Wildcats need television money, more donors to continue pace
Near the entrance of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, a list of all who contributed financially to the $72 million building goes on and on. How many? Exactly 205 people, including major donors Jeff Stevens and David Lowell.
If you study the list for any time, you discover there are only eight ex-UA athletes who were part of the financial process: baseball players Tony Milo and Lance Dickson; softball player Amy Chellevold Hillenbrand; football players Gary Cropper, Antoine Cason, Lance Briggs and Jim Krohn; and basketball player Kenny Lofton.
It’s the truest reflection of how difficult it is for Greg Byrne and his staff to raise money to keep pace with Pac-12 salaries, facilities and travel expenses.
Last week the UA released a marketing brochure touting its membership record of 12,900 Wildcat Club donors. That’s almost double what it was when Byrne was hired 5½ years ago. You can join the Wildcat Club for as little as $100 a year. The school listed the 594 former UA athletes who belong to the Wildcat Club.
I was surprised by the relative low number of ex-athletes who support the school financially. Richard Jefferson and Steve Kerr are known to have donated at least $1 million to their alma mater, but after that the roll call diminishes in a hurry.
Of all ex-Arizona athletes to play in the NFL, NBA, MLB and on the PGA Tour, only 18 are members of the Wildcat Club:
NBA: Sean Elliott, Bob Elliott.
NFL: Ka’Deem Carey, John Kaiser, Bill Demory, Jim Arneson, Copeland Bryan, Nick Folk, Glenn Parker, Jeff Kiewel, Lamonte Hunley.
MLB: Terry Francona, Kenny Lofton, Greg Bargar, Lance Dickson, Jack Howell.
PGA Tour: Don Pooley, Ricky Barnes.
That’s it.
The UA’s annual athletic budget of about $70 million comes almost fully from the average guy down the street, the husband and wife paying a seat premium at McKale Center and those who traditionally buy season tickets at Arizona Stadium.
Here’s what all this means: when the Pac-12 and its TV partners schedule Arizona to play a Halloween 8 p.m football game in Seattle, there is no wiggle room. The UA realizes almost $22 million annually from its media rights package.
The Wildcat Club and the school’s other athletic donors have nowhere near the power or influence.
