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Topic: Green & White Club to dissolve

Topic: Green & White Club to dissolve

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Ted Thompson
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Member Since: 11/11/2004
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Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/30/2012 8:14:53 AM

From Jason Arkley in The Messenger: http://www.athensohiotoday.com/sports/ohiouniversity/green-white-club-will-dissolve-next-month/article_5f685496-aa15-11e1-9dc0-0019bb2963f4.html

Follow Ohio Football recruiting on the BobcatAttack.com football recruiting database.

HeHateMiami
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Location: Mason, OH
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/30/2012 9:51:07 AM

Props to the Green & White club (including a bunch of people on this board who I know have been members or even served on the board) for the 54 years of supporting Ohio Athletics.

It's sad when a group with such a long legacy disbands, but I certainly understand the business decision that Jim Schaus made when he came on board 4 years ago. A fundraising arm is an asset for an athletic department and I'm glad the department has something like the Ohio Bobcat Club that they have autonomy over and can market with the rest of the department, even if that ultimately came at the expense of the G&W club.

Alan Swank
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/30/2012 9:59:05 AM

As a point of clarification, the OBC was started back in 2006 under Kirby's tenure.

http://www.ohiobobcats.com/genrel/091505aae.html

Bobcatbob
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/30/2012 4:20:34 PM

Sad day. Even after the OBC was established, I thought that the G&W club served a valuable and noble purpose for many fans. The fact that membership dropped from 1,000 to 160 tells me that 840 people who dropped out (over the OBC connection?) may not now be contributors at all. That doesn't seem like progress. Am I missing something?

On a selfish note, who is going to get my split the pot money now and am I ever going to be able to win any of it back?

Alan Swank
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/30/2012 4:33:47 PM

I would be very surprised if there is a split the pot.

Ohio69
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/30/2012 4:34:13 PM

Well I understand all the reasons how/why this came to be, but it still bums me out. The club had long history and rich tradition.

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

bobcat695
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/31/2012 1:52:09 PM

Bobcatbob wrote:

I was a member of G & W for many years, but quit 5 or 6 years ago. I give far more to the university now, much of it through OBC. I would be very surprised if that was not the norm, since so many of the OBC perks are tied to seating and parking.

I really used to enjoy the Tuesday luncheons and appreciated the football tailgate parties before we started doing our own, but I understand why the university has to have the OBC. G & W had largely turned into an Athens booster club. The Ohio Bobcat Club has the resources to grow the fan base outside of Athens, which is where many of the largest donors live.

"You can't un-fist a fist pump." - Saul Phillips 1/24/15

BobcatSports
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 5/31/2012 3:12:34 PM

Have been a member of both the G&W and OBC for a number of years now and offer a grateful farewell to the G&W Club. Always enjoyed the G&W tailgate spread as I am an alum that lives a good distance from Athens and liked the "no hassle" aspect of having to haul food and beverages a considerable distance to tailgate that the G&W provided.

Also saw that the G&W attendance had dwindled over the last few years and therefore was not totally surprised that the G&W is disbanding. Again, a heartfelt thanks to all those involved with the G&W over the years for their tireless efforts in supporting and promoting OHIO athletics.

OhioCatFan
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/1/2012 6:04:20 PM

Bobcatbob wrote:

. . . The fact that membership dropped from 1,000 to 160 tells me that 840 people who dropped out (over the OBC connection?) may not now be contributors at all. That doesn't seem like progress. Am I missing something?

I think you are. I'm quite sure that the overwhelming majority of former GWC members are now OBC members and that the dropping GWC membership was a direct result of the establishment of the OBC. GWC became kind of a third wheel. It's very unfortunate, but people are just not going to support two Ohio booster organizations, and OBC is the one that hands out the Rohr Room and seating bennies.

Last Edited: 6/1/2012 6:05:42 PM by OhioCatFan

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

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Alan Swank
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/2/2012 10:26:11 AM

OhioCatFan wrote:

Bobcatbob wrote:

I think when you compare the 2012-2013 Bobcat Club roster with the Green and White Club rosters of the past that you will see that a significant number of people just disappeared and are not now contributors as Bobcatbob says. Some are doing their own thing in tailgate park and some just quit coming. Yes, the Bobcat Club ranks have grown by leaps and bounds but that happens when you are forced to give to an organization to get the benefits that you want or are used to (seats in this case and /or membership in the Green and White Club ). As long as we keep winning, you can get away with this. But should we experience a few down seasons, there will be lots of empty seats and the contributions that bought those seats will be gone too. That's the unfortunate reality of a small fan base in a rural area. When demand exceeds supply, that's not an issue but our demand doesn't come close to the current supply.

On an unrelated note, thanks to all who have called or emailed their thanks to the volunteer board of the club. It was a nice ride and we enjoyed doing what we did. I just hope that something as affordable and fun is available in the fall for those who care to partake. The legacy scholarships that we have established will be a lasting testatment to a 54 year organzation that was accessable to all.

Last Edited: 6/2/2012 10:28:16 AM by Alan Swank

OhioCatFan
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/2/2012 12:52:48 PM

Well, Alan, I would like to actually see those rosters and compare them side-by-side. It is certainly my impression that most of those that dropped GWC membership were members of the OBC. These folks just didn't want to support both groups, or were confused and thought that the OBC was the new name for the GWC. There was a lot of "brand identity" confusion that came with the startup of the OBC. Now, I'm sure as you state that there are some who just dropped out altogether -- but it's nowhere near the figure that BobcatBob came up with.

Bobcat Love
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/2/2012 11:51:43 PM

Progress 1
Athens Mafia 0

Bobcatbob
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/4/2012 10:09:38 AM

The potential flaw in my logic (as I selfishly see it) is that only 160 people contributed to the OBC AND elected to remain G&W members in 2011 compared to 1,000 a few years before. but if some of the 840 people did, in fact, join OBC, but did not rejoin G&W, then the number lost is lower. How much lower can only be determined by comparing the "rosters".

It's the noticeable change in atmosphere at the G&W tent that makes me think we lost people. That tent was very empty the last couple of seasons, so those missing people were mostly real bodies, not just people mailing in contributions through G&W membership.

RSBobcat
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/4/2012 10:47:09 PM

Alan Swank wrote:

I would be very surprised if there is a split the pot.

Is there an organization that could continue it - maybe for raising funds for that hanging scoreboard?

RS Bobcat

OhioCatFan
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/4/2012 11:11:44 PM

BobcatBob, I think what you miss is that once it became policy that in order to join the GWC you had to first be a member of OBC that a number of people probably thought that was "double jeopardy" and opted to join only the OBC and not the GWC. Also, there were still others who thought that the OBC had either replaced the GWC or was the same thing as the GWC under a different name. When I worked the gate at the GWC taligates I encountered several people who swore they were members of the GWC, but upon further questioning it became clear that they had only joined the OBC. In one case the gentleman left in a huff when we wouldn't let him in solely on the basis of his OBC membership card. In retrospect we didn't handle this one too well. These confused people were for the most part people who had previously been members of the GWC and didn't comprehend that there were now two booster clubs. That's why I said that with the advent of OBC, GWC lost a lot of brand identity and there was much brand confusion.

Jeff McKinney
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 11:13:51 AM

A major issue in all this is out of towners who don't regularly show up at football tailgates. Before the advent of the OBC, those people viewed the Green and White Club as their only athletics philanthropic opportunity...so a lot of people from out of the Athens area joined for that reason despite the fact that they couldn't attend very many tailgates. However, when the OBC was formed, many of these out of towners saw no reason to continue their Green and White Club membership since they could give to OBC and accumulate priority points.

If I'm wrong on this I'm open to correction.

OUs LONG Driver
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 12:29:53 PM

I think the real question is......since the Ohio Bobcat Club was created is total booster giving up or down? Total dollars contibuted IMO is really the only thing that matters. You can't always please everyone and it's understandbale if we lost some donors due to the change or confusion but I'm guessing we also added some by the increased attention the OBC gets from the department. Success on the field is definitely up since the OBC started so that may skew the numbers. Average spend per donor would be interesting to know as well.

Are any of the giving figures of either the OBC or the G&WC public knowledge?

rpbobcat
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 12:32:06 PM

Jeff McKinney wrote:

I know we're just one couple,but my wife and I kept OUr membership in the Green and White Club after joining the OBC and we were only able to attend 1 tailgate every couple of years.

Alan Swank
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 1:08:22 PM

OUs LONG Driver wrote:

Here is the OBC giving.

http://www.ohiobobcats.com/bobcatclub/club-members.html

The Green and White Club didn't solicit donations. We had a membership structure. $100 for a family and $75 for a single. Those fees along with split the pot paid for tailgates, an end of year banquet, a $2000 contribution toward the cost of the Ox Roast and a $10,000 annual donation to athletics. This donation was a $10,000 a year donation for 5 years toward lights for the softball field. Before that there was a five year pledge for training facilities and before that the baseball fence.

HeHateMiami
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 3:56:43 PM

OUs LONG Driver wrote:

I think the real question is......since the Ohio Bobcat Club was created is total booster giving up or down?

Way, way, way, up.

Alan Swank wrote:

The Green and White Club didn't solicit donations. We had a membership structure.

The athletic department launched the OBC with an obvious strategy to infuse more donor money into the department, and to create an asset that the department controlled complete autonomy over. Swank says it himself, the OBC is better designed to illicit more donations from more alumni than the GWC was, if for no better reason than that's what it's setup to do.

Ryan Carey
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 3:59:20 PM

By my count, we have over 1,800 OBC members that gave over $740,000 last year. That's a lot more than the 1,000 people the G&W club had at it's peak. $740K will always be more than $100K, even if you piss off people and they stop donating all together like Alan's friends.

So the G&W club was taking in between $75K to $100K each year in its prime but only gave the athletic department $10K a year for a project the G&W designated, a banquet and the ox roast? The tailgates cost 55-80K a year? This math doesn't add up, and certainly doesn't support the argument that the G&W club had the actual athletic department's best interest in mind, just my opinion.

Ryan M. Carey
BBA 2001

Alan Swank
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 5:01:28 PM

Ryan Carey wrote:

Our peak year in membership was 1999 - 2000. Our budget for that year is outlined below:

Revenue

Membership $22,500
Split the Pot 37,000
Interest 150
Banquet 6,200
Golf outing 1,700
Miscellaneous 250

Total $67,500

Expenses

Split the Pot $26,500
Banquet 8,500
AD donation 10,000
Tailgates 5,000
Non-football
tailgates 6,500
Tues luncheons 250
Mailings
Printings 3,000
Golf outing 1500
CPA 250
Misc 4000
Membership 2000

Total 67,500

The projects that we donated $10,000 a year to were requests from the AD. They asked for money for the fence, training facilities and the lights. We didn't pick those projects.

The thing that seems to get lost here is that we were primarily a social booster club that also donated some money to athletics. A former assistant AD described us this way, "you're not here to directly raise money, you're here to put butts in the seats."

Should anyone ever want to review our records, I have them all the way back to 1997. For what it's worth, we submitted everything every year for NCAA review and not once was anything found out of line or even questioned for that matter.

Last Edited: 6/5/2012 5:02:12 PM by Alan Swank

Ohio69
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 7:44:30 PM

Ryan Carey wrote:

This math doesn't add up, and certainly doesn't support the argument that the G&W club had the actual athletic department's best interest in mind, just my opinion.

This is a fucking bullshit opinion. I served on the board for many years up until about a year or two ago. And this opinion is completely inaccurate and pisses me off to no end. And, that it comes from a moderator of a site that allows folks to rip on coaches, the athletics department, and individual athletes with no mercy and seemingly no end makes it just fucking amazing. Who doesn't have athletics best interest in mind? Good grief. That's some big, ignorant balls there son. Wow.

Last Edited: 6/5/2012 7:45:25 PM by Ohio69

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

ts1227
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RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 8:06:56 PM

Ohio69 wrote:

Ryan Carey wrote:

This math doesn't add up, and certainly doesn't support the argument that the G&W club had the actual athletic department's best interest in mind, just my opinion.

This is a ** ** opinion. I served on the board for many years up until about a year or two ago. And this opinion is completely inaccurate and ** me off to no end. And, that it comes from a moderator of a site that allows folks to rip on coaches, the athletics department, and individual athletes with no mercy and seemingly no end makes it just ** amazing. Who doesn't have athletics best interest in mind? Good grief. That's some big, ignorant balls there son. Wow.

Welcome to the real world and the internet. This board basically operates in a fantasy world compared to most regarding criticism.

And it's not exactly a new revelation that (especially after the creation of the OBC) many people outside of the GWC just viewed it as a good ol' boys club with marginal purpose, whether that view was right or not.

Ryan Carey
Site Programmer

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Status: Offline

RE: Green & White Club to dissolve

Posted: 6/5/2012 9:50:48 PM

Alan Swank wrote:

The projects that we donated $10,000 a year to were requests from the AD. They asked for money for the fence, training facilities and the lights. We didn't pick those projects.

The thing that seems to get lost here is that we were primarily a social booster club that also donated some money to athletics. A former assistant AD described us this way, "you're not here to directly raise money, you're here to put butts in the seats."

Should anyone ever want to review our records, I have them all the way back to 1997. For what it's worth, we submitted everything every year for NCAA review and not once was anything found out of line or even questioned for that matter.

Whoa...guys! I never meant that there was money stealing going on! I was just trying to figure out the numbers based on what Alan posted. Thanks for the break-down on the numbers Alan, that and the bolded line above clears things up.

Ryan M. Carey
BBA 2001

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