Ask the AD: April 11, 2023
Apr 11, 2023 | Athletics
Brian Smoller (BS): Welcome to another edition of Ask The AD. Brian Smoller with our Director of Athletics, Athletic Director of the Year, Gene Taylor. He's with us here to begin this show. No questions were about that. I guess everyone didn't question it. It was just a coronation deserved. Congratulations.
Gene Taylor (GT): Thank you, appreciate it. It's nice to be recognized by your colleagues and have a great staff, right. These are not individual awards, or it's a combination of everybody that comes to work every day, that makes my job a lot easier. So I'm very fortunate.
BS: Well, it is a fun culture, no doubt. One of hard work and putting nose to the grindstone so to speak. And what a year it's been for K-State with men's basketball and football. I suppose we'll start there because the big question that everybody loves to talk about after they congratulate you, I'm sure, on the AD of the year and the success of football and men's basketball. Next questions are, "Hey, when are we going to sign these coaches to big deals?" So I guess I'll ask that same question.
GT: Yeah, that's a fair question. And obviously, that's the nature of the business. You know, clearly, with Coach Klieman, we're still working through that, I think, you know, that's probably going to be completed, you know, shortly. Once you get into the discussion of the financial arrangements, then you have to go into the language of the contract and that takes a while. And I have not, obviously Coach Tang and I, we're going to wait through the season. And I don't want to bother him during the season. And we'll probably sit down and start having those conversations and see what makes sense, what's a fair agreement. Then to reward him for the success he had, but that makes sure he's comfortable. We want him here for a while, and he wants to stay here. And those things take a little while. But it was certainly something we'll start pretty soon.
BS: Both of those two guys are so great and such a perfect fit here beyond their own deserved raise. It's the desire from them both to see their staffs also get raises. And I said, to that end, I suppose the fans are watching and they want to help support not just head coaches, but their staffs - what's the best way to do that?
GT: The best way is really, through our Ahearn Fund and the power and excellence that we have now out there. Our Ahearn Fund staff be happy to talk to them, and they've already talked to donors. And that's where we need their help. You know, obviously, as we move away from big capital campaigns, we need to shift some of those dollars to our annual giving so we can keep these great coaches and, and great staffs and make sure we're competitive in our salary range across the board. And if you look at all of our salaries, we've typically been towards the bottom half of the Big 12. And that's where we compare ourselves. We don't really compare ourselves with the Big 10 and how the SEC is doing. How are we salary-wise for coaches and staff within the Big 12. And I think from an owners perspective, we want to be up in the upper half, if not better. And one way to do that is to support us through the Ahearn Fund and the Powering Excellence campaign.
BS: The other question that I'm sure you get a lot about is NIL. While we won't go into the weeds of NIL what it's about and what it should be regulated, all that sort of stuff. But I'm just asking general: how does K-State support and NIL and how do you direct people when they ask about it?
GT: Well there are two collectives, right. They're out there working and supporting our athletes and we tell our donors kind of a similar situation. NIL is important and we need it to stay competitive. But please don't take your money away from the Ahearn Fund and give to an NIL. If you're going to support NIL, which we want you to, add a little bit extra to that and sit down and have the conversation because it's all important. But we can't afford to have our annual dollars and the Powering Excellence money be reduced because you want to give to NIL. Do both, up your numbers to both sides and it'll be great.
BS: So far, that response has been exactly what K-State fans, you know that they would do. And both have been supportive. Well, I'd love to see it continue as we move to the next few months. All right, so let's get into the questions that we have some facility stuff here as it seems to be always the questions that get thrown out there.
GT: I'm guessing there's going to be a beer question in there, right?
BS: Yes, our good friend Scott Wildcat with that one. We'll have that one in a bit. First, @catfan28 jumps in and asks "what is the timeline for the new Bill Snyder Family Stadium football turf to be installed and completed by?"
GT: That's a great question. Great timing, as a matter of fact. They should be pulling that turf out right after we're done with spring practice. That turf will be the exact same style of turf that we have both on the indoor and outdoor facility. That'll take oh proximately I think six to eight weeks to put in and it'll be ready for fall season. So we'll have three brand new turfs in the football facilities
BS: It will look great. And the symmetry between having all three fields the same surface will be great for Chris Klieman and his staff. Alright, so let's talk about you mentioned no more capital projects, at least on the immediate horizon. We do get a question about the seating stadium at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This is from @MahomesEnjoyer: "Has there ever been a thought to possibly adding more seating to the stadium and if not, why not?"
GT: Well, you know, we haven't really talked about obviously the most recent project was the Shamrock Zone and we adjusted some seating there and you know picked up premium seating. You know for right now, I think our stadium capacity is really a perfect size for us. We are able to meet all of our demand and maintain as a sold-out situation. And I don't see us having a conversation about that anytime soon. I guess if our demand continues to grow and continue to have success, then it's probably something we may need to look at down the road.
BS: All right. So here's the question from @scottwildcat, our good friend. Good to see you, Scott. "How's the decision on beer sales and exit/reentry going for the 2023 season?"
GT: You know, it's a great question. The answers are going to be the same. Right now, the fan base is split, and we do a survey every year. And there's about 50% of the fan base that wants us to continue the exit/reentry, and 50% of the fan base wants to sell beer. We have to do one or the other. And at some point, I know I keep saying this, I apologize because I say it every year. We're going to make a decision and one way or the other, it's going to, you know, somebody's going to not be happy about it. We'll continue to monitor kind of where we are with things. We've added some areas, as you know, within the stadium, and see if that's where the popularity continues to go. And if we have less people going out, then we'll probably make a call here pretty soon. You know, I would like to make the decision sooner rather than later. I think you know, we just need to sit down and have that conversation. But right now we're still leaning towards exit/reentry next season.
BS: Yeah. And the other part of Scott's question about is it off the table now after this? No, it sounds like you'll just keep reevaluating it each year. All right. @C_Banning asks: "How are season tickets looking for football this year?"
GT: Great. A year ago at this time, we were about 75% renewal rate. Right now, we're at 90%, which is tremendous. You get a lot of energy coming off of last season. And so I think we'll meet our full capacity of season tickets here very, very shortly. And we even did some increasing of prices. We gave them the opportunity to get the last year's pricing early and people are buying and they're excited about it.
BS: Yeah, love to see that. And to get your tickets you can call 1-800-221-CATS or go to kstatesports.com. Tickets are still available for baseball as they wrap up their season too and promotions as well. So check that out. Fans have been great this year all across the board at all of our games.
GT: Absolutely.
BS: Alright, speaking of baseball, this question will be to the chagrin of Casey Scott, one of our senior staff members. "Are there plans to spruce up the backside of the new volleyball/Olympic Training Facility with some nice graphics? It's the new backdrop for baseball games and could be a great canvas for a super creative backdrop in the outfield." This is from @ayosaba, who himself has outed himself as a graphic designer, so maybe he's campaigning to put his own graphic design on there.
GT: You know, we actually looked at it. I've been to the games and I see what we're talking about. There wasn't anything in the original plan for that facility. It was going to be mainly on the main entrance side. But yeah, we're starting to talk about what can we do; big Power Cat, K-State Athletics, K-State baseball, and really kind of dress it up. And that's certainly something we'll look at. We haven't and it's not part of the original plans. We'll probably do it next fiscal year.
BS: One suggestion I have from a fan was to paint trees on it to replicate the trees that used to be there. But I don't think that one's going to fly. All right, last question from Twitter: "What is the timeline for replacing the Bramlage court and who was involved in the approval of the final design?" This is from @strawny.
GT: Well, these questions are very timely, as a matter of fact. We just been looking at court designs between staff and the two basketball staffs came up with something that we feel very comfortable with. And that process will start this summer and we'll have a brand new court for next season. You know, it's not going to be anything crazy. We really want to just show what we have in terms of our logo and color scheme. We're not going to have anything wild within the court design. It's going to be very bright and very, very clear. It's going to really brighten up the look and feel of Bramlage.
BS: Right. So for those that were hoping for a lavender court, that's not going to be in the works.
GT: There might be a little lavender in there somewhere, maybe. So don't be surprised if there's a little lavender somewhere in the mix.
BS: Have to. It's the new unofficial color K-State. Appreciate it. Thank you and congratulations on a great year so far.
GT: A great year. Hopefully, we can keep rolling with baseball. Keep right and keep this machine going forward.
BS: Absolutely. And keep those questions coming on Twitter. You can at Gene Taylor certainly, or @KSTATEADGT, I think is what it is. You can also do it @kstatesports. We'll get it for the next Ask the AD segment. For Athletic Director of the Year, Gene Taylor, Preston Koerner, our producer of this segment, I'm Brian Smoller. Thank you for watching Ask the AD.
Gene Taylor (GT): Thank you, appreciate it. It's nice to be recognized by your colleagues and have a great staff, right. These are not individual awards, or it's a combination of everybody that comes to work every day, that makes my job a lot easier. So I'm very fortunate.
BS: Well, it is a fun culture, no doubt. One of hard work and putting nose to the grindstone so to speak. And what a year it's been for K-State with men's basketball and football. I suppose we'll start there because the big question that everybody loves to talk about after they congratulate you, I'm sure, on the AD of the year and the success of football and men's basketball. Next questions are, "Hey, when are we going to sign these coaches to big deals?" So I guess I'll ask that same question.
GT: Yeah, that's a fair question. And obviously, that's the nature of the business. You know, clearly, with Coach Klieman, we're still working through that, I think, you know, that's probably going to be completed, you know, shortly. Once you get into the discussion of the financial arrangements, then you have to go into the language of the contract and that takes a while. And I have not, obviously Coach Tang and I, we're going to wait through the season. And I don't want to bother him during the season. And we'll probably sit down and start having those conversations and see what makes sense, what's a fair agreement. Then to reward him for the success he had, but that makes sure he's comfortable. We want him here for a while, and he wants to stay here. And those things take a little while. But it was certainly something we'll start pretty soon.
BS: Both of those two guys are so great and such a perfect fit here beyond their own deserved raise. It's the desire from them both to see their staffs also get raises. And I said, to that end, I suppose the fans are watching and they want to help support not just head coaches, but their staffs - what's the best way to do that?
GT: The best way is really, through our Ahearn Fund and the power and excellence that we have now out there. Our Ahearn Fund staff be happy to talk to them, and they've already talked to donors. And that's where we need their help. You know, obviously, as we move away from big capital campaigns, we need to shift some of those dollars to our annual giving so we can keep these great coaches and, and great staffs and make sure we're competitive in our salary range across the board. And if you look at all of our salaries, we've typically been towards the bottom half of the Big 12. And that's where we compare ourselves. We don't really compare ourselves with the Big 10 and how the SEC is doing. How are we salary-wise for coaches and staff within the Big 12. And I think from an owners perspective, we want to be up in the upper half, if not better. And one way to do that is to support us through the Ahearn Fund and the Powering Excellence campaign.
BS: The other question that I'm sure you get a lot about is NIL. While we won't go into the weeds of NIL what it's about and what it should be regulated, all that sort of stuff. But I'm just asking general: how does K-State support and NIL and how do you direct people when they ask about it?
GT: Well there are two collectives, right. They're out there working and supporting our athletes and we tell our donors kind of a similar situation. NIL is important and we need it to stay competitive. But please don't take your money away from the Ahearn Fund and give to an NIL. If you're going to support NIL, which we want you to, add a little bit extra to that and sit down and have the conversation because it's all important. But we can't afford to have our annual dollars and the Powering Excellence money be reduced because you want to give to NIL. Do both, up your numbers to both sides and it'll be great.
BS: So far, that response has been exactly what K-State fans, you know that they would do. And both have been supportive. Well, I'd love to see it continue as we move to the next few months. All right, so let's get into the questions that we have some facility stuff here as it seems to be always the questions that get thrown out there.
GT: I'm guessing there's going to be a beer question in there, right?
BS: Yes, our good friend Scott Wildcat with that one. We'll have that one in a bit. First, @catfan28 jumps in and asks "what is the timeline for the new Bill Snyder Family Stadium football turf to be installed and completed by?"
GT: That's a great question. Great timing, as a matter of fact. They should be pulling that turf out right after we're done with spring practice. That turf will be the exact same style of turf that we have both on the indoor and outdoor facility. That'll take oh proximately I think six to eight weeks to put in and it'll be ready for fall season. So we'll have three brand new turfs in the football facilities
BS: It will look great. And the symmetry between having all three fields the same surface will be great for Chris Klieman and his staff. Alright, so let's talk about you mentioned no more capital projects, at least on the immediate horizon. We do get a question about the seating stadium at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This is from @MahomesEnjoyer: "Has there ever been a thought to possibly adding more seating to the stadium and if not, why not?"
GT: Well, you know, we haven't really talked about obviously the most recent project was the Shamrock Zone and we adjusted some seating there and you know picked up premium seating. You know for right now, I think our stadium capacity is really a perfect size for us. We are able to meet all of our demand and maintain as a sold-out situation. And I don't see us having a conversation about that anytime soon. I guess if our demand continues to grow and continue to have success, then it's probably something we may need to look at down the road.
BS: All right. So here's the question from @scottwildcat, our good friend. Good to see you, Scott. "How's the decision on beer sales and exit/reentry going for the 2023 season?"
GT: You know, it's a great question. The answers are going to be the same. Right now, the fan base is split, and we do a survey every year. And there's about 50% of the fan base that wants us to continue the exit/reentry, and 50% of the fan base wants to sell beer. We have to do one or the other. And at some point, I know I keep saying this, I apologize because I say it every year. We're going to make a decision and one way or the other, it's going to, you know, somebody's going to not be happy about it. We'll continue to monitor kind of where we are with things. We've added some areas, as you know, within the stadium, and see if that's where the popularity continues to go. And if we have less people going out, then we'll probably make a call here pretty soon. You know, I would like to make the decision sooner rather than later. I think you know, we just need to sit down and have that conversation. But right now we're still leaning towards exit/reentry next season.
BS: Yeah. And the other part of Scott's question about is it off the table now after this? No, it sounds like you'll just keep reevaluating it each year. All right. @C_Banning asks: "How are season tickets looking for football this year?"
GT: Great. A year ago at this time, we were about 75% renewal rate. Right now, we're at 90%, which is tremendous. You get a lot of energy coming off of last season. And so I think we'll meet our full capacity of season tickets here very, very shortly. And we even did some increasing of prices. We gave them the opportunity to get the last year's pricing early and people are buying and they're excited about it.
BS: Yeah, love to see that. And to get your tickets you can call 1-800-221-CATS or go to kstatesports.com. Tickets are still available for baseball as they wrap up their season too and promotions as well. So check that out. Fans have been great this year all across the board at all of our games.
GT: Absolutely.
BS: Alright, speaking of baseball, this question will be to the chagrin of Casey Scott, one of our senior staff members. "Are there plans to spruce up the backside of the new volleyball/Olympic Training Facility with some nice graphics? It's the new backdrop for baseball games and could be a great canvas for a super creative backdrop in the outfield." This is from @ayosaba, who himself has outed himself as a graphic designer, so maybe he's campaigning to put his own graphic design on there.
GT: You know, we actually looked at it. I've been to the games and I see what we're talking about. There wasn't anything in the original plan for that facility. It was going to be mainly on the main entrance side. But yeah, we're starting to talk about what can we do; big Power Cat, K-State Athletics, K-State baseball, and really kind of dress it up. And that's certainly something we'll look at. We haven't and it's not part of the original plans. We'll probably do it next fiscal year.
BS: One suggestion I have from a fan was to paint trees on it to replicate the trees that used to be there. But I don't think that one's going to fly. All right, last question from Twitter: "What is the timeline for replacing the Bramlage court and who was involved in the approval of the final design?" This is from @strawny.
GT: Well, these questions are very timely, as a matter of fact. We just been looking at court designs between staff and the two basketball staffs came up with something that we feel very comfortable with. And that process will start this summer and we'll have a brand new court for next season. You know, it's not going to be anything crazy. We really want to just show what we have in terms of our logo and color scheme. We're not going to have anything wild within the court design. It's going to be very bright and very, very clear. It's going to really brighten up the look and feel of Bramlage.
BS: Right. So for those that were hoping for a lavender court, that's not going to be in the works.
GT: There might be a little lavender in there somewhere, maybe. So don't be surprised if there's a little lavender somewhere in the mix.
BS: Have to. It's the new unofficial color K-State. Appreciate it. Thank you and congratulations on a great year so far.
GT: A great year. Hopefully, we can keep rolling with baseball. Keep right and keep this machine going forward.
BS: Absolutely. And keep those questions coming on Twitter. You can at Gene Taylor certainly, or @KSTATEADGT, I think is what it is. You can also do it @kstatesports. We'll get it for the next Ask the AD segment. For Athletic Director of the Year, Gene Taylor, Preston Koerner, our producer of this segment, I'm Brian Smoller. Thank you for watching Ask the AD.
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