HOME, SWEET HOME!… Driving Revenue

Our Hurricanes have come a long way since the arrival of head coach Mario Cristobal. He has built the program back to elite level in four years. Still, there is still more work to do to reach the top of the mountain.

That work involves consistent field success, higher financial funding and strategic facility development.

Miami has hired an elite coaching and support staff. They have built a roster that can consistently compete in talent acquisition and or championships on the field. Miami has also grown attendance from an average in the mid-forties to over 50,000 fans at games.

Yesterday, we examined the work done and achieved with staffing, field success and fan support. Today, we will examine what needs to be done in driving higher revenue.

Driving Higher Revenue:

Miami is currently in search mode for a new athletic director. It’s been reported the administration is not looking at the traditional college athletic director market, instead searching for candidates with experience and proven results in driving revenue in the sports world. A number of candidates have surfaced recently. It will be important for the successful candidate to be a bold and aggressive leader with both an understanding of the Miami market and a strong history of financial deal making. By substantially increasing Miami’s financial position, this will allow the U to address a number of facility needs.

AD Options:

Miami’s search process is underway. Three potential candidates have surfaced publicly, including music executive Michael Yormark, Jim Frevola - president of business operations and co-CEO of AFC Bournemouth (English Premier League). Frevola is a Miami graduate. The other candidate is Jeff Purinton, executive vice president with Learfield Sports Properties.

Since we know little about these gentlemen, we won’t express our opinion on any of them. We have to trust university president Joe Echevarria and the board of trustees’ wisdom and experience in such matters. We suspect an outside executive search firm is assisting in the process.

Facility Development:

Facility development is directly tied to the athletic director search.

Miami has a number of key facility needs that could vault the athletic program to higher national prominence.

It has been reported that Miami wants to build a new Football Operations Center and launch a softball program with a stadium facility. After some initial excitement, both efforts have stalled for a lack of funds.

Also, a growing segment of the fan base continues to push for a “home” stadium for our Canes. With the Hard Rock Stadium lease expiring in a few years, it would be a good time to reconsider a new “Home Field.” Again, all past efforts have hit walls, both financially and with City of Coral Gables zoning.

BOTTOM LINE:

It appears Miami may make another quiet run for improved athletic facilities. We are in a critical two-year time period to execute another paradigm shift.

In our next edition of “Home, Sweet Home” we will play “WHAT IF?” and examine the possibility of finally getting a “home field” for our Canes.

GO CANES!