The May edition of "Ask the AD"
Massaro Response: I have looked at our corporate sponsors and I would like to develop several different tiers of sponsorship levels. The sponsors who give the most money would be eligible for parking passes and various other perks during the course of the athletic year. If you do have parking needs, please contact Mark Meadows who oversees our marketing department.
Fan: Terry Burgess (Murray, KY)
Question: Has there been any progress on who is going to replace Dick Palmer as the radio voice of the Blue Raiders?
Massaro Response: No, right now we are in the process of bidding out our multi-media rights which will be a company who will handle our radio broadcasts, advertising, signage, etc.... When we announce that company, then they will help us pick the new voice of the Blue Raiders.
Fan: Stephen Wiley (Murfreesboro)
Question: I just wanted to say you are doing a fantastic job here. The things you have brought to our university so far are surreal. I can speak for many fans and students when I say that getting things like $800,000 field turf, home football opponents like Virginia and Georgia Tech, and getting the wheels in motion for a state-of-the-art baseball facility seemed impossible. It's only a matter of time until the BCS schools start contacting you and I hope that you plug your ears and continue to elevate our university. Keep up the good work and let's go blue.
Massaro Response: Thank you for the kind words. We have a great staff here and a solid fan base. These accomplishments are totally a team effort and I am fortunate to be a part of this great Blue Raider team. As for the BCS comment, I want to make you aware that I already work for a BCS school. This is a great opportunity to let me say that all 11 I-A conferences are members of the BCS and can play for the National Championship. There is no separation between the ACC and the Sun Belt any longer as far as BCS or Non-BCS. If our BCS ranking is high enough then we will have a spot in one of the BCS bowl games. We take a lot of pride in this and will brand ourselves as such.
Fan: Daniel Keele (Wartrace)
Question: Mr. Massaro, I know you have said in past issues of Ask the AD, about fundraising for Blue Raider sports and how alumni need to take action. A great example of how alumni take action would be at the University of Evansville. U.E. has an On-line Alumni Pledge Campaign (Save Ace) that is very clever. Evansville's loyal mascot, Ace Purple, has gone into hiding and he will only come out of hiding if alumni pledge participation increases. I think Middle Tennessee could do something similar to what the University of Evansville is doing. Thank you for your hard work.
Massaro Response: I agree that what Evansville is doing is very clever and unique. These ideas are not in a vacuum and whether we incorporate the idea with our alumni association or our BRAA campaign will be something that I will discuss with members of our administration team.
Fan: Aaron Todd (Murfreesboro)
Question: We paid a lot of money to host the Sun Belt tournament last winter. Can you tell us if we came out ahead financially? I'm sure we saved some on travel expenses, and got a lot of good publicity?
Massaro Response: Yes, we did pay a lot of money for the Sun Belt tournament last winter and it was a great event that helped out the city of Murfreesboro and the local community by bringing numerous visitors to town. No, we did not finish ahead financially even though our teams did not have to travel. However, the publicity we received with two national telecasts and a regional telecast coming from the Murphy Center was very valuable. On top of that, our women's basketball team won the championship in front of a regional television audience to earn a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Overall, it was a success but if you look at it only in financial terms then it was not a success. Thanks for your question, and I hope you are doing well.
Fan: Marc Rogers (Franklin)
Question: I was blessed last year to be able to attend every football game -- home and away -- and hope to be able to do the same this season. Can the athletic department negotiate some kind of sponsorship deals with e.g., Southwest Airlines and Comfort Suites, that would provide a discount for traveling Blue Raider fans?
Massaro Response: Thank you for attending every football. It is great to have fans like you and one thing that has impressed me at Middle Tennessee is the loyalty of our fans. What we need to do is have more Marc Rogers'. Right now we simply do not have a large enough fan base to leverage a deal with the airlines or hotels. However, our conference does have arrangements with Choice Hotels and I want to encourage our fans to use their facilities and mention the Sun Belt Conference.
Fan: Drew (Murfreesboro)
Question: I think you have done a wonderful job over the past year, and made some changes that were badly needed. Also, I read recently in a pre-season football magazine that Middle is getting new uniforms along with the new field turf. I just wanted to know if that was true, and if so, what the new uniforms looked like?
Massaro Response: Thank you, Drew. Like I said earlier, we have had a lot of fun this year and it all could not have been accomplished without our great staff. We are getting new uniforms and Nike will be the supplier which is a change from Reebok. The look will be very similar to what Southern Cal has worn the past few years in terms of the striping around the shoulder pads. This is probably the most notable change to the uniform.
Fan: Tim Fleischmann (Cassellbury, FL)
Question: Are there any plans in place, and is it possible, to implement viewing of this year's football games via the internet? Your out-of-state Blue Raider fans are seeking a solution to this challenge?
Massaro Response: They will probably be more on a tape delay basis. Bradley Lambert, our internet director in the media relations office, does a terrific job and they are currently working on a re-design of the Web site and part of the new look will include a subscription service. This will be for fans who want a little bit extra. Fans will be able to get audio, video, watch games from the past, coaches shows, Blue Raider Weekly, games, special video clips, press conferences, and much more. It will be a nominal fee around $60 a year which is a great bargain to have access to so much information. We feel this will be a valuable service to our alums all over the world. The fee will allow us to hopefully break even on the venture so stay tuned to GoBlueRaiders.com for all the information.
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