Step 1: Assemble Your Inner Circle
If you’re going to be successful, you need to assemble a strong team. Each team member should be highly motivated to see the effort through.
Player | Role | Motivation |
---|---|---|
Ed Ayers |
-University of Richmond President -Member U of R Board of Trustees - Executive Committee |
Ayers has stated that northeastern lacrosse families fit the profile of the University of Richmond and promise to be a strong source of revenue. Like Gutenberger, Ayers feels the pressure to bring on lacrosse as a varsity sport to appease the University’s largest donor of the past several years. |
“Prime Donor” | -Member U of R Board of Trustees - Executive Committee | Very vocal lacrosse supporter and largest Richmond donor in recent years. Prime Donor has donated to the Richmond men’s club lacrosse team. He has made it clear that he would like to see a varsity lacrosse team established at the University of Richmond. It is also worth noting that Prime Donor’s son is a very accomplished high school lacrosse player, slated to enter the collegiate ranks in the Fall of 2015. |
Jim Miller | -University of Richmond Athletic Director -Also moving into a new role focused on alumni relations and athletic fundraising |
As publicly announced on July 12 2012, Jim Miller is stepping down as Athletic Director for Richmond. He will act as current AD until a replacement can be found. That said, Miller is transitioning into a new role focused on alumni relations and athletic fundraising. A $3M donation from the Prime Donor contingent for lacrosse, the largest ever donated to an Olympic sport at Richmond, is an interesting conflict of interest for an athletic director evaluating which sports to keep and which sports to drop. Is he an athletic director, or is he a fundraiser? Apparently he is both, with a concentration in fundraising. |
Tom Gutenberger | -University of Richmond Vice President of Advancement | As president of advancement, Gutenberger is tasked with fundraising. Prime Donor has been the largest single University of Richmond donor in recent years, and promises to be a strong donor for years to come. |