too early to commit to a 2025 MTE. we should wait until next September. /s

VCU with another good one lined up for next season. They're in this one just about as frequently as allowed under the rules. Davidson's in it this season, and Dayton's been in it very recently too.

Login to view embedded media

TheCollective responded to my comment regarding membership levels earlier in this thread. Looks like the goal our Spider Collective is trying to achieve now is reach as many big donors ($10K+) as possible. There has certainly be success with that approach as our collective is competitive with the top of A10 and we've had some great recruits and a championship last year. I do maintain, like several other posters above, that having a membership level would be a great next step for our collective. There are essentially 3 groups of fans we could target. 1) The big time donors, which has been our approach so far. 2) More dedicated Spider fans who don't have 10s of thousands of dollars to give every year and 3) the more casual fan who goes to the games with family because of how good value the tickets are.

Realistically, the more casual fan group isn't going to be donating $400-500 a year for Richmond basketball. If we want to get some contributions from them, I imagine it would be something where we host an exhibition game that's open to public and proceeds of the tickets purchased go to NIL or purchases made with sponsored foods at games also have proceeds donated to NIL. However, it does not appear the law allows that quite yet.

So that leaves the more dedicated spider fan who could donate ~$500 a year or so. I personally think I fall into this category. I can't speak for others, but I think it would be more appealing for people to join this if there is something in return they can get.

For instance, $500 membership could include every year:

• Access to an annual pre-game season preview like today
• Exclusive pre-game basketball dinners before games 2-3 times a year
• Opportunities to join a zoom call and hear from coaches
• A newsletter to learn more about Richmond basketball behind the scenes
• Raffles to win Spider items like upgrades to basketball games, memorabilia, etc.
• Momentos like a Tumbler or other items

This is me just spit balling here. I get that we are focusing on the big time donors now, but I think trying to reach out to the 2nd group can really help grow our NIL. Hopefully the event tonight is a big success and can be a kickstarter for something like this.

SpiderTrap said:

Brooklyn got it.

Click to expand...

But do u think the common/casual fans r spending 3 or 4 hundo on a membership to pay athletes? Imo and experience they r not. I’m curious how missing out on their $. The casual fan will buy tix on ad hoc basis & occasional merchandise. There r exceptions there always r a few. probably some former student athletes who don’t pay too much attention to UR teams but would do so as courtesy. But overall pretty limited. Heck I think the Spider Club had trouble getting the stronger than the casual fan to donate. If we did an honest poll of posters just on here - diehards - I bet the % of donating is lower than u think. Personally I still have trouble with NIL but not SC.

This event is not for the common fan. And that’s fine. If we can attract those fans or even more of the non casual fans in future we’ll have this in Robins Center.

brooklyn brownstone said:

I'll guess he means a casual fan. Not someone posting on this board, following recruiting or donating to the program, but who might attend a few games per year (or even more) and has a level of interest that amounts to enjoying attending games and that's it. Either way, I don't think it's something to delve into.

Click to expand...

Brooklyn got it.

I was going to say net worth less than $100 million, but I think Brooklyn's explanation is probably more accurate. And that's as far as I want to delve into the mind of trap.

I'll guess he means a casual fan. Not someone posting on this board, following recruiting or donating to the program, but who might attend a few games per year (or even more) and has a level of interest that amounts to enjoying attending games and that's it. Either way, I don't think it's something to delve into.

SpiderTrap said:

I don't expect a big crowd for this event. 100 would be a victory in my mind. Its a tough sell in my mind when your charging $200 to $400 for a practice and intra-squad scrimmage in the practice facility. Meanwhile - you can probably see all of our home OOC games for that amount.

I know - this event is more to raise money and get people involved, but I don't think your getting the common fan dollars here. I expect you will get a lot of people already donating to the collective or involved, so just not sure it will have the impact they expect.

Now - if they said you could pay 200-400 for a membership....and that will give you limited access to events, where you may have the opportunity to purchase more things or donate more money, that may have been better. I think back to the Spider Club events before games, maybe there is a collective event before every game and one of the coaches comes and talks to give insight on the opponent. Or maybe there are events after the game, which players come to and meet collective members. This then not only gets a fan as a member, but they go to the game, buy tickets, etc.

Click to expand...

can you explain what a "common fan" is?

The Biden Administration's photo op doesn't cut it.

Login to view embedded media

Now the Harris Administration is requiring volunteers to apply to help.

Login to view embedded media

These guys are stepping in to save lives.

The federal government is doing almost nothing for those in North Carolina. This is the testimony of a pilot who jumped in his helicopter and started saving lives. He helped save an 11 day old baby.
He stated there have no FEMA personnel to be found.

Login to view embedded media

Private citizens with planes and helicopters are helping residents in the Asheville area.

Use these funds for Americans in need. Stop funding housing for illegals. It sounds like bureaucrats in Washington are making excuses and trying to blame everyone but their misguided priorities.

"The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) provides funding to non-federal agencies to spend on humanitarian services for non-U.S. citizens. For the 2024 fiscal year, which ended on Monday, $640 million was made available.

The FEMA website says this funding is intended to "support CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) in the safe, orderly and humane release of noncitizen migrants from short-term holding facilities." The money can be spent on a range of services, including food, shelter, transportation, acute medical care, clothing and translation services.

The budget for the past year was a significant increase from the 2023 fiscal year, when $363 million was allocated. Together, more than $1 billion has been spent on non-citizen services over the past two years."

-21.5

50.5

Gallipoli said:

Richmond acted like a petulant child, who didn't have things go its way. UR effectively decided to take its game and stomp off to another playground. Meanwhile, the other teams in the league have gotten down to work and are headed towards a deep FCS run.

The rest of the CAA had a collective shrug, when Richmond announced its meaningless protest vote.

Big whoop.

Click to expand...

They didn’t make the move without money being in the thought process. Yes, we probably lose
money on football, but if we knew the whole story we would see money as a major consideration.