Buzz Matters

There probably isn’t another college campus in this country with more great news associated with it these days than SDSU. Right now we’re dancing in clover. Here are a few things to be happy about if your blood runs towards a red and black hue:

• Our alumna, Kathleen Kennedy, produced the film (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) with the most Oscar nominations.
• This month our cheerleaders won the National Championship: http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/c-cheer/spec-rel/011909aaa.html
• Aztec pitcher Stephen Strasburg is widely recognized as the best college baseball player in the country. http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/010809aad.html
• Our women’s basketball team, in addition to beating fourth-ranked Texas earlier this year, just whomped BYU by 20. Since we are hosting the NCAA first round at Cox Arena, and since the way it works in women’s basketball is that you get to stay near home, we could very well be playing March 21 and 23 in Cox Arena! http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/09-ncaa-champ.html
• Our men’s basketball team has considerable depth and talent and will undoubtedly make a run at the Dance. The “Show” serves as catalyst for great atmosphere and great wins against substantial Mountain West teams. A few good seats remain at: http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/82694?brand=qualcommaztecs
• One of our students, Destin Cretton, just won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival for “Short Term 12.” http://advancement.sdsu.edu/marcomm/news/releases/spring2009/pr012209sundance.html

I am not making this stuff up, check it out for yourself:

And finally, head football coach Brady Hoke has hired coordinators of substance and our own Brian Sipe as QB coach, and has generally convinced all paying attention that the resurrection of Aztec Football is, in fact, possible.

It is, indeed, a good time to be an Aztec.

2009

It is one of the recharging days between semesters where the campus is devoid of students yet the internal engine recovers and prepares for the next wave of minds requiring stimulation.

And what a fine day to work at this awesome place and to be able to reflect on recent events while planning future growth.

Growth, one might ask? Haven’t the economic challenges of our state necessitated reduced SDSU enrollment? Well, yes they have, but we still have 33,000 students whose minds must grow. And we still have 200,000 alumni whose minds are meeting, responding and conquering the hurdles popping up every moment a la whack a mole. Not to mention the stimulation and growth required of our own minds.

Here are some of the issues of the day from an alumni relations perspective:

• How do we properly steward the ownership of 50,000 (growing to 75,000) email addresses?
  
• What is the ideal blend of university perspective versus reporting balance in our communications?
  
• How often do we feature athletics versus everything else going on in the university?
  
• How can we best encourage our constituents (alums) to utilize the wildly popular social and professional networking sites like Facebook, and Linked-in to spread the word about San Diego State events, programs, lectures, entertainment and activities?
  
• In an era of declining annual membership (and surging lifetime membership) how do we finance our quest for greater engagement?
  
• How do we utilize our sprouting Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center to encourage more alums to visit our campus?
  
• In short, how do we best harness the practical, creative, and generous energies of our alumni to better this institution?

I am certain 2009 will reveal some extraordinary advancement.

Allan Bailey

On December 21st we lost a tremendous Aztec, colleague, co-worker, alumni past president, friend and mentor Allan Bailey. In a career spanning 41 years Allan served the university as professor of accounting, Dean of the college of Business and CFO of the Campanile Foundation. A staple of university relations, a fixture at Aztec athletic events and beautiful role model, Allan was emblematic of the emergent quality of education offered by San Diego State. While at the time of this writing we are awaiting the scheduling of Allan’s campus memorial, I am glad to share the following letter sent to our alumni board of directors.

To Our Alumni Board and Our Past Alumni Presidents

By now I am sure you have all heard of Allan’s passing. I am sorry I could not call you all individually last week so that you did not have to hear it electronically.

But, Allan undoubtedly would have preferred a low-key reaction. It’s just that his impression on our world was so substantial that it is difficult to react in a below-the-radar way.

In recent years we have gotten a glimpse of the great life Allan had outside of San Diego State. We know his wife Nancy, and Allan, and some of his family and friends went on some spectacular trips together. We know that he cherished his family and got nothing but pure joy from having grandchildren. Essentially, we got to know how important Allan’s family was to him. We already knew how important our university was to Allan. More so, we know how important Allan was to SDSU.

In my Allan Bailey mailbox I have 2,556 messages from Allan dating back to September 1999. Wow. That is daily communication for ten years. No wonder I feel like I have lost some hard-to-describe body part comprised of brain, will, heart, soul and gumption.

Allan was a veritable facts machine. He had inordinate quantities of data-- well organized and at his fingertips. But Allan also had the key relationships to go with the information. He had built up huge stores of goodwill at every turn. The President, all the Vice presidents, the board members, the donors; they all had tremendous respect for Allan. And then, to compliment that he had the support and respect and genuine appreciation from everyone else who worked with him. Only now are we beginning to compare notes and realize that Allan was everyone’s mentor. Hundreds of us over the years. How could one person do all that?

I cannot fathom how. But I can fathom how proud I will be to walk into the Allan Bailey Library at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center everyday starting next July. (Thank you Mark McMillin.) Allan and I were to have moved into that building in tandem. But, having all been trained, mentored, coached and inspired by Allan Bailey, my colleagues and I will do our very best every day to carry on the mission of making San Diego State a better place.

Technologically speaking

Recently we have sent out thousands of emails asking people to update their data. Since it is 2008 some of you have pointed out that that it looks “fishy,” and that someone might be “phishing.”

Actually it is all legit. We have contracted with Harris Connect to publish a new SDSU Alumni Directory. Harris has a fine reputation, is the leader in this field nationally, and also published our Alumni Directories in 1994 and 1999.

When the dust clears on this effort we expect to have better, upgraded data and many more valid email addresses to work with.

This leads me to muse about the alumni business in the current day and age. Consider these two anecdotes:

A couple of years back I was trying to get one of our most illustrious donors to sign his pledge form. He had agreed to a dollar amount for our alumni center but had ignored my emails with attachments that required his signature. These, were follow-ups to my phone calls which were follow-ups to our meetings. Finally he suggested I fax him the paperwork. Within minutes he had faxed back a legal $500,000 commitment.

A colleague told me that he was frustrated that his own college aged son was ignoring his calls, text messages and emails. But he discovered he could get an immediate response by posting a message on his Facebook page.

It seems like that until recently we just had the big three: Face-to-face, phone calls and emails on the computer. Depending on the gravity of the circumstances you’d pick one or more of the above. But now the landscape has changed.

FaceBook. MySpace. Linked In.

Texting. Skyping.

Twitter.

All we really know is that within a couple of years or less these terms might be history and we’ll have new ones. Oh yeah, we also know that there is plenty we don’t know.

But we do know this: Content rules. Whether we are pushing or others are pulling we need good stuff.

Glad we have some.

In the Company of Aztecs

Well, it is the Monday following Homecoming and I am compelled to churn a couple of thoughts. First of all, we should get the football angst dispensed with: Yes we would all prefer we were having a better season, but the ability to get together and simply enjoy each other's company in the context of major College Division 1 football is essential regardless. And its fun.

For instance, on Saturday night there were no jokes along the lines of "well at least we are saving on gunpowder this year." No, the Aztec cannon worked overtime and since it was Homecoming and we had a steady parade of celebrants to the field, our ears were constantly ringing.

Speaking of the steady parade, alumni president Adrienne Finley honored Bob and Darlene McCray with the Aztec Spirit Award. Bob McCray, hobbling on the foot he broke at Notre Dame, had the entire McCray enclave with him on the field to celebrate. And speaking of playing hurt, Buddy Black was there. He was the Homecoming Honorary Chair and Buddy managed to smile and wave perfectly despite the rotator cuff surgery. Meanwhile, Bob White and Kevin Falconer were seen huddling up on the Press Level.

Other noticeable Aztec Greats were on the field. Fred Dryer, having fulfilled his duties as Grand Booba of the Boo Parade, tossed the opening coin. And Akbar Gbajabilamilla looked good on the sidelines as the reporter for the Mountain Network.

While crowning the Queen and King, Dr. Jim Kitchen was looking good, but not as good as Lakeisha Nacoste and Nathaniel Donnelly. Nathaniel, as the past president of the Student Veterans Organization, had spent the morning at the alumni association's 12th annual War Memorial Ceremony. There, Bucky Peterson gave the keynote address as a packed crowd remembered fallen Aztecs and were treated to several stirring speeches, the annual wreath-laying, and a spectacular vintage plane flyover accompanied by an emotional echoing of "Taps." Shortly thereafter, 130 "Golden Aztecs" filed into Casa Real for some serious reminiscing, a hearty welcome from Ed Blessing, student body president in 1958, and a delightful San Diego State nostalgic romp from NBC 7/39's consummate pro and Aztec alumnus Ken Kramer.

So, yes, Aztec fans and faithful alumni all got to enjoy the reunions, the tailgating, the reminiscing, and each other. And even though one thing might make the experience a little better, the experience of being in each other's company is a real good one.

Buddy Black

Buddy Black is going to be the honorary chair of Homecoming this year. He has been an Alumni Association Lifetime Member since 1996.

When I contacted Bud a couple of years ago to congratulate him on becoming the Padres manager, he gave me his cell number and offered to help the Aztecs in any way he could. Ever since I met Buddy back in the nineties, I considered him to be the quintessential Aztec alumnus: accomplished yet humble. Buddy has World Series rings as both a player and a coach, yet he is phenomenally easygoing and levelheaded. He is an avid follower of San Diego State and can be found at plenty of Aztec basketball games during the winter.

Like any big league manager, he knows that even his closest friends and family members will sometimes challenge his daily decision making regarding whether to pull Peavey or pinch hit Hundley. But no one is going to second guess Bud Black’s loyalty to San Diego State.

So, come on out to the Q on October 25th and lend a cheer for a true gentleman who will always bleed Aztec red and black.

For information on SDSU Alumni Association Homecoming activities, visit alumni.sdsu.edu/homecoming.htm.

South Bend: Take Two

More than four thousand Aztec alumni and fans followed the football team to Notre Dame. The game was exciting, although the outcome disappointing for SDSU.

But what about the actual experience of the fans? Our royal Red and Black bleeders who braved modern commercial air travel and traded hard-earned green to be a part of this historic Aztec crusade?

The punch-line is: We had a blast!

From the Chicago-to-South-Bend train ride to the tailgate at the entrance of the College Football Hall of Fame, we enjoyed the quintessential college football experience. This was Aztec football in the heart of the greatest tradition of the game and we were a legitimate part of it.

If the Red and Black evidence outside the Hall wasn’t proof enough, there was plenty more inside: displays featuring Aztec legends Marshall Faulk, Fred Dryer, and coach Don Coryell. Coach Chuck Long is enshrined there, albeit for his playing days at Iowa.

College Football is fun. Ergo, it was most satisfying to marvel at its Mecca. And that our team played well made the actual game portion of our journey a joyous holiday. Sitting in the stands with the fabled Golden Dome and “Touchdown Jesus” in full view was nothing short of a thrill.

Add in the incomparable politeness of the Domers, (“Welcome to Notre Dame. Welcome to Notre Dame. Welcome to Notre Dame!”) the throwback stadium atmosphere, which despite the absence of a Jumbotronic replay scoreboard also offered a complete absence of canned noise, blaring music and corporate intrusions which left us with pure football.

The experience was singular and unforgettable. And on top of it all, in an opportunity that occurs all too infrequently, SDSU was showcased before a national television audience. Our Aztecs - fans and football team - used that opportunity to shine.