I mentioned in another thread that I'd had a recent conversation with a representative of the KY15. A few asked me to start a thread and share what I learned. Interaction is below...
So, I received an email from the KY15 back on 12/5, which was unusual as I canceled my “donation” back after the USCjr fiasco. Said they’d like to do a Zoom or phone call to talk to me about what they’re doing going forward. As I’ve seen a ton online how clear as mud the whole program is, I decided to do the Zoom and see what was said.
First and foremost, he apologized up front for how badly everything was handled from the start. He said in their haste to get NIL funds going to athletes, they kind of put the cart before the horse with the donor experience. He was very transparent on that, and said his firm was brought on to help enhance the donor experience. They're working on doing a site revamp along with the other changes coming.
He then talked about some of the upcoming giveaways (which they’re going to do monthly starting in January, all things going smoothly). He mentioned signed memorabilia from a FB player with the Gator Bowl patch on the jersey. Also mentioned signed memorabilia with all the signees from the current recruiting class. In future months they would look at doing other giveaways with FB and BB teams.
A cool feature he mentioned they have in the works, that I thought were a great idea…and frankly what brought me back on board, was they’re going to a points system for the donors (more you give, more points you earn). In the future, you’ll be able to redeem said points for some really cool things. He gave the example of “Say you have a kid that plays baseball, you’d be able to redeem your points to have one of the UK baseball players come and do a one-hour practice with your kid”. I thought some experience things like that would be a great use of donor points. I shared with him about my experience with the KY causes dinner I won last year, and that lots of people might be as interested in “experience” redemptions as “stuff” redemptions.
He talked about how important this is to the coaching staff, and how much they’re working to do what they can to help with the cause. He said at the last 15 board meeting, he’d asked Coach Stoops to just send a text he could share with the board on how important the 15 was to the FB program. He said while the meeting was progressing and he was waiting for the text, someone knocked on the door. Coach had sent Vince over to talk with them about how grateful the team was for all the 15’s efforts in the NIL game, and that the staff is all in with helping enhance the donor experience. I mentioned maybe having open practices during the season for 15 members might be a good way to show thanks for all they do.
He also left me his cell number and email and told me in the future if I had any questions, to reach out to him personally. I didn’t address the transparency issue most of us have with the 15, because I see both sides of the coin. As a business owner, there’s some info I’m fine with the public knowing. There’s also info that I’d not like made public. I think if other programs knew how much (or how little) the 15 was raising compared to other collectives it would be used as another negative recruiting tool. Maybe one of you will have an idea that could both please everyone on transparency without hurting the collective or the program.
I’ve slept since he and I talked so I may have missed some things that were said, but I hit the high points. I’m also more than happy to collect questions and try to get answers. I’ll tell you all what I told him: I’m tired of UKFB being a laughingstock. I’ve long believed that with the right tools, this program can be successful. I’m just trying to do my small part to help foster that success. Hopefully this can convince a few more people to start donating, especially with the new things coming down the pike.
As an FYI, they’re doing a fan fest for 15 members before a BB game in the coming months. I clarified that if I personally couldn’t attend, I could let someone go in my place (daughter and son-in-law, for example). If you’re a business owner, may be a good way to reward some of your employees/customers (an idea that literally just hit me) if it's something you can't attend.
Let me know, here or PM, if you have any questions/suggestions. I’ll collect them and run them up the flagpole. Maybe the staff can keep this as a running thread to answer questions about the 15.
So, I received an email from the KY15 back on 12/5, which was unusual as I canceled my “donation” back after the USCjr fiasco. Said they’d like to do a Zoom or phone call to talk to me about what they’re doing going forward. As I’ve seen a ton online how clear as mud the whole program is, I decided to do the Zoom and see what was said.
First and foremost, he apologized up front for how badly everything was handled from the start. He said in their haste to get NIL funds going to athletes, they kind of put the cart before the horse with the donor experience. He was very transparent on that, and said his firm was brought on to help enhance the donor experience. They're working on doing a site revamp along with the other changes coming.
He then talked about some of the upcoming giveaways (which they’re going to do monthly starting in January, all things going smoothly). He mentioned signed memorabilia from a FB player with the Gator Bowl patch on the jersey. Also mentioned signed memorabilia with all the signees from the current recruiting class. In future months they would look at doing other giveaways with FB and BB teams.
A cool feature he mentioned they have in the works, that I thought were a great idea…and frankly what brought me back on board, was they’re going to a points system for the donors (more you give, more points you earn). In the future, you’ll be able to redeem said points for some really cool things. He gave the example of “Say you have a kid that plays baseball, you’d be able to redeem your points to have one of the UK baseball players come and do a one-hour practice with your kid”. I thought some experience things like that would be a great use of donor points. I shared with him about my experience with the KY causes dinner I won last year, and that lots of people might be as interested in “experience” redemptions as “stuff” redemptions.
He talked about how important this is to the coaching staff, and how much they’re working to do what they can to help with the cause. He said at the last 15 board meeting, he’d asked Coach Stoops to just send a text he could share with the board on how important the 15 was to the FB program. He said while the meeting was progressing and he was waiting for the text, someone knocked on the door. Coach had sent Vince over to talk with them about how grateful the team was for all the 15’s efforts in the NIL game, and that the staff is all in with helping enhance the donor experience. I mentioned maybe having open practices during the season for 15 members might be a good way to show thanks for all they do.
He also left me his cell number and email and told me in the future if I had any questions, to reach out to him personally. I didn’t address the transparency issue most of us have with the 15, because I see both sides of the coin. As a business owner, there’s some info I’m fine with the public knowing. There’s also info that I’d not like made public. I think if other programs knew how much (or how little) the 15 was raising compared to other collectives it would be used as another negative recruiting tool. Maybe one of you will have an idea that could both please everyone on transparency without hurting the collective or the program.
I’ve slept since he and I talked so I may have missed some things that were said, but I hit the high points. I’m also more than happy to collect questions and try to get answers. I’ll tell you all what I told him: I’m tired of UKFB being a laughingstock. I’ve long believed that with the right tools, this program can be successful. I’m just trying to do my small part to help foster that success. Hopefully this can convince a few more people to start donating, especially with the new things coming down the pike.
As an FYI, they’re doing a fan fest for 15 members before a BB game in the coming months. I clarified that if I personally couldn’t attend, I could let someone go in my place (daughter and son-in-law, for example). If you’re a business owner, may be a good way to reward some of your employees/customers (an idea that literally just hit me) if it's something you can't attend.
Let me know, here or PM, if you have any questions/suggestions. I’ll collect them and run them up the flagpole. Maybe the staff can keep this as a running thread to answer questions about the 15.
