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FAU Counting On Lane Kiffin Hire To Increase Ticket Sales, Corporate Sponsorships

FAU is counting on new football coach Lane Kiffin to “provide a return on the investment in the form of increased ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and fundraising,” and the “early results are promising,” according to Matthew DeFranks of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. FAU AD Pat Chun said that ’17 season-ticket sales are “higher than they were” at this point in ’15. That year, FAU “sold 7,583 season tickets.” The school “did not release exact 2017 season ticket figures since sales are ongoing and incomplete.” Chun: “Did it spike to a level that was astronomical? No, but there has been an increase since the naming of Lane as our head coach. That is a positive thing." He added, “We’re moving, we’re pushing. ... We’re working on the corporate sponsorship piece, but that takes a little bit more time.” DeFrank notes last year's attendance numbers “were the lowest since FAU Stadium opened” in ‘11, with an average crowd of 10,073. FAU attendance was “third-worst in the country.” The “drastic fall in attendance came one year after FAU averaged a school-record 17,707 fans per game” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 1/16).

PRIORITIES IN ORDER? In San Jose, Jon Wilner noted Cal on Saturday officially named Justin Wilcox its football coach, but terms were not disclosed on the five-year contract on which Wilcox is “expected to earn” between $1.5-2M per season. Wilcox “must convince Cal’s constituents that the program is worth their time and money -- that the Bears can compete for a division title” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/15). Also in San Jose, Daniel Borenstein wrote in the wake of Cal’s "costly firing of Coach Sonny Dykes, it’s time for university officials to admit they cannot afford to field a top-ranked football team." Figures the university released Tuesday show that the athletics department ran $22M "in the red last fiscal year, more than 2 1/2 times the shortfall of the year before.” That is money that “should have gone to academics, or to close” the university-wide $150M annual shortfall. Instead, athletics “continues to drain funds from the rest of the campus.” It is “time to admit that Cal will never compete with Alabama or Clemson." Instead, Cal "should strive for top academic rankings to challenge Harvard or Yale.” Borenstein: “It’s time to end this madness. Cal needs to develop realistic goals and costs for its teams, and start managing its finances like grown-ups” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/13).

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