Ball St building an IPF

[TU4ever2]

I realize there are plenty of issues going on right now but along with increasing our assistants salary pool this is one of the big goals needed for TU to keep pace. Interesting that Ball St is the last MAC team to get one, although it is certainly a necessity in the MAC. It will be multi purpose as I assume ours would be. Not a lot of details but the money will all be private donations and is going to cost 15 million.

https://news.wjct.org/post/ball-state-build-indoor-athletics-practice-facility

 

[Tulsa Guy]

I realize there are plenty of issues going on right now but along with increasing our assistants salary pool this is one of the big goals needed for TU to keep pace. Interesting that Ball St is the last MAC team to get one, although it is certainly a necessity in the MAC. It will be multi purpose as I assume ours would be. Not a lot of details but the money will all be private donations and is going to cost 15 million.

https://news.wjct.org/post/ball-state-build-indoor-athletics-practice-facility

Maybe after TU gets its financial affairs in order, a donation program could be launched to build the IPF. Tulsa has been blessed to be in AAC but it comes with the responsibility and commitment to do its part to uphold the conference's growth and success.

 

[TU_BLA]

Y'all forget the powers that be at TU don't want us to keep up and succeed in athletics. If we lag and fall behind it makes it easier to justify gutting things and re-allocating money to academics. While I appreciate the fact that we have some influential donors who love athletics, the actual decision makers are not necessarily fans of athletics and view the athletic department as a financial drain.

 

[TU4ever2]

Y'all forget the powers that be at TU don't want us to keep up and succeed in athletics. If we lag and fall behind it makes it easier to justify gutting things and re-allocating money to academics. While I appreciate the fact that we have some influential donors who love athletics, the actual decision makers are not necessarily fans of athletics and view the athletic department as a financial drain.

I don't know if I would go that far (decision makers), but I do agree there are some who would delightfully argue for exactly that if we fall behind.

I would also agree that at the moment with the University's current internal struggles we have no chance of pulling this off other than through gathering the full funds quietly and an ambush announcement at an opportune time. Since I doubt we have the necessary element to pull that off we're probably stuck.

The IPF and the increase salary pool for assistants should be the top of the check list right now, even if we're just daydreaming.

 

[TU_BLA]

I don't know if I would go that far (decision makers), but I do agree there are some who would delightfully argue for exactly that if we fall behind.

I would also agree that at the moment with the University's current internal struggles we have no chance of pulling this off other than through gathering the full funds quietly and an ambush announcement at an opportune time. Since I doubt we have the necessary element to pull that off we're probably stuck.

The IPF and the increase salary pool for assistants should be the top of the check list right now, even if we're just daydreaming.

Honestly, this is something QT could do in a heartbeat. Put a big QT logo on the roof so everyone who flies in and out of TIA sees it. $15-20M is a drop in the bucket for QT, whose CEO is a TU alum and was the commencement speaker last weekend. I have never understood why QT is not the same local financial backer of TU when you consider the connections the same way Koch backs WSU. Maybe this is something Jerry O needs to work on.

 

[TU 1978]

The disappointing finding from all this campus chaos is that the Lortons didn’t pay their funding commitment to the performing arts center. With those majors going away or reduced, maybe this building could be repurposed.

 

[TU_BLA]

The disappointing finding from all this campus chaos is that the Lortons didn’t pay their funding commitment to the performing arts center. With those majors going away or reduced, maybe this building could be repurposed.

Well that sucks, especially considering how many buildings on campus bear their name. Yank the name off the building if they didn't pay what they pledged. And I don't know how you repurpose the building. It is used a great deal for lectures and guest speakers. And one of my big questions is what are they going to do about the marching band? They're just going to drop it and you'll end up with a crazy bunch of people with instruments ala Rice or Stanford?

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

They're just going to drop it and you'll end up with a crazy bunch of people with instruments ala Rice or Stanford?

Nah, we'd be more like The Mars Volta. Now that's some crazy bunch of people with instruments.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Nah, we'd be more like The Mars Volta. Now that's some crazy bunch of people with instruments.

We could always hope.

 

[TU Sepp]

Maybe they will play Beach Boy music over the PA during half-time!

 

[TU_BLA]

Maybe they will play Beach Boy music over the PA during half-time!

Would that have a pied piper effect on DW? If it does, then I vote NO on the Beach Boys.

 

[Henry Kendall]

The disappointing finding from all this campus chaos is that the Lortons didn’t pay their funding commitment to the performing arts center. With those majors going away or reduced, maybe this building could be repurposed.

George Kaiser stepped in to pay the Lortons’ share. Btw Levitt is closely tied to Kaiser. He is quietly inserting himself into TU in a big way. Maybe a BOk logo on the top of the IPF.

 

[TU_BLA]

George Kaiser stepped in to pay the Lortons’ share. Btw Levitt is closely tied to Kaiser. He is quietly inserting himself into TU in a big way. Maybe a BOk logo on the top of the IPF.

The way I've heard it and maybe through another poster on this board is: Levit is married to the TU BoT chair who is also on the board at the Kaiser Foundation.

Isn't there just a little conflict of interest there?

 

[astonmartin708]

The disappointing finding from all this campus chaos is that the Lortons didn’t pay their funding commitment to the performing arts center. With those majors going away or reduced, maybe this building could be repurposed.

Highly doubtful. Have you ever been in that building? It has a full sized concert hall, another full sized performance auditorium, and an orchestral practice hall. Throwing those away would be throwing away millions of dollars worth of work / craftsmanship. TUPAC wasn't really built for the Drama / Theatre departments that are being cut. It was built for the music school. That's who's offices are there (and I haven't heard anything about the Music school being part of the severed limbs in new-look TU). It would be much easier to build a brand new building than to re-purpose that facility.

My correction: many of the music performance majors are being cut. Not sure how that will effect the music program overall.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

And one of my big questions is what are they going to do about the marching band?

Band kids were told that the program is safe for next year, with no guarantees beyond that.