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[QUOTE="shandeezy7, post: 2039520, member: 720"]
I know nothing about SU's fundraising structure, but I am familiar with the industry and would like to throw in my speculative guess as to why funding is lacking. At many higher-ed institutions, especially large ones with multiple schools and fundraising priorities, gift officers for the various schools are incredibly protective of their fundraising prospects. They manage the relationship because the prospect is a graduate of their school, and therefore they get to dictate what project they want to steer the donor to.

It gets tricky with athletics prospects, because they are either non-athletes, making it harder to identify their athletic interest, or, having been a former student-athlete at SU, they are also graduates of a certain program at the school, making them targets to be donors to their respective program/school.

Now, this could mostly be cured with a directive from the top (be it the Chancellor or the Chief Advancement Officer) that Athletics fundraising takes priority. The problem (not really a problem, but a problem as it relates to Athletics fundraising) with that is that is appears the Chancellor's top goal is to raise the school's academic profile back to the level it was at before, and beyond. Sure, some of this can be accomplished through reorganization, refocus and new hires, but it also takes $$$.

SU has a successful alumni base, but, being a smallish private school, the scope of wealthy alumni needed to hit a $200 million+ fundraising goal is limited. Couple that with the school having other fundraising priorities on top of renovating the Dome, and I think you can see why this has been a struggle.
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