That is an op-ed article written by Vaughn Wilson, his views and opinions will not be supposed to signify the views and opinions of the HBCU Gameday model as a complete.
For the reason that Jan.1 announcement that Willie Simmons was stepping down as head soccer coach of the Rattlers, the Rattler nation has been in a whirlwind. Barely two weeks after profitable the HBCU nationwide championship within the Celebration Bowl, a wrench was thrown into the pot. Simmons’ exit, although anticipated, was seen as a failure to interact him lengthy earlier than the tip of the season.
In my thoughts, I knew after the College of South Florida sport that most probably nobody else would beat the Rattlers. In my view, that’s when the negotiations with Simmons ought to have begun. Others have expressed to me that when FAMU defeated JSU, it ought to have begun. This is able to have allowed for a a lot bigger fundraising marketing campaign and stakeholders may have at the very least doubled the quantity raised with out query.
Simmons at all times takes the excessive highway. That’s one cause the Rattlers love him. He would take the blame for something that went incorrect with this system, whereas we knew some have been clearly not his direct fault. His character as a coach endeared him to those that have been charged with supporting him.
Some have puzzled why he didn’t get the “Coach Prime” remedy when he left. It’s as a result of he was a standup man the whole time and concerned himself right down to the smallest ranges of FAMU and the Tallahassee group. He needed to slot in, not make FAMU match him. Don’t mistake this assertion as a diss to Sanders. I used to be a fan of him as a participant at FSU, within the NFL, at JSU, and now at Colorado. He’s superb at every thing he does and I’m right here for it.
Close to the tip of December, the VP and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Daybreak Sykes reached out to the Rattler Boosters and FAMU Nationwide Alumni Affiliation with requests for funding a “coaches compensation” fund. She reportedly requested $30,000 from the Rattler Boosters and $25,000 from the FAMU NAA. Inside 48 hours, each requests have been stuffed.
If there was a incorrect time for this request, two weeks after an added journey to the Celebration Bowl and fewer than every week after Christmas, people had deliberate out their disposable revenue for the rest of the 12 months. It was a nasty time to ask for donations. Add in that FAMUans had offered out the SWAC Championship sport two weeks earlier than the trek to Atlanta at costs above regular sport pricing. This season was a pressure on assets, however the Rattler nation stepped up at each flip in an enormous manner.
Lo and behold, the Rattler nation confirmed out. Over $140,000 was raised in about 48 hours by the FAMU NAA and the Rattler Boosters confirmed their enter of a further $30,000. Over the previous couple of years underneath the course of Selvin Cobb, the Rattler Boosters have exhibited a degree of direct help to this system unseen earlier than. FAMU alumni, pals, and followers donated exponentially greater than what was requested. As a graduate of FAMU’s Faculty of Enterprise and Trade, attaining a objective that quick with out vital effort on her half is symbolic of not figuring out the market worth FAMUans positioned on the coach. After I heard the quantity on the FAMU NAA name, I felt it was ridiculously low and it could not assist clear up the approaching drawback.
FAMUans SACRIFICED! We spent cash most probably allotted to one thing else to cowl this expense. Even when it was reported that we have been over the quantity, we stored giving. That’s what Rattlers do.
Sadly, since then we’ve been given not a single replace. Not a single correspondence of any substance from the one that requested us to sacrifice. Curtis Johnson and the FAMU NAA have given updates often to the quantity raised, coupled with notes of gratitude for stepping up.
We’re left to piece collectively info from events with out figuring out the validity of the knowledge supply. There was no timetable introduced, no plan of action mentioned, and rising stress between the supporters and AD/VP Tiffani-Daybreak Sykes. Are you able to blame people? They put of their hard-earned cash and have zero to point out for it. Was there even a thanks from FAMU Athletics posted? I don’t recall.
Tiffani-Daybreak Sykes is the chief of the division, its CEO. All CEOs are anticipated to work as a proxy for the stakeholders. With out communication after an enormous ask is actually justification for frustration among the many stakeholders. In the meantime, with no info, people are gathering and posting their very own info…credible or not. With everybody’s nervousness at an all-time excessive, friction is constructing and constructing, and it might probably 100% be blamed on poor communication between the FAMU Division of Athletics and its die-hard supporters.
