Quick notes on minutes from a recent Board of Visitors meeting

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Sandlapper Spike

A recent (June 23) meeting of The Citadel Board of Visitors made local and national news, but that’s not what this post is about.

I just want to briefly highlight some parts of recently released minutes for another BOV meeting, points of discussion that were directly or tangentially related to The Citadel’s department of athletics. That meeting was held on April 24-25 this year.

The board also met by teleconference on June 1, but nothing related to sports at The Citadel is present in those minutes.

Since June 1, the board has held a board meeting for June 12-13, the aforementioned June 23 meeting, and a teleconference on July 1. However, minutes from those meetings have not yet been released (which from a timing perspective is not unusual).

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April 24-25 meeting

At this meeting, John B. Sams was elected by the board to be its new chairman. Also of importance, varsity sports were occasionally discussed!

Lt. General Rosa’s remarks to the board were “brief”, but he had this to say:

President Rosa focused his remarks on…several key issues facing the college: the absolute need to replace Capers Hall, the need for a campus parking garage, appropriate utilization of college-controlled land to generate revenue, further refinement of the long term financial model, and the need for the athletic department to become self-sustaining through aggressive fundraising.

As has been pointed out to me, the parking garage is definitely of interest to varsity athletics, particularly during basketball season (especially since the Bulldogs are about to start winning big on the hardwood, drawing overflow crowds to McAlister Field House in the process). Later during the meeting, there was another mention of the proposed garage.

The note on the department of athletics’ need to be “self-sustaining” speaks for itself.

Jim Senter, the school’s director of athletics, was called on for a report:

Mr. Senter noted that he anticipated the FY 15 budget would be balanced and the FY 16 budget would have an increase of 2.5%. He is pleased with the consolidation of The Citadel Brigadier Foundation with The Citadel Foundation to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of fundraising…

…Mr. Senter closed by stating a more detailed financial analysis of the Athletic Department would be presented at the June meeting.

Duggar Baucom and Craig Mosqueda (the new basketball and volleyball coaches, respectively) were both introduced by Senter during the meeting.

I’m not sure Senter presented that “detailed financial analysis” of the department during the June 12-13 meeting. It is possible he did, though it wasn’t specifically listed on the agenda. On the other hand, neither was another item that was to be presented at that June 12-13 session: a proposal to establish a nursing program at The Citadel.

Claudius E. Watts IV then spoke to the board about The Citadel Foundation:

Mr. Watts…noted a strong year for TCF. Plans for a capital campaign are nearing completion with an anticipated start date of fall 2015, and enhancing athletic fundraising is also a priority…

There was also a brief mention of a “naming opportunity for a major gift currently being negotiated”.

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With regards to sports at The Citadel, nothing contained in the minutes was particularly surprising. Making varsity athletics self-sustaining is a key part of Initiative #3 in The LEAD Plan, after all (which I wrote about two years ago).

It’s just further evidence that the need for more money is never far from the thoughts of anyone associated with The Citadel. Which, in the year 2015, is a very appropriate mindset.

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I’ve said it more than once, but I’ll say it again: football season can’t get here fast enough…

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