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Gamecock Club reinstates donation increase for 2016

Chris Clark

Football/Recruiting Insider
Jan 3, 2005
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GAMECOCK CLUB REINSTATES DONATION INCREASE FOR 2016

Levels to Increase for Just Third Time Since 1989

COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 5, 2015) - A five-percent increase in annual Gamecock Club donation levels, with the exception of the Roost level, originally approved in 2012, has been reinstated for the 2016 giving year, the Gamecock Club Board of Directors announced today. This will mark just the third increase in Gamecock Club annual donation levels since 1989, and the first donation increase since 2008.

"The Board of Directors felt it was important to manage the donation structure of the Gamecock Club by ensuring that we continue to equip our student-athletes with the academic and athletic tools that will assist them in succeeding in the classroom and field of play," said Patrick McFarland, Director of the Gamecock Club.

"The Gamecock Club has a great history of providing financial support for our student-athletes, whether it be tuition and fees, room and board, books or other education needs," noted Athletics Director Ray Tanner. "We appreciate the Gamecock Club Board of Directors in approving this increase. It will be a benefit to us as we begin to address the impact of the new NCAA legislation benefitting Cost of Attendance needs for student-athletes at Carolina."

Ted Girardeau, Gamecock Club Executive Committee Chairman, added, "The Executive Committee and Board of Directors felt it was imperative that we stay in line with tuition increases and continue providing a quality education for our student-athletes. This will be possible by implementing this minimal increase to prevent finding ourselves in a situation similar to 2007 when substantial increases had to be made across the board to be competitive in the Southeastern Conference."

Here are the current giving levels and the contribution levels approved for 2016:
Current Annual 2016
Giving Level Contribution Contribution
Diamond Spur $30,000 $31,500
Platinum Spur $15,000 $15,750
Golden Spur $10,000 $10,500
Garnet Spur $7,000 $7,350
Silver Spur $3,300 $3,500
Full Scholarship $1,500 $1,600
Half Scholarship $725 $760
Roundhouse $385 $400
Century $165 $175
Roost $55 $100

The Gamecock Club Board of Directors represents the 45 local chapters throughout South Carolina and 16 out-of-state chapters that comprise the over 18,000 members of the Gamecock Club.
 
What was the revenue take last year and what does the . . .


GC anticipate revenues to be this year? From membership sources only.

Seems fair to me. Glad to see the Executive Committee staying on top of things now rather than put off and put off implementing dues increases and then snowballing the membership in 2-3 years.
 
Re: What was the revenue take last year and what does the . . .


Glad you see it that way. Where does the new SEC network money play into this? Revenues are up for the school, so are costs of attending.
 
The increases are reasonable. Our SEC rivals aren't going to rest on their laurels and neither can we.
 
Based on 2013 Gamecock Club membership this will pull in an additional $754,054.00.
 
Originally posted by cockhornleghorn:
The increases are reasonable. Our SEC rivals aren't going to rest on their laurels and neither can we.
I don't find the increase unreasonable, but there does seem to be a little irony in saying "if you want your team to succeed, you have to pay more." The vast majority of people will gladly pay the small increase to continue watching Gamecock sports from their current seats. But there are, no doubt, some who are already straining their finances to give at their current level (probably not the wisest financial move, but that's a different discussion). For them, the trade off for watching the Gamecocks "succeed" athletically is that they must watch that success from poorer seats, or in some cases, from their couch.

It's an interesting chicken-or-egg question. We all want the Gamecocks to win championships in everything. But if the price for those championships means that we can no longer afford to attend the games, was it worth it?
 
Originally posted by uscg1984:
Originally posted by cockhornleghorn:
The increases are reasonable. Our SEC rivals aren't going to rest on their laurels and neither can we.
I don't find the increase unreasonable, but there does seem to be a little irony in saying "if you want your team to succeed, you have to pay more." The vast majority of people will gladly pay the small increase to continue watching Gamecock sports from their current seats. But there are, no doubt, some who are already straining their finances to give at their current level (probably not the wisest financial move, but that's a different discussion). For them, the trade off for watching the Gamecocks "succeed" athletically is that they must watch that success from poorer seats, or in some cases, from their couch.

It's an interesting chicken-or-egg question. We all want the Gamecocks to win championships in everything. But if the price for those championships means that we can no longer afford to attend the games, was it worth it?
I'm sure if our program suffers then those fans will be able to buy tickets on the cheap. I am a Gamecock Club member and buy season tickets for men's basketball, women's basketball and football. I take that money away from other things I would spend money on, mainly vacations. I would hope that nobody would forego necessities to buy tickets. It's unfortunate, but to have a winning program it takes money.
 
Figured the dues would not go up since our coaches don't really spend any money recruiting.
 
Originally posted by uscg1984:
Originally posted by cockhornleghorn:
The increases are reasonable. Our SEC rivals aren't going to rest on their laurels and neither can we.
I don't find the increase unreasonable, but there does seem to be a little irony in saying "if you want your team to succeed, you have to pay more." The vast majority of people will gladly pay the small increase to continue watching Gamecock sports from their current seats. But there are, no doubt, some who are already straining their finances to give at their current level (probably not the wisest financial move, but that's a different discussion). For them, the trade off for watching the Gamecocks "succeed" athletically is that they must watch that success from poorer seats, or in some cases, from their couch.

It's an interesting chicken-or-egg question. We all want the Gamecocks to win championships in everything. But if the price for those championships means that we can no longer afford to attend the games, was it worth it

Fans at half of the other SEC schools seem to be okay with paying as much, or in most cases more. The price of success.



?
 
Amazing that the largest percentage increase is at the lowest giving level. Seemingly for those who can least afford it..!!
 
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