or both. What I wonder is does this negatively impact the program’s ability to compete for championships? One could argue that the higher visibility of UT Athletics can help with recruiting top talent. The other side of the debate could be that the insistence on selling will place demands on coaches and staff that hinder their ability to focus on the work of building championship teams.
Our brand revenue was through the roof when we were nationally relevant. Get back to winning and the heavy revenue takes care of itself. Even TLN would've been a great success if our teams had performed at the high levels they were at before it was created. Instead, they've done little to help entice widespread or sustained interest. SP is trying to radically manufacture new demand for products that frankly suck right now. Promises of being better soon are not the same as actual concrete improvement. He should've focused all his efforts on improving the actual products first, then capitalized on radical new revenue avenues after it was justified. No sane company increases prices of a product that was just downgraded. When demand weakens, prices usually drop not increase.
I'll say it again. Right or wrong, SP thinks the winning on the field problem is solved with Strong hiring. What should he be doing now? Hire Strong a second time?
He shouldn't be jacking up renewal costs, charging for parking for the first season ever, and making new restrictive re-sell policies based on unsubstantiated speculation of improvement with zero concrete evidence. The problem is not so much the radical exploration beyond the past/current customer/fanbase. The huge issue is what he shouldn't have done to the most loyal customers/supporters at a time when the only proven thing about his new product is regression. Last I checked his speculative improvement actually produced a weakened product, down from 8-5 to 6-7. At this very second it is still the worst UT football product we've been sold since 2010. I'm speaking in transaction terms because it's SP's language. Since the bold increases and brand new restrictive policies are now months old...are we supposed to just excuse them as the past and move forward? Leave Stevie P alone, what's done is done? Not happening, the changes within his new policies have not been felt in practice yet. Renewals were 10,000+ below last year and we've yet to see just how much it's gonna wreck game day attendance. Since the early schedule is tough, could be much worse than expected after a few quick losses. I guarantee there are still grandfathered ticket holders who have no idea they can't resell their tix and will be pissed when flagged and scolded, if not stripped. Season ticket holders have yet to park at a game and realize they paid for something that used to be a gift in appreciation for donations and loyalty. The real storm hasn't even begun yet.
Dubai trip sounds like a good old fashioned boondoggle. Maybe SP always wanted to go to Dubai and he got to go on UT's nickel. Makes as much sense as his public explanation.
