Memphis AD Tom Bowen discussed ticketing, facilities and the athletic department budget in a Q&A with Geoff Calkins of the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL. Bowen said of concerns about basketball season-ticket renewals, "I’m hopeful that the legacy of Tiger basketball is something people want to continue to be a part of and ... one season, I believe, should not, all of a sudden, drastically affect what we’re trying to do. But at the end of the day, we have to perform better at home, we have to win games at home." He said of athletic budget adjustments, "There’s been efficiencies and adjustments. ... We’ve tried to create a hybrid where we’ll fly commercial and charter back. ... We’ve tried to get very creative to work within our parameters because, when we entered this new American Athletic Conference, the annual distribution is not what we anticipated or had been told. ... It’s an effort to be very, very efficient, at the same time competing at the highest level possible even though we are no longer part of the [Power Five]." Bowen said of raising football season-ticket prices, "The response has been very positive. ... We’re one of the very few FBS football programs that doesn’t have a seat donation requirement for the best premium seats." Bowen said of the Liberty Bowl as home to the football team, "I’m more concerned about working with the city of Memphis on a new five-year agreement. ... Beyond that, it’s really about the landscape of what happens in Division 1 athletics" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/8).
WHAT'S YOUR PRICE FOR FLIGHT? Calkins writes it is "hard to know what to make of the cuts in travel for the basketball program." At some level, it is "hard to argue with Bowen's claim that he owes it to donors, season-ticket holders and the university generally to be fiscally responsible." Calkins: "Why in the world does a college basketball team have to travel like the pros?" Except, if "other elite programs travel by charter, can Memphis really compete with a 'hybrid' system?" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/10).
