| At the December meeting of the Virginia AthleticsFoundation Board of Trustees, we reviewed the feedbackregarding the 2008 Virginia Football Priority Seating and Parking Policy. We were also apprised of the "conversations" in the various media outlets with differing opinions about the new ticket policy.
Even though the end to the 2007 football season is just weeks behind us, we are now focused on the 2008 season and the new ticket policy. We would like to re-emphasize the reasons for the policy and the opportunities that it presents.
Through the generous support of our donor base, we have been able to expand our annual responsibilities beyond fully funding all of the scholarships in 25 sports. We are proud of the Foundation's ability to fund 100% of the academic affairs program, a portion of the operating budget for the Olympic sports programs and many other operational needs within the athletics department.
Craig Littlepage works closely with the board to communicate the various budgetary challenges that exist within the $52 million athletics department budget. The athletics department does not receive any funding from the state or the University.
As with many schools across the country, all of the traditional revenuestreams are leveling off. We must continue to look for ways to expand the donor base and contribution revenue. Without doing so, we will likely see an athletics program that is unable to continue to compete at a national level.
Our largest expense item is to fully fund all of the scholarships, the cost of which will increase by approximately 7% or $1 million this year. We anticipate that the scholarship expense will continue to grow at a similar, if not higher, rate. However, our role is not strictly to fund scholarships. If we want to continue to improve, we have to fund facility and operational needs within the department; and we have to continue full support of our academic affairs program to give student-athletes every opportunity to be successful in the classroom and beyond.
While the financial resources are critical to the athletics department's ability to grow, it was not the primary reason for developing the new ticket and parking policy. We have long operated with a ticket allocation policy that was not well-defined, offered limited opportunities for improved seating and did not provide an equitable way to assign tickets. The new policy will improve the overall fairness and reward donors who have contributed to the Foundation.
We recognize that there is not a perfect policy that would address each person's concern or fit his or her definition of fair. We believe that the concept of "fairness" must not only incorporate past support but current and future support as well. It is also difficult to balance "what is fair" among thousands of ticket holders as well as addressing the overall financial needs of the athletics department. Based on our review of the donor base and season ticket base, we mapped out a strategy that we feel creates a more equitable ticket allocation policy and gives the athletics department the ability to continue to grow.
We understand that this policy has not been viewed positively by some fans. We have found that most donors who have expressed concerns have assumed the worst, which is often not the case. The policy provides significant opportunities for fans to improve seats. We invite you to contact a member of the staff to discuss your individual situation. Additionally, please refer to the following page for some helpful information.
The 2007 season was a season of overachievement, in which the team reached levels of success far greater than what was predicted in the media. We are hopeful that it can serve as a springboard into the 2008 season. The upcoming home schedule is challenging and attractive with the University of Southern California, Clemson, Miami, Maryland and North Carolina.
Your support in terms of contributions and purchasing season and single game tickets is critical to the growth of our program. Your past support has resulted in many successes and we are grateful for that support. We hope you will make plans to be in Scott Stadium in the fall and continue your support of our student-athletes.
Sincerely,
The 2008 Virginia Athletics Foundation
Board of Trustees
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