Oct. 23, 2008

Greetings Bengal Fans,

This is the second edition of the "From the AD's Desk" and I plan to continue writing with consistency. With each issue I would like to introduce something new as well as to give everyone a brief "snapshot" of Idaho State Athletics.

HIGHLIGHTS
First, I have to mention some of the good things that are going on in the department. The most prominent item has to do with the men's basketball team...and their season has not even begun yet. Before the fall semester began, Coach Joe O'Brien stressed to his team the importance of supporting their fellow student-athletes. He told them that if they wanted other people to come to their games to support the men's basketball team, that they in turn had better be at every one of fall sporting events cheering on those teams. Accordingly and without fail, I have seen members of the men's basketball team at every home football, volleyball, and soccer game this fall. And when I say "members of the men's basketball team", I mean that I have seen at least ten players and coaches at each game, sitting near the front row, cheering on their fellow student-athletes. The team was also seen manning a water station at the Pocatello Marathon in September, for the second year in a row! GOOD JOB COACH O'BRIEN!!!

Second, the football team has been heavily involved in community service during the summer and early fall. In trying to instill the importance of being good community members and in giving back, Coach John Zamberlin and his team have served the community in a number of different ways including:

-Sacking potatoes for the Idaho Food Bank.
-Assisting ISU freshman on moving day by carrying their personal items to their rooms.
-A free youth clinic held two weeks ago; over 200 boys and girls showed up to receive hands-on training from the ISU Coaching staff and student-athletes.
-Reading to local elementary school students, including Lewis & Clark Elementary 3rd graders this week

TICKETING
The fall sport's season is well under way and while I don't want to look past our current sports and their seasons I do want to address an important issue with regard to men's basketball. With the three big Utah schools coming to Holt Arena to take on our Bengals I am anticipating a few crowds that have the potential of being highly attended. As such, I want to make sure that our fans are able to secure the best seats for these games to cheer on their Bengals. With this in mind ISU Athletics will be instigating a premium ticket requirement with regards to ticket purchases for the men's basketball game against Brigham Young University.

For the men's basketball game against BYU on Saturday, November 29th, individual tickets will not be available for purchase until Monday, November 24th. Prior to the 24th, there will be three ways to purchase tickets for this game:

-Purchase season tickets.
-Purchase a two-game premium pack. In this option buyers will be required to purchase a ticket for both the BYU game and a ticket for a Big Sky Conference game of their choice.
-Purchase group tickets in quantities of 25 or greater.

These options are designed to protect Bengal fans, thus giving us the best seats. Individual tickets will go on sale on November 24th at the normal $15 rate and can be purchased at this rate until the day of the game. Additionally, groups of 25 or more will be eligible to purchase tickets at a group rate of $13, effective immediately. On the day of the game however, November 29th, ticket prices will be raised to $20. Our desire with this format is to help predominantly fill the lower sections of Holt Arena with Bengal fans.

NEW & IMPROVED
With the promotions of Donna Hays and Jay McMillin to their new positions and titles within the department, I have endeavored to reorganize the athletic department Capital Campaign Cabinet. The purpose of this cabinet is to assist the ISU Athletic Department in generating revenue for use in construction of new facilities and improving existing structures. Our first organizational meeting was held in September wherein specific assignments were made including an assignment to develop a plan with detailed goals and objectives. A list of potential donors is also in the process of being refined and an action plan is being developed for each of the potential major donors.

Phil Meador and Dr. Mick Mickelson are serving as Co-Chairs of the Capital Campaign and are being assisted by Andy Akers, Michael Byrne, Mike Calley and Scott Hobdey. I am extremely grateful for these individuals for volunteering their time and expertise to the ISU Athletic Department and its endeavors.

AND THEN SOME ...
There are a lot of events left this year so please come and support your Bengal student-athletes. Football returns to home action this weekend for the annual Homecoming game. The support you give now, when it is needed most, may well determine the outcome for the rest of the season. I respectfully encourage all Bengal fans to give our student-athletes the greatest home field advantage that can be given: Wear orange and show great support for our teams; let's focus our energy on raising the volume when our opponents have the ball; let's rise to our feet to cheer on our team. Let's rally around our team and our coaches!!

GO BENGALS!!!

Jeff Tingey
Interim Director of Athletics
Idaho State University