The Bulldog Initiative's Website Released

[CharlieWinfield]

I am happy to report that The Bulldog Initiative's website is now up and running at www.bulldoginitiative.com. I hope you like it, but we will be twisting and tweaking as we move forward, so feel free to shoot any constructive criticism my way at [email protected].

As you will see, we have options for monthly, quarterly, and annual giving, but if you are trying to participate and don't see an option you like (or if you have a business that wants to get involved), shoot me an email, and we will help with other options. Also, please let me know if you encounter any issues - there will be glitch somewhere along the way that may be a little frustrating - but I promise we will jump right on it.

This project is doing good - some that we have talked about and some that we haven't yet. I am excited to see, though, how much further it will go now that we are taking things up a notch with this effort.

Thanks to everyone who has and will support, but I understand it's not for everybody. Please just let me know if I can answer questions or help.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[Forrest4Moore]

Good work, Charlie. I’ll set up a monthly, which I’m sure won’t move the needle, but every bit helps.

Question/discussion for you, I read the FAQ and understand the desire for privacy on agreements being made public… but I can’t help but wonder if more transparency, at some point, would actually entice more giving…? Would end of athletic year recaps, on at least sport by sport breakdowns of the expenditures be possible?

I’m aware that could cause jealousy, especially with minor sports. However, that’s the reality. Outside of highly marketable athletes (like Livvy Dunne (LSU Gymnastics) or Mondo Duplantis (LSU Track)) those athletes won’t command much use for these funds.

Just thinking that over time, the expenditures transparency would entice more giving. And perhaps increase specified giving to the big 4 sports if one’s pot is vastly behind in competitive balance.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

I think it’d mostly entice a US womens soccer situation unfortunately. Maybe men’s sports could be shared as a percentage for each sport and same for women, but not on the same chart

 

[Forrest4Moore]

Thinking through this even more, do the highly marketable minor sport athletes even need Bulldog Initiative type NIL contributions? The Livvy’s, Mondo’s, Matthew Boling (UGA Track), or Montana Fouts (Bama softball) probably attract enough national endorsements to not need supplementation by local NIL initiatives.

I don’t know. This whole NIL world is very intriguing. It just seems most beneficial to earmark specific funds for a LT, a QB, a rush DE, a Friday night ace, and a combo guard that can create his own shot, instead of an outside hitter for volleyball.

//Thinking out loud. I’ll hang up and listen to others for a while.

 

[CharlieWinfield]

As a general rule, I think they do not. In some cases, we have had people give who are passionate about some of those sports (e.g., we have had somebody who wanted their contribution to be devoted 80% football and 20% to a non-revenue sport that had a hometown athlete). I think my personal priorities would match about anybody else's here - just trying to be as responsive as we can to those who have contributed. That being said - some of these deals you mentioned are out of this world.

 

[tmjdog]

Ok, I’ve signed up for a monthly contribution. Let’s go guys. We need thousands of members if we’re gonna compete in the SEC for top athletes. This is a must. Do what you can. Hail State.

 

[paindonthurt]

If we could get 10,000 people
To donate $25/month we’d be in good shape.

 

[dawgstudent]

Thanks again Charlie.

I called the Bulldog Club today and adjusted my contribution by what I’m willing to give to the Bulldog Initiative. My opinion is if you give more than your seat license requirement - it should go to the Bulldog Initiative.

 

[BlameTheDogs]

Nice work Charlie. What percentage goes to the athletes vs operational expenses?

 

[dawgstudent]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

 

[DogStuckAtUM.sixpack]

Though it won’t be much, I’m going to start a monthly donation. I’ve never given to Bulldog Club, etc. (hell, I graduated from Ole Miss), but as a lifelong State fan, this feels like the first time a personal contribution will make a difference on the field.

 

[dorndawg]

If we could get 10,000 people
To donate $25/month we’d be in good shape.

Did Bulldog Club have 10,000 monthly/yearly contributors?

 

[The Peeper]

If you log in to your dog tag you can see where you rank w/ whatever points you've accumulated. It looks like there are 14,351 contributors as of today

 

[dorndawg]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

Shooting straight with yall, almost definitely not. I was a small-stakes donor to Bulldog Club. Some of this feels pretty shady (not directed at Charlie who is a stand-up dude). Even if it's all on the up & up, I don't see how a school like State fares any better under this set-up than the "old" one.

College football is slaying the golden goose and State football ever being competitive at the highest level is very likely to be a casualty. I don't see how my $25 a month does anything to stop the tide (lower-case "t") that's coming.

 

[dorndawg]

Ah, guess I didn't realize that was active donors. That's anybody giving $1 a year, I'd guess?

 

[dawgstudent]

What questions would you like answered that you are unsure about?

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Extremely unlikely.

I occasionally donate to the MSU Foundation but since I work in higher education at another institution the great majority of what I donate goes to my employer-- either its general fund or specific scholarships and entities.

 

[dorndawg]

Extremely unlikely.

I occasionally donate to the MSU Foundation but since I work in higher education at another institution the great majority of what I donate goes to my employer-- either its general fund or specific scholarships and entities.

Each of you and the other 10 fans get your own offensive and defensive starter thru the NIL, huh?*

 

[CharlieWinfield]

The short answer is that we are sitting over 95%. Here is a longer answer - on the expense side, we have invested in the web site, the online donation portal, and some routine expenses with opening bank accounts, obtaining some donor cards, and things like that. We have also had to cover the credit card transaction fees, which shave a little off the top. All of our labor has been either volunteer or at my cost, so that has helped, and I have donated our travel and meeting costs. Going forward, we will have to deal with some tax and compliance expenses, and we want to be in a position to provide some benefits to people who are helping us, so I anticipate some investment there once we are up and running. If this takes off, I hope to be able to hire some help. I realize that adds costs, but there are benefits to doing it, too (like maintaining some sanity), but we won't do that unless we are sure we can keep the ratios in a good place. One other bit of good news - we had somebody earmark a donation strictly to operational expenses, which has helped cover some of the things I noted before, and we are in some talks to be able to do more of that going forward too.

 

[ronpolk]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

I highly doubt I would. I’m all for a player being able to make money off his name, as in a business wants to pay him/her to advertise. Or making money due to a name being on the back of a jersey, but I’m not giving my own money to these guys in a donation form. We start selling jerseys and stuff like that, I’d be happy to buy memorabilia where some of the money goes to the player.

 

[8dog]

We arent gonna fare better. We just need to keep our chances that same at a minimum. Just remember that this is directly correlated to winning far more than the BC. And winning is the single most important thing for our school as an academics entity and for businesses in Starkville. So I encourage folks to also view it through that lens and not just the “i dont like players getting money” lens.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

Planning to give

Despite my disdain for the bloated cost of a D-1 education these days, I'm going to give to the NIL movement because these kids are putting butts in the seats and eyes on the tube. They deserve a cut. The free market should decide what that cut is. You're free to give, and likewise you're free to consume the product without giving. There's something for everyone.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

I would highly encourage alumni who live out of state to do this. Especially if you rarely come to campus. Will I personally? No, I do my part in other ways (butt in a seat at the stadium, mostly). It takes all kinds.

If you don't donate to this, donate somewhere. Just watching our games on TV certainly isn't enough.

 

[Go Budaw]

If we could get 10,000 people
To donate $25/month we’d be in good shape.

So if we had twice as many people as were actively giving to the Bulldog Club all giving three times the minimum donation required by the Bulldog Club, and ALSO keeping all the existing donations to the Bulldog Club in place, we would be good?

That’s a tremendous ask. That’s also only another $3 million per year. Arch Manning by himself is probably going to get more than that from Texas before he ever plays a snap. That’s the kind of beast we are up against.

 

[FISHDAWG]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

already done ... I don't live close enough for season tickets and this allows me to participate from a distance ... also the website makes it easy to do

 

[dorndawg]

We arent gonna fare better. We just need to keep our chances that same at a minimum. Just remember that this is directly correlated to winning far more than the BC. And winning is the single most important thing for our school as an academics entity and for businesses in Starkville. So I encourage folks to also view it through that lens and not just the “i dont like players getting money” lens.

I'm all good with players getting money, as an idea.

 

[dawgstudent]

Ah, guess I didn't realize that was active donors. That's anybody giving $1 a year, I'd guess?

I think minimum contribution is $100.

Edit to add - looks like that is not the case. https://msubulldogclub.com/document...T_BulldogClub_GivingLevels_070716v2_chart.pdf

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

I'm in for a dimebag/month.

 

[kired]

What questions would you like answered that you are unsure about?

Are we / can we have an official SPS sponsored player? He can come on here and do an AMA session like the Swede as part of the deal.

That would be a hell of an honor - who's going to get the coveted SPS sponsorship every year?

 

[ronpolk]

Are we / can we have an official SPS sponsored player? He can come on here and do an AMA session like the Swede as part of the deal.

That would be a hell of an honor - who's going to get the coveted SPS sponsorship every year?

Whoever #17 is regardless of talent level**

 

[columbiadawg2]

Whoever gets the most "My Boy" votes!

 

[DudyDog]

Hey Charlie, I see it above and have seen it elsewhere....selling jerseys and T-shirts. I guess I'm asking from a legal standpoint with the school, NCAA, whoever...can these be sold and a portion be given to the Bulldog Initiative or to the athletes, etc? I feel both those that are ok giving and those that don't want to give directly, would purchase a tangible item to have that would benefit the cause. Can you give us some insight on that? Thanks

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

I can't this year maybe the next.

Bidenflation is a ***** on a fixed income.

 

[M R DAWGS]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

No, I have a family that would be better served with that money, and I know what 18-21 year olds spend money on.

 

[CharlieWinfield]

On the jersey front - Fanatics and a company named OneTeam Partners have joined together to create a platform, presumably on the way soon, that will allow college athletes who opt in to have jerseys with their name and number sold, with the players getting a cut off any sales. Here is a link to a press release on it in case you are interested in the details: https://www.fanaticsinc.com/press-r...te-group-rights-licensing-program-for-jerseys. This won’t run through us or help our particular effort, but it will benefit the players whose jerseys are sold, which is all we are really trying to do anyway. So, good thing if they get it off the ground and promote it right. And pick the right color maroon. In a strange way, I think it also has a chance to bring some sanity to the NIL market. A player who has 20 family members and sells only 10 jerseys would have a hard time arguing that he / she is being shorted on NIL money from other sources when their own products that they profit directly from aren’t moving. Maybe just wishful thinking on my part, but it will at least be an interesting data set.

We can do t-shirts, but it becomes more complicated when we use MSU logos due to licensing requirements. We are working through several things on this front now. Hopefully, with the web site underway, we will be able to catch our breath and try to move the ball on this front some too. But, the overall sentiment is an important one - we are working hard to provide some tangible item opportunities.

 

[mcdawg22]

Mid Thread hijack - are you planning to give? Why or why not?

Yup! Done and done.

 

[mcdawg22]

And pick the right color maroon.

Charlie is a true SPS’er now.

 

[047Dog]

I highly doubt I would. I’m all for a player being able to make money off his name, as in a business wants to pay him/her to advertise. Or making money due to a name being on the back of a jersey, but I’m not giving my own money to these guys in a donation form. We start selling jerseys and stuff like that, I’d be happy to buy memorabilia where some of the money goes to the player.

Same. I have kids that aren't even in college yet. I'm not paying for somebody else's kid to live it up like a millionaire. If that makes me a "bad fan" then so be it. It is not the responsibility of a middle class fan of a program to spend their money to buy players.

This all started because the O'Bannon's wanted to get paid by EA Sports. Then we were told players could be paid in endorsements. I'm all for a player making money off their own jersey, signed cards/posters, or they schill for a used car lot, etc. But this **** has morphed into buying players like cattle at an auction and I'm not ok with that.

 

[aTotal360]

Great info. Personally, and I don't think I'm alone on this, I have a little hang up on giving a kid I don't have a relationship with $500 with no directive or indication of the spending. I'm certain this is a mental block for a lot of "average Joe" guys like myself. With that being said, I don't mind "overpaying" for a signed jersey that I can hang in my office. To me, creating a tie with the school's officially licensed gear provider is critical. I don't see why Adidas wouldn't give a collective an opportunity to purchase jerseys at wholesale or even at cost (wishful thinking).

No offense to Fanatics, but I'm not ordering anything from them that isn't Adidas. Their in-house stuff is awful. Particularly when it comes to getting the color right. I'm still sitting on a couple light crimson 2021 National Championship tshirts that I won't wear.

 

[Dawgbite]

For years now I’ve given the University between $4000 and $5000 a year in ticket purchases and donations but I’ll be honest with you, they have stolen my magic. It’s turned into a money grab with increased prices and the fan experience and customer service has gone in the toilet over the past 3-5 years. A few experiences over the past few years has broken me to the point that I have relinquished all my tickets. I donated $150 so that I won’t loose my points in the BDC in the event that my son would like them someday. I realize that money is the fuel that runs college sports and to be competitive fans can’t have my current attitude if State is ever to be competitive. I hope I grow out of it in a year or two and I can see a way to help but right now I’m too cynical about all this transfer/ NIL BS to happily write that check.