Article: App State Twitter Divide

[MrCraig]

Those of y'all talking about how these young people could spend their money on Yosef Club if they didn't spend it on decent beer or coffee or owning a phone (?!) are missing the point. If that's where they spend their money, it's because they feel those things bring them value or enjoyment.

I've said this a million times, but I'll say it again - for many (most?) people, donating to college booster clubs is not about philanthropy, at least not primarily; it's about getting benefits in return. Love it, hate it, whatever, it's reality. And shaming or browbeating those people isn't going to change their minds. It's more likely to make them dig in their heels, which the quotes in that article reflect.

As long as supply for tickets exceeds demand at nearly all football and basketball games, and we can't find some other way to offer incentives that motivate potential donors, we'll continue to miss out on a chunk of supporters who are passionate about App athletics but don't need to give their money to YC in order to get the experience they want.

This "Boomer" logic is hilarious to me.
"Don't complain about the athletic department of your alma mater unless you donate to athletic department. If you say you can't afford to, lower your quality of life! Make sacrifices to your own personal happiness so we can pay a coach a little bit more and MAYBE he will stay!"

[NO.2]

There is an assumption in this thread that Neer Twitter is somehow to blame for our donation woes.

Some thoughts:
1. Neer Twitter isn't the reason the Yosef Club is underfunded. Most of them seem to be current students or very recent graduates. We've had decades before these kids were born to fully fund Yosef and have failed to do so. What % of living alumni give? It's not a pretty statistic.

2. While they may not be donating to YC yet (or maybe they are), they are donating plenty of energy to the program. Money can't buy energy. Did you go to a basketball game from 2014-2018? It was a morgue.

We surpassed 100K living alumni in the last decade and we still have less than 3K active members in the Yosef Club. (excluding SYC)

It's embarrassing.

[AppSt94]

I had a Boss at one point. Another App grad. He told us as a group that his door was always open if you had a complaint or needed to just talk. He followed up with, “but don’t come to me with a problem unless you have thought of a solution to the problem. It doesn’t have to be a great, or even good solution, but you need to show me that you aren’t here to just complain.” That is my issue with the way that they come across. I get their point, but to attack those who support a venue that they don’t like is immature. Money makes the world go around. You can complain all you want about coaches leaving. or we need to be in the AAC and not the Sun Belt. But if you aren’t able to recognize that requires fiscal resources that we don’t have and don’t see donations as the way to supplement that, and want to attack those that see the need, then they don’t understand the problems we face as an Athletic Department.

[Saint3333]

Complaining about a problem seldom fixes it. Action is a much better route.

[Rekdiver]

I suggest that DG does a youtube discussing all these facts..... 3k donors...100k alumni....financial challenges we face ( and the University in general) and lastly that ever a $25 donation helps.... and dont think thatwe dont appreciate it. We can make this viral

[MrCraig]

Complaining about a problem seldom fixes it. Action is a much better route.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease...

[moonshine]

This "Boomer" logic is hilarious to me.
"Don't complain about the athletic department of your alma mater unless you donate to athletic department. If you say you can't afford to, lower your quality of life! Make sacrifices to your own personal happiness so we can pay a coach a little bit more and MAYBE he will stay!"

If "boomers" and "Neer Twitter" alike are talking (cheering/complaining) about App sports then it obviously has an impact on their "personal happiness", otherwise why waste your time and energy discussing it? As our legendary coach so eloquently put it, "What are you willing to give up?" -Jerry Moore

Personally I don't care what people want to do with their own money: donate to a church/non-profit, gamble in Vegas, rave out at Coachella, buy lattes...etc No one is advocating for "Boomers" or "Neer Twitter" to live in a van down by the river and eat ramen noodle so they can afford to donate, only that fans/alums donate what they can, however big or small the amount. I wish the YC had 30k+ contributors so we could one day get to a point where the program did not need to be subsidized by the students but that's not likely to happen in my lifetime.

While you technically have a right to complain even if you're not a donor, no one is really going to take those complaints seriously if you're not part of the solution (ie: being a YC member) of fully funding the department. While bringing social media energy is great content to see, it does nothing to improve the overall financial situation of App's athletic programs which seems to be the consensus roadblock.

As the saying goes, "Put your money where your mouth is!"

[AppSt94]

Complaining about a problem seldom fixes it. Action is a much better route.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease...

If that were true, we would have more than enough Yosef Club members donating to fully fund the scholarship program, along with covering the cost of a number of projects for the athletic program.

[ArmantiWaterSafety]

Just to throw my experience into the mix as a "tweener" of sorts (and a very insignificant member of 'Neer Twitter [@AppStateSpot] although I graduated 7 years ago.

It took me until 2020 to join the Yosef Club. If I would have known I could have made a $10/month payment to join, I would have, but I didn't know that. IMO, it's the outreach that's the problem more than people's finances.

I paid off my student loans very aggressively after I graduated from grad school and I'm still hyper focused on a budget and pinching every penny I possibly can due to that mindset, but I could/would have gladly paid 10 bucks a month back when I still had the loans because of how much entertainment App State sports provides to my personal life.

Also, I can see the mindset of MrCraig of it feeling ridiculous to consider donating more money to the institution right after you graduate as those payments are painful. That's why I think it's more important to reframe the whole thing to play into human behavior a bit more. Don't make people think of it as a "donation," make it more of a membership fee with perks (exclusive merch, first dibs on certain things, free soft drinks at sporting events, etc.). The more benefits we can provide, the better. Current benefits really don't play into small donors very well.

-Donate 500 dollars so you can pay for season tickets in a better section
-Donate 2500 dollars so you can park in a lot close to the stadium
-Donate 10/month so you can get.......a sticker and a magnet.

I'm not saying those top 2 perks are bad, in fact I'd say they're necessary to encourage the higher donors to donate more, but we've GOT to do something more for these lower tier donors. Actually the more I think about it, free fountain soft drinks at sporting events might be a really good idea. They cost essentially nothing to make, and they're expensive to buy at events. Anyway, getting off topic, but there's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[JTApps1]

Complaining about a problem seldom fixes it. Action is a much better route.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease...

What are we supposed to do if the fix requires money, but nobody is willing to step up with donations?

[EastHallApp]

I'm not saying those top 2 perks are bad, in fact I'd say they're necessary to encourage the higher donors to donate more, but we've GOT to do something more for these lower tier donors. Actually the more I think about it, free fountain soft drinks at sporting events might be a really good idea. They cost essentially nothing to make, and they're expensive to buy at events. Anyway, getting off topic, but there's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Not a bad idea, and I'm not even sure you need to make them free. At Hurricanes games, for example, they have posted discount concession prices for season ticket holders. Seems like it would be easy to do the same thing for YC members. How much that would move the needle for folks, I don't know. But at least it's something concrete you could offer them.

[ArmantiWaterSafety]

Not a bad idea, and I'm not even sure you need to make them free. At Hurricanes games, for example, they have posted discount concession prices for season ticket holders. Seems like it would be easy to do the same thing for YC members. How much that would move the needle for folks, I don't know. But at least it's something concrete you could offer them.

True that, and having a sign that says "Yosef Club Prices" with the clear discount would prompt people to inquire about it and maybe bring some additional members just by the publicity alone.

[appdaze]

Instead of being negative and attacking those that came before them, how about they get together and sit down with Yosef Club leaders to better understand App traditions, ideas, direction, and what they could do for the school that doesn't require them to give money. Again, bragging about being jerks to other fans, getting kicked out of games, creating an Us vs Them, are not things to be proud about. Those are all negatives towards any fanbase regardless of age. Every generation wants to be defiant or different from the last generation, then they get older, and the next generation does it right back to them and calls them "boomers." That is just how life works. Those on here that are much older than me can probably attest to this. So they can enjoy their defiant youth while it last until the next group start trash talking them for no reason other than to be pricks.

[Saint3333]

Just glad to be Gen Xer. The forgotten generation.

[BUTCH1991]

Just glad to be Gen Xer. The forgotten generation.

I'm with you there.

[T-Dog]

The problem isn't that the messaging isn't getting out there. It's that the messaging is being used in a toxically positive manner by current YC members to make it seem like you not donating is the reason the team lost, thus souring potential young alums on the idea of donating.

Also, YC/MAF staffers responding to Twitter users saying "be positive!" after they Tweet something negative doesn't help one bit.

There needs to be more incentives for donating even small amounts. For some people, it is worth it to donate $200 a year plus a $200+ season ticket, $200/night in a hotel/cabin (two-night minimum) with a multi-hour drive to sit on a metal bleacher on the East Side with the sun in your face most the season? Saying "it helps further the education of our student-athletes" isn't enough.

[EastHallApp]

The kids need to understand that athletics does in fact need more money to maintain and grow its success. Coaches don't get paid in tweets.

The older folks need to understand that sometimes criticism of coaches, and maybe even players, is legitimate, and that you can't bully or guilt people into donating money.

And they all need to understand that when they act like idiots on Twitter, it's embarrassing for the rest of us.

[AppSt94]

Sorry that you find the tweets from Yosef Club employees/members an issue. You, of all people, have spent enough time around the school and program to know that it takes money to be successful. My issue with the Twitter group is that they come across in their fandom very naive in their position. They want better turn out at games in the Holmes Center. Their solution seems to stop at blaming the administration for a lack of quality opponents to draw fan interest. I get that. It makes sense. But in order to get those opponents up the mountain, it costs money. Money the athletic department is short on because they have to substantially dip into their budget to cover the scholarships that the YC can’t. Suzette Mauney’s positivity comment was met with condemnation because, quite frankly, they couldn’t think of anything else to say and didn’t want to engage in a conversation. And to be fair, she wasn’t addressing them to donate money. She was using the platform to promote, just like they were. Again, I admire their passion, they just don’t understand how it all works.

[T-Dog]

If we want the program to grow, there's going to be fans/alums acting like idiots online. That comes with the territory of growing the fanbase. It's inevitable and unpleasant.

I'm guilty of this on both sides, but don't get into an argument with someone you see as a Twitter troll. You'll never win. Especially people who are representing the university either through paid work or a highly-visible service position.

The YC/MAF needs to better engage 20-somethings because they'll soon be 30-somethings with more stable incomes and starting to be the movers and shakers in the world.

[EastHallApp]

I'm guilty of this on both sides, but don't get into an argument with someone you see as a Twitter troll. You'll never win.

Sound advice well beyond the context of App sports. Negative engagement is still engagement.