New FAU football coach Lane Kiffin is "simply the latest" in the school's "long list of high-profile hires that shows how rapidly the university says it wants to grow in academics and name recognition," according to Lulu Ramadan of the PALM BEACH POST. Kiffin will make close to $1M annually, which is "significantly more than his predecessor Charlie Partridge, who had a salary of $590,000 this past season," FAU President John Kelly "believes Kiffin’s salary is an investment that will later translate into revenue university-wide and, more importantly, name recognition." Ramadan noted FAU home football attendance ranked 126 out of 128 FBS schools. The school averaged "only 10,073 fans" in '16 at the 30,000-seat FAU Stadium, down 43% from '15. Kelly "firmly believes a winning football program generates revenue and encourages donors to invest." Kelly: "FAU’s brand is going to be a major national brand. It’s going to be an academic brand. It’s going to be an athletic brand. That’s the goal" (PALM BEACH POST, 12/18).
RIGHT OFF THE BAT: In Ft. Lauderdale, Matthew DeFranks noted Kiffin in a letter to fans "pledged to donate to a university fund for every Owls season ticket purchased for next year." Kiffin wrote he will "send each season ticket holder an autographed photo" to kick off the '17 FAU football season (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/18).
