On first day, KU’s new AD talks football, future of $350 million fundraising campaign
Kansas’ $350 million “Raise The Chant” fundraising campaign, which was kicked off with a $50 million pledge from KU booster David Booth last September, is in the process of being studied by new athletic director Jeff Long, he told reporters in a casual interview session in his office on Wednesday morning, his first day on the job.
“My understanding is in the interim between hiring a new athletic director, they thought it was best to try to just, I would say pause, and give me a chance to come in, assess and decide how it moves forward,” Long said of the campaign, which is focused primarily on football.
“They are continuing to fundraise. They are continuing to raise money, but look at it and maybe there’s a different course we take or something, but it’s still definitely active,” he added of a fundraising effort for football.
The raisethechant.com website has not been running the past several weeks.
“I think I have to,” Long said, asked specifically about needing to reassess specifics of the campaign. “I need to understand how and what (the) initial launch was and reasons why and behind (them). My coming in, decide where do we take it from here? How does it move forward? I need to look at the plan that’s in place, then take from my experience, maybe add something to it or maybe adjust course a little bit.”
Long said he had spoken to Booth since being chosen as Sheahon Zenger’s replacement July 5.
“We had a great conversation on the phone. I really enjoyed talking with him,” Long said. “I’ll have more conversations with him because when you make an investment like that in our program, I want to learn from him why he made that, why it was important for him to make that. That will help me understand how we use those funds and such.”
Long conceded that, “fundraising for projects is always easier when there are successful teams. That’s an obvious statement and it’s true. What our (fundraising) team will need to do is work hard to make sure that we have the plans in place, the forethought of when we have success — and we anticipate having success this year — that we have the things in place to build upon it.
“What I’ve seen in my career, at times people have not anticipated success so therefore when success happens they’re caught by surprise and don’t have the system and things in place to take advantage of that success. I want to be clear. We may (already) have those things in place and we’re ready to roll. I just don’t know yet.”
Long expressed confidence in the football program Wednesday. The Jayhawks have a 3-33 record in three seasons under coach David Beaty.
“I am an optimist. I think you have to believe in success before you can have success,” Long said. “I believe in this team. I believe in the coaching staff. Let’s go and see what we can do.
“It’s hard to judge a team, although we do it, obviously sportswriters need to do it, need to look at teams and project out how you think they are going to be. I get that. For the AD, I’m new. I want to see.”
Indeed, Long, a 58-year-old former college quarterback from Ohio Wesleyan, wants to see with his own eyes.
“I want to see practice. I want to see the games. I want to see success on the field,” Long said. “See how we’re building. See what we have in underclassmen and such coming up for the team. It’s a big process to undertake and evaluate in a short period of time.”
He plans on attending practice when he can, as Zenger did.
“All our coaches have been that way,” Long, the former Arkansas and Pittsburgh AD, said of coaches having an open door policy for the AD. “I am a football person (former coach) so to speak. My background began that way. I’ve done it at other places, slid in the back of a meeting room and watched a coach teach something. I don’t pretend to know how to go up there and tell ‘em what to do, but I have enough background I could listen and understand what they are teaching.”
Long noted that “it’s very hard for an AD to get out there to practice. I certainly won’t be out there every day. When I do, I like to watch scrimmages too. I do like to drop by practice just to watch coaches’ drill work. I used to do that stuff so I can relate.”