ATLBRAVE
AtlBrave
Hamilton has plans for Alcorn
[06/21/08]
Darren Hamilton was finishing his speech to the Port City Kiwanis Club on Thursday morning when he opened the floor to a question and answer session.
Jim Stirgus Jr., a longtime Alcorn State supporter, jokingly gave out the first half of his phone number in response to the speech, which included a mention of the school?s fundraising efforts. Hamilton quickly fumbled in his pockets for a pen and paper, only putting them away a few minutes later when a question, and not the last four digits, kept coming.
It was a small example of Hamilton?s attitude toward his new job as Alcorn?s athletic director ? never miss an opportunity to spread the word about the new Alcorn athletic program. Every speech, every interview is a chance to reconnect with long-lost alumni, create new fans or drum up funds. And all of it, the thinking goes, is an effort to create a perpetual cycle that will turn Alcorn into the premiere program in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and perhaps one of the best in the country.
?I really believe there?s something special that?s going to be created, and I?m not leaving until it?s finished. I can see myself being here most of my life,? said Hamilton, who previously served as the AD at Chicago State and Eastern Washington.
Hamilton?s plan to take Alcorn to the next level is multi-faceted. Since taking over on April 1, he said he has been able to raise $167,000 from donors and hopes to get at least $100,000 more. That money will help pay for the initial phases of a facelift to Jack Spinks Stadium. Hamilton said flex turf will be installed in 2009 and a new paint job is going on this summer.
It will also help pay for extra athletic scholarships, which he hopes will raise the caliber of athlete the school can draw. That, coupled with the improved facilities, would lead to better teams and more casual fans who would buy tickets and merchandise and pour even more money into the school.
?At one of our staff meetings, I said my mode of operation is to get people addicted to us,? Hamilton said.
To kick off the new era, Hamilton is leaning on some star power. For Alcorn?s football home opener, a Thursday night game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 18 televised by ESPNU, he?s bringing in rapper Lil? Boosie to do a halftime show and postgame concert. With the game on a Thursday, a party night at most colleges, Hamilton hopes to draw fans from Jackson and Baton Rouge, as well as Alcorn, to the game.
?We?re going to try and get 25,000 college students in the stadium. We want them to come to the game, then head over to the concert,? he said. ?We?re trying to build a fan base, get everybody involved. More ticket sales mean more scholarships and summer classes that we can offer.?
In addition to drumming up new fans, Hamilton is also targeting basketball season to reconnect with old ones.
In the past, Alcorn played a punishing non-conference schedule that was designed to get as much guaranteed gate money as possible, regardless of the opponent. While the guaranteed payouts are still a nice benefit, Hamilton made it a point to better organize the schedule. Instead of jetting off to Hawaii, New Mexico State or Montana ? three of Alcorn?s road opponents last season ? the Braves will try to schedule teams close to cities with large alumni chapters.
Next season, for example, Alcorn will take a road trip to Michigan State and Central Michigan, and another to Loyola of Chicago and DePaul. The Michigan schools are close enough to Detroit to draw alumni, and Loyola and DePaul are in Chicago, which has another large alumni chapter. Before all four games, Hamilton plans to have receptions for the alumni which will be another chance to raise funds.
?There?s going to be a rhyme and a reason for why we play those away games,? Hamilton said. ?We?re not going to play Middle Tennessee State or Eastern Kentucky. Nothing against those schools, but there?s no reason to play those schools.?
He also wants to honor Alcorn?s rich tradition. There are plans to honor Alcorn?s undefeated 1979-80 SWAC championship basketball team, as well as retiring women?s basketball coach Shirley Walker, at games this season.
Once the funds are in place and the fan base shored up, Hamilton has longer-term plans. He wants to upgrade Alcorn?s facilities in increments, trying to add something new each year such as the artificial turf in 2009, new bleachers and chairback seats in the Whitney Complex, or a new athletic academic center in the end zone of Spinks Stadium.
He also has at least one plan that would make plenty of Alcornites happy.
?In 2010, or maybe 2012 at the latest, my dream is to bring that Jackson State game back to campus. Why? Because if you bring more people to see the campus, it grows the applications. That grows the number of students, the budget and the state appropriations. That builds athletic departments.?
......JUST WAIT.....WE WILL BE BACK!!!!
[06/21/08]
Darren Hamilton was finishing his speech to the Port City Kiwanis Club on Thursday morning when he opened the floor to a question and answer session.
Jim Stirgus Jr., a longtime Alcorn State supporter, jokingly gave out the first half of his phone number in response to the speech, which included a mention of the school?s fundraising efforts. Hamilton quickly fumbled in his pockets for a pen and paper, only putting them away a few minutes later when a question, and not the last four digits, kept coming.
It was a small example of Hamilton?s attitude toward his new job as Alcorn?s athletic director ? never miss an opportunity to spread the word about the new Alcorn athletic program. Every speech, every interview is a chance to reconnect with long-lost alumni, create new fans or drum up funds. And all of it, the thinking goes, is an effort to create a perpetual cycle that will turn Alcorn into the premiere program in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and perhaps one of the best in the country.
?I really believe there?s something special that?s going to be created, and I?m not leaving until it?s finished. I can see myself being here most of my life,? said Hamilton, who previously served as the AD at Chicago State and Eastern Washington.
Hamilton?s plan to take Alcorn to the next level is multi-faceted. Since taking over on April 1, he said he has been able to raise $167,000 from donors and hopes to get at least $100,000 more. That money will help pay for the initial phases of a facelift to Jack Spinks Stadium. Hamilton said flex turf will be installed in 2009 and a new paint job is going on this summer.
It will also help pay for extra athletic scholarships, which he hopes will raise the caliber of athlete the school can draw. That, coupled with the improved facilities, would lead to better teams and more casual fans who would buy tickets and merchandise and pour even more money into the school.
?At one of our staff meetings, I said my mode of operation is to get people addicted to us,? Hamilton said.
To kick off the new era, Hamilton is leaning on some star power. For Alcorn?s football home opener, a Thursday night game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 18 televised by ESPNU, he?s bringing in rapper Lil? Boosie to do a halftime show and postgame concert. With the game on a Thursday, a party night at most colleges, Hamilton hopes to draw fans from Jackson and Baton Rouge, as well as Alcorn, to the game.
?We?re going to try and get 25,000 college students in the stadium. We want them to come to the game, then head over to the concert,? he said. ?We?re trying to build a fan base, get everybody involved. More ticket sales mean more scholarships and summer classes that we can offer.?
In addition to drumming up new fans, Hamilton is also targeting basketball season to reconnect with old ones.
In the past, Alcorn played a punishing non-conference schedule that was designed to get as much guaranteed gate money as possible, regardless of the opponent. While the guaranteed payouts are still a nice benefit, Hamilton made it a point to better organize the schedule. Instead of jetting off to Hawaii, New Mexico State or Montana ? three of Alcorn?s road opponents last season ? the Braves will try to schedule teams close to cities with large alumni chapters.
Next season, for example, Alcorn will take a road trip to Michigan State and Central Michigan, and another to Loyola of Chicago and DePaul. The Michigan schools are close enough to Detroit to draw alumni, and Loyola and DePaul are in Chicago, which has another large alumni chapter. Before all four games, Hamilton plans to have receptions for the alumni which will be another chance to raise funds.
?There?s going to be a rhyme and a reason for why we play those away games,? Hamilton said. ?We?re not going to play Middle Tennessee State or Eastern Kentucky. Nothing against those schools, but there?s no reason to play those schools.?
He also wants to honor Alcorn?s rich tradition. There are plans to honor Alcorn?s undefeated 1979-80 SWAC championship basketball team, as well as retiring women?s basketball coach Shirley Walker, at games this season.
Once the funds are in place and the fan base shored up, Hamilton has longer-term plans. He wants to upgrade Alcorn?s facilities in increments, trying to add something new each year such as the artificial turf in 2009, new bleachers and chairback seats in the Whitney Complex, or a new athletic academic center in the end zone of Spinks Stadium.
He also has at least one plan that would make plenty of Alcornites happy.
?In 2010, or maybe 2012 at the latest, my dream is to bring that Jackson State game back to campus. Why? Because if you bring more people to see the campus, it grows the applications. That grows the number of students, the budget and the state appropriations. That builds athletic departments.?
......JUST WAIT.....WE WILL BE BACK!!!!
