NC STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS 2007-2008 ANNUAL REPORT Lee G. Fowler, Director of Athletics
ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 NC STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS June 25, 2008 I am greatly encouraged about the future 1. Overview Lee Fowler, Director of Athletics of our total program. Fifteen of our 23 sports participated in postseason play and/or finished in the Top 25. Baseball had a terrific year and won the first ever NCAA Regional Tournament hosted on the NC State campus by defeating South Carolina. While football, men s basketball and women s basketball (WNIT) were not a part of the bowls or NCAA tournaments, these teams show great promise for a return to postseason play in 2008-09. With the dedication of the Dail Softball Stadium on February 27th, we officially completed our 7-year facilities plan to make us competitive with the top programs in the nation. We can go forward with great optimism, given our focus on academic success, fiscal prudence, the quality of our coaching staffs, our tremendous Wolfpacker and fan support, and the partnership with our University administration. Building on the many positives that have been achieved, we will continue to strive for excellence in every area of Wolfpack athletics. Thanks for your great support. 2. Financial The operating budget for 2006-07 was approximately $42 million, plus $6-7 million for scholarships provided by the Wolfpack Club. The department expects revenue to exceed expenses by approximately $550,000, increasing the operating reserve to $950,000. The capital budget is on target for year end 6/30/08. Additional revenues of $850,000 were received in the insurance settlement as a result of the Murphy Center flood. These funds will be added to capital reserves, increasing the reserve to $1.6 million. Thanks go to the Wolfpack Club which funded all of our $6.4 million in scholarship expenses this past year. 3. Ticket Revenue A.) Football (2007). Football ticket revenue has continued to grow. We posted our seventh consecutive season ticket sell-out. Ticket revenue exceeded $10.5 million for the first time in school history. B.) Men's Basketball (2007-2008). Season ticket sales have been very positive over the last five years. Ticket revenue exceeded $5.6 million for the first time in our history. We continued to build relationships with numerous Triangle groups by accommodating their needs for nonconference basketball games. For the ninth straight year, attendance remained in the national Top 20, moving from 18th to 16th, with an average of 15,043, our second highest on record. TICKET REVENUE BY SPORT (includes season & single) FOOTBALL 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 # Home Games 7 6 7 7 7 # Season Tickets 35,800 37,100 37,100 37,250 37,500 Ticket Revenue $8,000,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $10,000,000 $10,750,000 M/ BASKETBALL 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 # Home Games 15+2 exh 15+2 exh 15+2 exh 17+2 exh 16+2 exh # Season Tickets 14,214 14,923 14,200 14,200 14,200 Ticket Revenue $5,200,000 $5,200,000 $5,300,000 $5,500,000 $5,600,000
NC State Department of Athletics 2007-2008 Annual Report Page 2 4. Wolfpack Club Fundraising (Jan. 1 Dec. 31, 2007) A.) 20,000 Donors. The Wolfpack Club was successful in reaching its goal of 20,000 donors. The final total of 20,256 was an increase of 1,495 donors from the previous year and represented the highest number of donors ever at the Wolfpack Club. Only four other universities have achieved the 20,000 donor level in their athletic fundraising organization. WOLFPACK CLUB FUNDRAISING ($ Millions) Jan. 1-Dec. 31 2003 2004 2005 2006 ANNUAL GIVING $8.1 $9.1 $9.5 $9.6 # OF MEMBERS 18,150 19,000 + 18,363 18,761 CAPITAL GIVING $9.5 $10.4 $11.6 $16.2 ENDOWMENT GIVING $1.0 $1.4 $1.8 $1.4 TOTAL GIVING $18.6 $21.6 $22.9 $27.3 2007 $10.0 20,256 $13.7 $1.8 $25.4 B.) $10 million in Annual Giving. $10.3 million represents the highest annual giving total ever and is primarily a result of increasing the membership from 18,761 to 20,256. C.) Capital Giving. Capital Giving finished strong again in 2007. For the fourth time in the history of the Wolfpack Club, capital gifts exceeded $10 million with a 2007 total of $13.7 million. D.) Caravan. The Wolfpack Club Caravan annually visits about 35 key locations in N.C. to reach every Wolfpacker and fan. Areas outside N.C. are also targeted. Coaches and the athletic director are featured speakers. Twenty-two meetings have been held to date, with 19 in-state and 3 out of state. Wake County was the largest meeting of the year with about 700 attendees. The Robeson County group had another successful meeting with over 500 in attendance. The Wolfpack Club relied on Sidney Lowe and Tom O Brien to each appear at 12 Caravans. E.) Focus on Endowment. An endowment gift is one that is invested (instead spent in the current year), while the interest earned is used to fund scholarships. Building our endowment fund has become a major focus in our fundraising efforts and will continue to be a priority in the coming years. The Robeson County Wolfpackers completely paid off their second $100,000 endowment with a donation of $44,910 at their 2008 spring meeting. Several districts/counties created Lee, Kristin, and Carol Fowler, Jim Goodnight. Another Successful Outing for the Fowler Charity Golf Classic The Wolfpack Club pays for 274 full athletic scholarships, mainly from annual giving. The WPC s current endowment stands at around $21 million. About $128 million is needed to endow all of our 274 athletic scholarships, the maximum allowed by the NCAA. or increased endowments, as did former swimmers in honor of former NC State Swim Coach, Don Easterling and another group in honor of Executive Director, Bobby Purcell. The goal of endowing all scholarships will be a higher priority in our major gift fundraising over the coming years. The sixth Annual Lee Fowler Charity Golf Classic was held April 7, 2008 at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C.. Proceeds go to fight Lou Gehrig's disease. Sponsors included NC State s Phi Delta Theta fraternity, the Jim Catfish Hunter chapter of the ALS Assoc., and Northwestern Mutual Financial Services. Carol Fowler serves as Tournament Director. Nearly 100 golfers participated. The event has raised over $100,000 in the past five years.
NC State Department of Athletics 2007-2008 Annual Report Page 3 2007-2008 NC State Student-Athletes Fall Scholar Athletes (3.0 or higher) 209 Fall Dean's List Honorees (3.5 or higher) 99 Spring Scholar Athletes 204 Spring Dean's List Honorees 101 ACC Postgraduate Scholarships 3* NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships 3 5. Academics A.) We continue to make positive gains in academic success rates, measured primarily by the APR (academic progress rate), and GSR (graduation success rate) indicators. The support of the Chancellor, Provost and Academic Support Program staff has been a key factor as we make graduation rates a top priority with our coaches and student-athletes. B.) APR update (2003-07). With the strong emphasis we have placed on the APR, we continued to see positive gains. Wrestling is the only team at NC State below 925. They will receive a contemporaneous penalty for.99 scholarships in the 08-09 academic year. There are none of the 22 other NC State teams at risk of facing penalties. C.) Highest Number of Postgraduate Scholarships. Three student-athletes were awarded NCAA postgraduate scholarships, the highest number in our history. Two student-athletes were awarded ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarships, and one received an honorary ACC WJC award.* 6. Compliance No major violations or compliance issues. We are maintaining a high level of oversight and education and continue to effectively monitor and self-report secondary violations. 7. Competitive Accomplishments We had 15 of our 23 sports participate in post-season play and/or finish in the Top 25 nationally. 8. Major Staff Change Jon Fagg, Associate AD for Comp- liance, accepted the position of Sr. Associate AD at the University of Arkansas. Jon did an excellent job in his seven years with our department and we have developed proven compliance procedures and staffing. Having an outstanding number two person in the compliance office has enabled us to maintain the quality of this unit. We have appointed Assistant Michelle was a previous nominee for the Award for Excellence for the Chancellor s Unit. AD for Compliance, Michelle Lee, to Interim Associate AD for Compliance. Christy Scheid was named Human Resource Director for the department. Christy had been Personnel Director for the College of Veterinary Medicine, with HR responsibility for a staff of 600. Sports in Postseason and/ or Top 25 in 2007-2008 1. M/ C. COUNTRY Won NCAA Regional / 18th Nat. 2. W/ C. COUNTRY Won NCAA Regional / 29th Nat. 3. WRESTLING Individuals in NCAAs / 25th Nat. 4. W/BASKETBALL Women s NIT 5. M/SWIMMING Individual to Nationals 6. GYMNASTICS Team to NCAAs / Individual to Natls. 7. RIFLE (CO-ED) SEARC Champions/19th Nat. 8. M/(I) TRACK Individuals to Nationals 9. M/(O) TRACK Individuals to Nationals 10. W/(O) TRACK Individuals to Nationals 11. M/TENNIS Individuals to Nationals 12. W/TENNIS Team in NCAA Regional 13. W/GOLF Team in NCAA Regional 14. M/GOLF Team in NCAA Regional 15. BASEBALL Team won NCAA Regional Pope and Whittington Win H.C. Kennett MVP Awards Mitchell Pope Khadijah Whittington All-America shot-putter Mitchell Pope, who finished second at the NCAA Championships last June, and women s basketball standout, Khadijah Whittington, won the H.C. Kennett Award, presented annually to NC State s most outstanding all-around male and female student-athletes.
NC State Department of Athletics 2007-2008 Annual Report Page 4 9. Facilities A.) The Dail Softball-Track-Soccer Complex was completed and includes the NCAA regulation softball stadium with batting cages, scoreboards, concessions, a press box, rest rooms, field lighting, grandstand seating; and a new lighted soccer field and track, complete with a throwing area. The Curtis and Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium was dedicated on 2/27/08. B.) The Lonnie Poole Golf Course. The University broke ground on 7/9/07 and the project is on schedule. With completion scheduled for the first half of 2009, our men s and women s teams will have a home course for the first time in their history. 10. Special Initiatives A.) Hosted Men s NCAA Basketball Championship. NC State hosted the 2008 Men s NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Tournament (1st and 2nd rounds) in March and received outstanding reviews by the NCAA staff. The department netted $250,000 and the Tournament resulted in an estimated 13,318 visitors to the Raleigh area and $5.1 million in direct visitor spending, according to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor s Bureau. B.) First Time Ever Hosted NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament. For the first time in its 42-year baseball history, NC State was selected to host an NCAA Regional Baseball Championship Tournament (May 30-June 1, 2008). C.) A Memorandum of Understanding was negotiated with the NCSU Bookstore to establish a 5-year merchandising partnership. 11. Special Recognition NCAA Southeastern Regional Awards: Mark Stevenson, Head Gymnastics Coach, was named Coach of the Year (and also for the EAGL). Stevenson led the Pack to the NCAA Regionals for the 25th time. Karen Pleasants was named Assistant Coach of the Year. Coach Kay Yow received the Babe Didrikson Courage Award from the United States Sports Academy. Rollie Geiger, NC State s cross country and track and field coach, was honored by Kent State University as its Distinguished Alumnus and inducted into its Sports Hall of Fame. Rollie Geiger and Laurie Henes were named NCAA Southeast Region 2007 Cross Country Coaches of the Year for the men s and women s teams. Lee Fowler won the SPA Employee Award for Excellence for the Chancellor s Unit. A.) Football. Tom O Brien has made great progress with his team in the 12. Future Considerations offseason and also recruited well (ESPN.com No. 20 ranking). Several of those recruits may provide immediate depth and maturity. Going into his second season in 2008, Coach O Brien will have a very young team, but he is well ahead of last year in terms of organization and player evaluations. A winning season and securing a bowl invitation are the next steps in the progression toward building a championship program. B.) Men s Basketball. A winning season and postseason play are our goals. I (Lee Fowler) have reviewed every major aspect of our basketball program and Coach Lowe and I are working closely on operational effectiveness, staff assignments and strategies for improving overall competitive effort (every player-playing hard-all the time). Note: This report is on gopack.com, home page; left col., Annual Report.