Matthew328
04-07-2004, 09:18 AM
Good article in today's UTA newspaper...
Proposal process began years ago
Discussions of reviving the football program began when Robert Witt was president.
By Brad Rollins
The Shorthorn Staff
In the nearly two decades since he eliminated the football program, Wendell Nedderman says he has grown accustomed to being second guessed.
The outcry started immediately after the university’s former president announced in 1985 that the year’s season would be the last. There were tears and protests and threats of withdrawn donations. Within two weeks of the announcement, alumni had raised nearly $2 million. Letters poured in by the hundreds. Dr. Nedderman was unmoved, and the team was eliminated.
But it was far from the last he would hear on the subject. Eighteen years later, the issue has returned with Student Congress’ vote last week to ask students to approve a $2 per-semester-credit-hour athletics fee increase. Supporters say the measure would fund the maintenance cost of football and women’s golf and soccer but require the university to raise the start-up costs of scholarships, salaries and equipment through donations.
Nedderman is still unmoved.
“I’m so sick of talking about football,” Nedderman said this week. “I say: If someone can come up with a way to have a viable, credible football program, more power to them.”
He says this almost as a dare, chewing on the end of a unlit cigar.
Those who have taken him up on the challenge — led by three student senators and a handful of wealthy alumni — have done so quickly and quietly. They have also sought to move beyond discussion, advancing the only bonafide plan to restore the program in 18 years.
“People always want to talk about talking about football,” said Student Congress President Josh Warren, who wrote the referendum. “We decided that it was time someone do something. Students didn’t get a voice when the program was eliminated, and they haven’t had a voice since. At least now they have a voice, no matter how things turn out.”
The effort started well over a year ago with a meeting in October 2002 between then-President Robert Witt, Athletics Director Pete Carlon and ten alumni. The current campaign has roots in that meeting, according to some who attended and documents obtained by The Shorthorn.
“The first thing he said was that nothing was going to happen until after the legislative session [in Spring 2003]. He said we needed to get through that first,” Carlon said this week. “But there were two other important points coming out of that meeting. For one, he said he would be willing to set up an account and let us start raising funds for a football program. Second, he said we could start talking to student leaders about whether they really want it and whether they’d be willing to pay to maintain a program.”
Dr. Witt left the university shortly thereafter, in March 2003, to accept the presidency at the University of Alabama. But what attendees regarded in October 2002 as Witt’s implicit approval of their efforts has formed the basis for the campaign now.
“He was at the very least open-minded about the process,” Carlon said.
Witt did not respond to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.
Warren said he became involved in the football issue after taking office last summer. He said he found a resolution passed in 1998 in a folder marked ‘pending.’ Attached was a memorandum from Witt dated March 1, 1999.
“The main argument of ... [the] resolution is well-taken. If and when the university is to consider the possibility of reinstating football, the consideration should be based on a comprehensive feasibility study,” Witt wrote.
It is not known if Witt ever commissioned such a feasibility study, but Carlon said he completed one on his own and provided Witt with a copy in March 2002, eight months before the critical meeting. Carlon said it is an all-encompassing examination of an athletics program expansion, but it includes an extensive section on football.
The document, which almost fills a 3-inch binder and is written entirely in pencil, is not subject to open records laws. Carlon declined to allow a reporter to see it, saying it was completed on his own time and was his “personal document.”
“It’s pretty much obsolete now, anyway,” he said. “All the numbers have changed.”
Still, he acknowledges that the plan was used as a starting point for the current effort.
“I think it would be fair to say you could put a percentage increase on it and get a fairly decent estimate on what those costs would be for 2004-2005 standards,” the athletics director said.
Carlon said he also said he provided Witt with a copy of a Athletics Department Strategic Plan. An undated copy of the document was left anonymously at the newspaper. Under a section labeled “Reinstatement of a I-AA football program - Steps in the process,” Carlon outlined the process for restoring the program. The first item is listed as “preliminary discussions with administration.” It is marked “Completed - October 1999.”
“I started this with Dr. Witt. When I gave him a copy, I said if he wanted me to change something, please tell me. I never received directive to make any changes,” Carlon said.
Another set of items in the strategic plan details steps for the formation of an Athletics Alumni Association, which was formed in Fall 2002.
The same Athletic Alumni Association would be instrumental in bringing about last week’ Student Congress vote. Warren and Business senator Bryan Shaner started meeting with the Athletic Alumni Association in mid-January. Shaner and Liberal Arts senator Jenna Lynn DeHart sponsored the referendum in Student Congress.
“We started talking to the association and their basic gist was that anything that happened should be student-led if it was going to go anywhere,” Shaner said.
Brian Happel, the association’s president, invoked Witt’s name during remarks made to Student Congress before their nearly-unanimous vote.
“I personally know Dr. Witt, and I have kept him involved and informed throughout this process,” Happel told senators.
Even the Student Congress vote itself is referenced in the strategic plan, shedding light on what Happel described to senators as a “very orchestrated effort.”
Another item on the list reads, “Initiate conversations with Student Congress on a referendum for a $2 per-semester-credit-hour increase in the student athletics fee for annual funding of the maintenance and operations budget of a I-AA football program.”
President James Spaniolo has said he is neutral on the football issue and reiterated on Monday the need for extensive research, including an analysis by an outside consultant, if the referendum is approved.
“If the referendum should pass, it would just be the beginning of what would necessarily be an in-depth review and analysis of the feasibility of proceeding along these lines,” Spaniolo said. “The issue of whether to have a football program is a rather complex question with serious financial implications. It would be a major undertaking, and I would want to analyze it in every way it needs to be analyzed.”
He said he was not familiar with Witt’s involvement on the subject, specifically the strategic plan. He said he will continue to gather input and will “ultimately ... add my own judgment.”
Nedderman said he is not surprised by the resurgence of the issue.
“There is a certain mystique in Texas surrounding football that I have always found interesting,” Nedderman said. “But I don’t worry about these things anymore. What will be, let it be.”
For more stories about the attempts to revive UTA's football program go to
http://www.theshorthorn.com/databank/football/index.html
Maybe Lamar can start football back up and the Southland can become a bigger I-AA football league..
Proposal process began years ago
Discussions of reviving the football program began when Robert Witt was president.
By Brad Rollins
The Shorthorn Staff
In the nearly two decades since he eliminated the football program, Wendell Nedderman says he has grown accustomed to being second guessed.
The outcry started immediately after the university’s former president announced in 1985 that the year’s season would be the last. There were tears and protests and threats of withdrawn donations. Within two weeks of the announcement, alumni had raised nearly $2 million. Letters poured in by the hundreds. Dr. Nedderman was unmoved, and the team was eliminated.
But it was far from the last he would hear on the subject. Eighteen years later, the issue has returned with Student Congress’ vote last week to ask students to approve a $2 per-semester-credit-hour athletics fee increase. Supporters say the measure would fund the maintenance cost of football and women’s golf and soccer but require the university to raise the start-up costs of scholarships, salaries and equipment through donations.
Nedderman is still unmoved.
“I’m so sick of talking about football,” Nedderman said this week. “I say: If someone can come up with a way to have a viable, credible football program, more power to them.”
He says this almost as a dare, chewing on the end of a unlit cigar.
Those who have taken him up on the challenge — led by three student senators and a handful of wealthy alumni — have done so quickly and quietly. They have also sought to move beyond discussion, advancing the only bonafide plan to restore the program in 18 years.
“People always want to talk about talking about football,” said Student Congress President Josh Warren, who wrote the referendum. “We decided that it was time someone do something. Students didn’t get a voice when the program was eliminated, and they haven’t had a voice since. At least now they have a voice, no matter how things turn out.”
The effort started well over a year ago with a meeting in October 2002 between then-President Robert Witt, Athletics Director Pete Carlon and ten alumni. The current campaign has roots in that meeting, according to some who attended and documents obtained by The Shorthorn.
“The first thing he said was that nothing was going to happen until after the legislative session [in Spring 2003]. He said we needed to get through that first,” Carlon said this week. “But there were two other important points coming out of that meeting. For one, he said he would be willing to set up an account and let us start raising funds for a football program. Second, he said we could start talking to student leaders about whether they really want it and whether they’d be willing to pay to maintain a program.”
Dr. Witt left the university shortly thereafter, in March 2003, to accept the presidency at the University of Alabama. But what attendees regarded in October 2002 as Witt’s implicit approval of their efforts has formed the basis for the campaign now.
“He was at the very least open-minded about the process,” Carlon said.
Witt did not respond to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.
Warren said he became involved in the football issue after taking office last summer. He said he found a resolution passed in 1998 in a folder marked ‘pending.’ Attached was a memorandum from Witt dated March 1, 1999.
“The main argument of ... [the] resolution is well-taken. If and when the university is to consider the possibility of reinstating football, the consideration should be based on a comprehensive feasibility study,” Witt wrote.
It is not known if Witt ever commissioned such a feasibility study, but Carlon said he completed one on his own and provided Witt with a copy in March 2002, eight months before the critical meeting. Carlon said it is an all-encompassing examination of an athletics program expansion, but it includes an extensive section on football.
The document, which almost fills a 3-inch binder and is written entirely in pencil, is not subject to open records laws. Carlon declined to allow a reporter to see it, saying it was completed on his own time and was his “personal document.”
“It’s pretty much obsolete now, anyway,” he said. “All the numbers have changed.”
Still, he acknowledges that the plan was used as a starting point for the current effort.
“I think it would be fair to say you could put a percentage increase on it and get a fairly decent estimate on what those costs would be for 2004-2005 standards,” the athletics director said.
Carlon said he also said he provided Witt with a copy of a Athletics Department Strategic Plan. An undated copy of the document was left anonymously at the newspaper. Under a section labeled “Reinstatement of a I-AA football program - Steps in the process,” Carlon outlined the process for restoring the program. The first item is listed as “preliminary discussions with administration.” It is marked “Completed - October 1999.”
“I started this with Dr. Witt. When I gave him a copy, I said if he wanted me to change something, please tell me. I never received directive to make any changes,” Carlon said.
Another set of items in the strategic plan details steps for the formation of an Athletics Alumni Association, which was formed in Fall 2002.
The same Athletic Alumni Association would be instrumental in bringing about last week’ Student Congress vote. Warren and Business senator Bryan Shaner started meeting with the Athletic Alumni Association in mid-January. Shaner and Liberal Arts senator Jenna Lynn DeHart sponsored the referendum in Student Congress.
“We started talking to the association and their basic gist was that anything that happened should be student-led if it was going to go anywhere,” Shaner said.
Brian Happel, the association’s president, invoked Witt’s name during remarks made to Student Congress before their nearly-unanimous vote.
“I personally know Dr. Witt, and I have kept him involved and informed throughout this process,” Happel told senators.
Even the Student Congress vote itself is referenced in the strategic plan, shedding light on what Happel described to senators as a “very orchestrated effort.”
Another item on the list reads, “Initiate conversations with Student Congress on a referendum for a $2 per-semester-credit-hour increase in the student athletics fee for annual funding of the maintenance and operations budget of a I-AA football program.”
President James Spaniolo has said he is neutral on the football issue and reiterated on Monday the need for extensive research, including an analysis by an outside consultant, if the referendum is approved.
“If the referendum should pass, it would just be the beginning of what would necessarily be an in-depth review and analysis of the feasibility of proceeding along these lines,” Spaniolo said. “The issue of whether to have a football program is a rather complex question with serious financial implications. It would be a major undertaking, and I would want to analyze it in every way it needs to be analyzed.”
He said he was not familiar with Witt’s involvement on the subject, specifically the strategic plan. He said he will continue to gather input and will “ultimately ... add my own judgment.”
Nedderman said he is not surprised by the resurgence of the issue.
“There is a certain mystique in Texas surrounding football that I have always found interesting,” Nedderman said. “But I don’t worry about these things anymore. What will be, let it be.”
For more stories about the attempts to revive UTA's football program go to
http://www.theshorthorn.com/databank/football/index.html
Maybe Lamar can start football back up and the Southland can become a bigger I-AA football league..