Hot Topic: Sports drives conversation at WSSU

Winston-Salem State fans and alumni hoping for a vote of confidence from Chancellor Donald Reaves about the athletics program's move to Division I didn't get one Wednesday night.

Reaves, speaking at a public forum, spelled out what WSSU needs to complete its transition to Division I and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"It's not an expense problem," he said. "We are not having a problem in athletics because it's spending too much. That's simply not the case. If you look at the expenditures of the other MEAC schools, you will see we are not spending nearly as much as they are.

"The problem at Winston-Salem State is a revenue-side problem. We simply don't raise enough revenue."

Reaves, who was hired in August 2007, stood for two hours during the forum and answered questions ranging from graduation rates to athletics. And questions about athletics stirred the most passion.

WSSU, in its fourth year of transition to Division I, has lost $6.1 million since starting the move, and charts that Reaves used Wednesday show more losses ahead. Reaves was loud and clear about the key point of his presentation -- WSSU needs to raise nearly $3 million more a year to help offset losses. WSSU currently brings in about $2.9 million a year in student fees for athletics, by far the biggest source of revenue.

"We have looked at various options, and if we can raise between $2.5 and $3 million every single year, we can continue along the path to Division I," he said.

If WSSU can't raise that amount, staying in Division II and returning to the CIAA is a real possibility.

With the economy lagging, Reaves expects WSSU to have a difficult time raising the money it needs through donations. Reaves said he has done extensive research on fundraising through the years at WSSU and that the results are not encouraging.

"I've said to Victor (Bruinton), we will work with the alumni association to try to raise money for athletics, but I do not believe you can raise $3 million dollars a year," Reaves said.

Bruinton is the president of WSSU's national alumni association. A spokesman for the association said Wednesday that the school had 1,134 registered donors three years ago but just 690 this year.

When pressed by an alumnus about the need to raise money for athletics, Reaves responded sharply. "I'm trying to be honest with you," said Reaves, who has an extensive business background and said he wants to see the school's books balanced. "I need cash, and I need cash this year. And there's no record whatsoever at this university in fundraising."

Reasons for the limited donations for athletics are unclear. Alumni could be hesitant to give because they see no clear direction for the program. Some might be hesitant to donate because of a sense that Reaves is lukewarm toward athletics and that their donations will have little impact, no matter how much they give.

Reaves said that his priorities are student retention and higher graduation rates, not athletics.

Among the alumni who spoke in favor of athletics at the forum was Curtis Richardson, a High Point businessman and one of the top donors for athletics. He urged others to take out their checkbooks and make a difference. "Let's stop hollering and yelling at each other about what we are not doing and let's do something," he said.

Walter Marshall, a county commissioner and WSSU alumnus, said: "We need to put up or shut up."

Reaves doesn't have the power to stop the move to Division I -- WSSU's board of trustees has the ultimate vote. Reaves and the board will meet next month and again in September, and although he wouldn't say what his recommendation to the board would be, it seems clear which way he's leaning.

Reaves said that if WSSU stays in Division II, it probably could balance the athletics budget in two years. The MEAC wants an answer about WSSU's intentions sometime this year.

Reaves' hope is to market teams better to draw more paying customers. He announced Wednesday that all of next season's basketball games, except the one against N.C. A&T, would be played at the Gaines Center, to save the expense of renting Joel Coliseum or the coliseum annex.

"We are looking at every possible activity to raise money for the program," Reaves said.

Reaves said that raising ticket prices won't help because the football and basketball teams haven't been winning. The football team was 3-8 last year, its worst season in Coach Kermit Blount's 16 years. Since leaving the CIAA, the Rams have gone 25-64 in men's basketball and 17-69 in women's basketball over three seasons.

Another possible way to market athletics is through radio coverage from the campus station. When asked about that, Reaves blamed the athletics department for deciding not to pay for air time to broadcast basketball games last season. Football games were broadcast on WSNC 90.5 in 2008.

Another concern raised by alumni is the lack of an athletics director. Chico Caldwell was fired in February but still is owed two years on his contract. Tonia Walker, the senior women's administrator, is serving as the interim AD, but a hiring freeze in the UNC system will prevent WSSU from hiring a full-time AD until after July 1, the start of the next fiscal year. Reaves said he has received more than 60 resumes and that he sees about 10 good candidates.

"If we tried to hire an athletic director before the fiscal year of June 30, I know for a fact that it wouldn't get approved," Reaves said. "But we are assuming, with the beginning of the new fiscal year, we can at least petition the governor's budget office for exceptions to the hiring freeze.… I will have to get permission to fill that job."

After the open forum, Reaves answered a few questions from reporters.

"I think it went OK," he said. "People had good questions, and I was able to present the things I wanted to present that I thought were important. People have learned from the discussions, and for me retention and graduation is the No. 1 priority."

Reaves said he was somewhat surprised by the heated give-and-take about athletics.

"We spent a lot of time talking about athletics," he said. "It got lively with the athletics, and people are close to that, and they are interested in it. So we'll see what happens with it, and if people will step forward because that's a lot of money."

■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.