January 02, 2005
Booster Club Influence
Selena Roberts of the New York Times has the first of two columns on the influence of non-profit booster clubs in major college football, particularly in the SEC where such organizations exist at Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana State and, most recently, Auburn. The Seminole Boosters of Florida State also are mentioned in the piece, which uses information from public tax forms to make the case that "The most meddling of the boosters aren't the cheap-suit fans tailgating on the back of a Ford pickup; some are Forbes-list executives buying vicarious ownership of their college teams. Their power to shape a hiring, a firing - and, in some cases, play calling - is the hobgoblin of financial dependency. With broadcast revenue peaking for athletic departments but with salaries expanding, boosters have gladly picked up more of the tab in a bottomless money pit." An interesting (if unsurprising) read, one that makes me wonder why some news organization hasn't done a comprehensive analysis of such non-profit booster groups.
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dave frey says:
posted on January 2, 2005 09:56 PM — linkShape a hiring and firing? Heh. Obviously there's no undue influence by TAF (Tiger Athletic Foundation) at LSU, or we'd have bought a far better coach than Les Miles. :)
