Cornell Victorious Strategic Plan for a Model College Football Program From: Anita M. Brenner Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 9:11 AM To: Arthur Cameron Smith; Robert B. Syer; Bill Walkenbach; Brian Clancy; Christopher J. Kerber; Danielle Christine Bilodeau; David John Archer; David L. Eldredge; Dayna M. Smith; Dick Blood; Donna J. Hornibrook; Douglas Lloyd Derraugh; Patrick W. Farmer; Iryna Dolgikh; James M. Baughan; Jaro Zawislan; Jenny Graap; Joanna Furnell Novakovic; Joe Lucia; Julee M. Devoy; Julie Platt Farlow; Karen M. Berkley; Elizabeth H. Dennison; Mark S. Devoy; Matthew P. Kerwick; Melanie Dilliplane; Michael C. Schafer; Mike Stevens; Paul A. Beckwith; Peter Milliman; R. Nathan Taylor; Richard W. Bowman; Robert Koll; Silviu Tanasoui; Terence M. Cullen; Trudy M. VandeBerg; Todd P. Kennett; Wes Newman; William L. Courtney Cc: Amy M. Foster; Larry Quant; Jeffrey W. Hall; Matthew Coats; Jennifer Baker Subject: Soliciting your input - needs for competitive success

Good morning.

The sport admins would welcome your feedback about what you consider your biggest needs to field a competitive team. Glad for you to think outside the box; pragmatic feedback given what you know about our league, this institution, the weather or other factors could be the most productive.

While performance dialogues offer an appropriate opportunity for you to discuss the needs of your program, we appreciate your efforts to voice your opinion through this survey so that we can collectively review the needs of our coaching staff in one centralized place.

Please follow this link. Unlike the athlete surveys, feedback will be attributed to you. I will share it with your immediate supervisor and Andy. I’ll redact your name from any summary of the responses shared with people other than the sport supervisors (say, at a coaches meeting, or with senior staff outside this department).

Thanks for taking the time to share your insight.

Anita on behalf of Amy, Larry, Jeff, Matt and Jen

Executive Summary: • The Problem • Football is not competitive – no winning record against any Ivy team in the last 14 years • Football should be a source of excellence like the rest of the University • Can be a source of revenue for the Athletic Department • The Solution – Follow the strategy of Harvard and Dartmouth, and the recent efforts of Columbia. Focus on factors that increase our ability to recruit and develop student-athletes in the following areas: • Administrative Policies • Streamline Pre Read Admissions Process • Eliminate the restrictions of spots in certain Colleges • Provide 100% Financial Aid Match • Utilize the Win Big Red Initiative • Embrace a Top Down Commitment to provide necessary staffing • Head Coach Leadership and Philosophy • Staffing and Personnel • Hire a Dedicated Fundraiser for Football • Increase Strength and Conditioning Coaches • Increase Student Managers • Hire Coaching Assistants • Increase Academic Services

• Continued on Next Slide…

• Facilities • Maintain coaches offices in Schoellkopf • Build a covered practice field • Replace playing surface on Schoellkopf Field • Replace West Stands • Create a Football Weight Room • Update meeting rooms for increased functionality and a valued learning space • Upgrade training room • Expand locker room to increase space • Create study lounge • Create more impact walls for recruiting • Recruiting Budget and Communication • Maintain budget for Travel and Recruiting Services • Upgrade team website • Increase budget for mailings • Player Support and Experience • Enable better use of practice time • Increase funding for team meals and snacks • Invest in higher quality gear • Revitalize Game Day experience and environment • Action Time Line • We must change our administrative policies first. Then, with a dedicated football fundraiser, we can attack each area over multiple years. This will allow us to constantly be upgrading and building our championship football program, while not having to finance it all at once up front.

Why Football is Important to A Winning Football program (on and off the field) benefits the University in 2 key ways: • A Winning Football Program exemplifies the mission of , and allows football student athletes to pursue excellence. • A Winning Football Program, with proper marketing, can be a source of significant revenue generation for the Athletic Department.

Cornell Football should be reflective of the University’s founding mission. We strive for excellence in all areas. The football program can also be a source of revenue to the Athletics Department. Exemplifying Ezra’s Mission: • Cornell was built on the Mission of “Any Person, Any Study.” The football program is proud to be a part of this mission. We boost 5 straight semesters of a team GPA above 3.1, and 34 players on our roster identify as a person of color. • Students choose Cornell because they want to be the best in their academic field. Student athletes should choose Cornell to be the best in both their academic field, and athletic sport. • The infrastructure for a winning football program (the infrastructure necessary to win in football is different than other sports) is not in place at Cornell. As evidenced by the fact that we do not have a winning record against ANY of our Ivy Opponents in the last 14 years!

Cornell Football is proud to be representative of the University. We want to be the best in our field, just like every other department at Cornell. Cornell Football vs The (2001 – Present)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Ivy Record Against Team

Yale L 13-40 L 23-50 L 7-21 W 19-7 L 17-37 L 9-21 L 12-51 W 17-14 W 14-12 L 7-21 L 17-37 W 45-6 L 23-38 L 13-51 4-10

Harvard L 6-26 L 23-52 L 0-27 L 24-34 W 27-13 L 23-33 L 15-32 L 17-38 L 10-28 L 17-31 L 31-41 L 13-45 L 24-34 L 7-24 1-13

Brown L 21-49 W 10-7 L 7-21 L 17-21 L 24-38 L 7-28 W 38-31 L 7-27 L 14-34 L 14-27 L 24-35 L 14-21 L 35-42 L 16-42 2-12

Princeton W 10-7 L 25-32 L 6-28 W 21-20 L 17-20 W 14-7 L 31-34 L 26-31 L 13-17 W 21-19 W 24-7 W 37-35 L 20-53 L 27-38 6-8

Dartmouth W 28-24 W 21--19 L 17-26 W 14-7 W 21-10 W 28-25 L 31-59 W 37-14 L 17-20 L 10-28 L 24-33 L 28-44 L 6-34 L 7-42 6-8

Columbia L 28-35 W 17-14 L 21-34 W 32-26 W 45-7 L 14-21 W 34-14 L 7-17 L 20-30 L 17-20 W 62-41 L 17-34 W 24-9 W 30-27 7-7

Penn L 14-38 L 0-31 L 7-59 L 14-20 W 16-7 W 28-27 L 9-45 L 6-23 L 0-34 L 7-31 W 48-38 L 28-35 W 42-41 L 26-34 4-10

Year Ivy Record 2-5 3-4 0-7 4-3 4-3 3-4 2-5 2-5 1-6 1-6 3-4 2-5 2-5 1-6

We do not have a winning record against ANY Ivy League team in the last 14 years. The lack of infrastructure which has resulted in 4 Different Head Coaches and are the reason for this record. Would we let one of our academic programs have this reputation? Source of Revenue for the Athletics Department: • Any sport that wins at Cornell has drawn fans. • Football is one of the most popular sports in this country. Due to its popularity nationwide, football would draw the most fans. • Imagine the revenue (both monetary and in pride and influence) in tickets, advertising, sponsorships, parking and concessions a winning football team would generate.

Cornell Football has more potential fans and space for revenue (video board ads!) than other sports. When we win, we will draw the fans. Benchmarking our Competitors

• Harvard in the Mid 1990s • Dartmouth in 2009 • Columbia in 2015 Harvard Wall Street Journal Article Excerpts from the WSJ Article Harvard’s Results under Coach Murphy

Year Ivy Record 1994 2-5 1995 1-6 1996 2-5 1997 7-0 Ivy Champs 1998 3-4 1999 3-4 2000 4-3 2001 7-0 Ivy Champs 2002 6-1 2003 4-3 2004 7-0 Ivy Champs 2005 5-2 2006 4-3 2007 7-0 Ivy Champs 2008 6-1 Ivy Champs 2009 6-1 2010 5-2 2011 7-0 Ivy Champs 2012 5-2 2013 6-1 Ivy Champs 2014 7-0 Ivy Champs

When Harvard made the choice to have a competitive Football program in 1994 it has paid dividends. They went from consistently in the bottom half of the League to one of the best. They have had 8 Championships since making the choice to be competitive. Dartmouth Letter 2009

See Attached Appendix to Read the Letter. Dartmouth Record of the Last 10 Years (all under Coach Teevens)

2005 (2-8, 1-6 Ivy — 7th) 2006 (2-8, 2-5 Ivy — T-6th) 2007 (3-7, 3-4 Ivy — T-4th) 2008 (0-10, 0-7 Ivy — 8th) 2009 (2-8, 2-5 Ivy — T-6th) 2010 (6-4, 3-4 Ivy — 5th) 2011 (5-5, 4-3 Ivy — T-2nd) 2012 (6-4, 4-3 Ivy — T-3rd) 2013 (6-4, 5-2 Ivy — 3rd) 2014 (8-2, 6-1 Ivy — 2nd)

When Dartmouth made the choice to have a competitive Football program in 2009 it has paid dividends. They went from consistently in the bottom half of the League to consistently in the top half. They have finished 2nd or 3rd in the Ivy League each of the last 4 years and are primed for a Title run in 2015. They are built to last! Columbia New Investments

Busses for Practice New Field Turf New Uniforms

It appears that Columbia is making the same choice to have a competitive football program. We are in similar circumstances that Harvard and Dartmouth were in years ago. Harvard in the mid 1990s, and Dartmouth in 2009. They made the choice to have a competitive football program. Columbia has made the same choice (Andy recently announced that Columbia University has increased the size of its football budget by $1 Million annually).

With the appreciation that football is different than any other sport, we can make the same choice Harvard, Dartmouth, and Columbia made. If you are interested in doing so keep reading… Keys to Success & Significance In the following areas we must invest our resources, with a Top Down Commitment, in the things that enhance our ability to Recruit and Develop student athletes: • Administrative Policies o This section is equivalent to the CFA White Paper • Head Coach Leadership and Philosophies • Staffing and Personnel • Facilities • Recruiting Budget and Communication • Player Support and Experience We need a Top Down University commitment to invest in the above key areas so we can be the most effective in the areas of recruitment and development of our football student athletes. Administrative Policies Streamline the Admissions Pre Read Process

• Adherence to the Ivy League Agreement of Admissibility (Academic Index), or equivalent. The Academic Index is a formula using an Un-weighted GPA and Standardized Test Scores. It is monitored, regulated, and assigned by the Ivy League. • Remove University self-imposed additional steps to pre admission process. The biggest of these is the Cornell Supplemental Essay during the pre-read process. • Colleges should be rewarded for being Athlete friendly, or mandated to include football players because they are viewed as valuable members of the University community that will enhance and enrich the university experience by providing a championship level football program. • The relevance and importance of a “marquis football” program at the highest levels of the University must be made known. If it’s not important to them, why should it be important to us?

We need to remove our own self imposed admissions barriers, and adhere to what the Ivy League Presidents have agreed is an admissible applicant in the Pre Read Process Eliminate the restrictions of College spots in recruiting We have limitations of the number of recruits we can admit to each college. This causes our recruits to not necessarily enter the major they desire. It also limits our ability to use our GREATEST recruiting advantage (our Colleges). It often becomes a disadvantage. • The Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management: We get 5 spots for AEM, this year we got 6. Penn has 13 incoming freshman in the Wharton school. A total of 57 of its current 108 players are enrolled in Wharton – 53% of their roster. • The School of Hotel Administration – we are limited to 2 applicants. • The School of Industrial and Labor Relations – we are limited to 2 applicants. • The College of Human Ecology – they are so inconsistent to work with, that in spite of having the College’s valedictorian in 2013, we simply stop sending recruits there.

We should not have to limit or redirect the academic interests of our recruit. If they fit the requirements for that college and are interested we should get a spot for that recruit.

Regardless of #’s, football should be allowed to place a recruit in the College or major of their choice. Allow us to use Cornell’s World Class Academic programs to our advantage. Award Match Initiative Provide True 100% Match • Aggressive Proactive matching of financial aid methodology and 100% matching of other Ivy League Financial Aid offers. • Currently, the proactive packages work very well for the most part. We are in great shape financially, thanks to the generosity of Art/Audrey Wolcott and Seneca Foods, but fall short in some cases where the university uses a different methodology to evaluate a prospective student-athletes financial picture. • We need to match a bona-fide offer in every case - specifically when non-custodial parents are involved. • We need a more efficient process and work flow so that packages get matched in a faster time frame.

A “match” MUST be a “match, PERIOD! Thinking creatively we might be able to match a package in a more efficient time frame. Utilize the Win Big Red Initiative • We must use the hierarchical structure of the existing WBR network as a vehicle to improve communication and promote initiatives on behalf the Cornell Football Association and for the betterment of the program. • Issues of self sustainability (endowment) must be carefully balanced with current use programmatic needs in order to appropriately assess and fund both. • The promotion of CFA membership efforts/events/activities as well the coaches “wish list” and periodic informational programmatic updates are examples of uses for the WBR platform. • Not only will WBR provide information to its members, stakeholders and friends of football; as importantly, it will also stress the “Will to Win” with our university partners, as well as address matters of importance to Cornell Football and the many benefits a competitive athletic program can bring to the student-athlete, its faculty and the University as a whole. We must do a better job communicating with our Alumni, and be clear about what their generous gifts are used for. We need a dedicated staff member for football to spearhead the WBR Initiative internally. Embrace a Top Down Commitment to provide necessary staffing equivalent to our Ivy Opponents

• The staffing required by each department (academic, athletic, student services, etc.) at Cornell is different. • It is not relevant to compare number of staff members in athletics to any other departments staffing numbers. They are different. • Allow Football, and athletics to hire the required and appropriate (full-time, part-time or interns) number of staff to be successful.

The Office of the VP of SAS has to commit to providing athletics and the football program the staffing it needs to be successful. Head Coach Leadership and Philosophy Keys to Coaching Staff Success Head Coach • Needs to want to invest 8 years to flip the program (requires that much time to recruit and develop symmetrical depth and to establish and build relationships and systems at the University). • Has to understand and appreciate Cornell. Must concentrate on building a culture that fits Cornell to recruit and develop players. • Needs that many years to build the culture and recruit layered depth on each side of the ball in order to consistently compete. Assistants • Consistency in staff philosophy and style of play. Must eliminate staff turnover as much as possible. • Need coordinators with great knowledge of that side of ball. • All assistants need to be tireless recruiters, great teachers and mentors, and also have extensive football knowledge. Maintain Director of Player Personnel and Career Advisor Position: it has already paid huge dividends in recruiting and developing our current players.

A Top Down Commitment to support a Head Coach who is committed to building a winning culture with the right people is critical to success. Establishing your Program’s systems within the University

-----Original Message----- From: Robert Koll Sent: Friday, November 08, 2013 6:34 PM To: David John Archer Subject: RE: RE:

Dave, good luck tomorrow.

You will get things going so never doubt yourself. When I took over I won 1 Ivy championship in my first 6 years, had 2 All-American in 7 years, and it took me 9 years to win an Eastern championship! Most people don't appreciate how tough it is to get things going at Cornell. You are doing the things that are necessary to win, but it will take time. Just keep working hard to make your job great as opposed to working hard to get a great job and your job will be great in no time. Unfortunately success at this place relies on developing relationships, in admissions, financial aid, etc. Stay positive with your kids and keep connecting within the Cornell community and you will reach your goals.

If I can ever be of assistance please feel free to call upon me.

All the best, Rob

Like our wrestling program, it will take football time to build a championship program. Building Symmetrical Depth Our Current Depth Chart. Different colors are for different years of eligibility. You want the same number of each color at the positions. Symmetrical depth means that your starters in the varsity games are mostly juniors and seniors who have been developed in your strength program for 2 years. The freshmen and sophomores, for the most part, are playing in the JV games and getting a great start academically while physically getting bigger and stronger in the weight room.

It takes years to load in symmetrical depth at each position so you do not have to play young players who are not ready for the Varsity Level. Playing older, more physically developed players is key for success on and off the field.

Cornell Football On Field Systems

Offense – A long term successful offense is one that is balanced, between running and passing. Successful offenses are built upon a big, aggressive offensive line and has a scheme that is multiple enough to feature the best skilled players. Defense – A long term successful defense is one that gives the ability to disguise your front and coverage, while being able to bring a blitz from any position. Special Teams – Elite special teams stems from game breaking specialists. We focus on recruiting and developing the best punter, kicker, return man, and snapper we can.

Because of the admission standards and being a non scholarship league we have to have systems on each side of the ball that provide flexibility in their identity and can be balanced. Schedule and Play JV Football Games Like almost all of our Ivy peers we need to schedule JV Games. It essential to have to develop younger players. With symmetrical depth you want your juniors and seniors to play in the varsity games. Therefore your freshmen and sophomore players are playing JV games with the same systems that the varsity uses. With a 4 game schedule this gives them a good balance of playing while also lifting weights to develop their bodies physically. It also helps academically, since they will not have the added pressure and work load of playing in a varsity game before they are ready play.

A JV Football Program allows younger players the chance to develop academically, physically, and within the football program, which fuels the overall goal of symmetrical depth. Recruiting Philosophy and Football Program Brand • We have branded our program to attract recruits with the following Pillars: • “Any Person, Any Study” • The 44 Year Scholarship • The Ultimate College Town • The Blue Collar Ivy • All About the People!

With a staff of tireless recruiters and this branding we have increased our recruiting pool (300+ campers in 2012 to 500+ in 2013 to over 900 in 2014!) and talent of each incoming class. Staffing and Personnel Hire a dedicated development officer to football fundraising and CFA Events • In the past we had a person dedicated solely to alumni outreach, engagement and fundraising for Cornell Football. When Pete Noyes retired in 2013, that job was taken by The Cornell Athletic Development team. • We also had a stipend paid employee that assisted with logistics for our golf outing. Due to budget cuts we had to eliminate this position. • We need a fresh approach to combat donor fatigue and grow our base!

We need to add a football specific fund raiser position back to our program. Thinking creatively, this position can be a tremendous source of revenue. This position can then help us raise the funds for other areas of need. Strength and Conditioning Coaches in the Ivy League At the request of their administration, the Strength and Conditioning Staff at Penn recently surveyed their peers to find out about their staffing and resources in the area of Strength and Conditioning.

Dartmouth has a full time strength and conditioning coach dedicated to football only. They also have a part time assistant that works with the football program.

Columbia has a full time strength and conditioning coach dedicated to football only. They have also just added 2 full time assistants for football. These assistants work with a few other sports.

Harvard has 3 full time, and 2 part time coaches for all sports.

Penn has 4 full time, and 1 part time coach for all sports.

Princeton has 3 full time, and 1 part time coach for all sports. They also use 1-3 interns per year.

Cornell has 4 full time coaches for all sports. Our request for an intern this winter was not successfully approved in an appropriate time frame. We need to hire an additional staff member and allow Coach Howley to focus on football.

Allowing Coach Howley to spend more time focusing on developing our football team would pay huge dividends. He has an outstanding track record, but needs more support to be able to provide us that level of coaching. Comparing Ivy League Football Staffs

3 Categories: • Coaches – Limited to 10 per Ivy League Rules • Support Staff – not limited • Coaching Assistants – not limited • Student Staff – not limited More employees substantially helps the recruiting process, social media content, and opponent scouting. Logistical work taken away from coaches, allowing them more time to focus on recruiting and developing players.

Cornell Football has fewer support staff employees, dedicated to helping recruit and develop players than our opponents. Ivy League Support Staffs (not limited)

Support Staff Brown Princeton Yale Cornell Support Staff Penn (Administrative Assistant, Operations, Video) Dartmouth Columbia Harvard 0 1 2 3 4 5

Cornell is in line, and must continue to be, with the rest of the league in terms of number of administrative support staff! Increase budget for Student Staff (not limited) Student workers serve two distinct roles: assisting coaches on field or filming during practices and games, and assisting with administrative tasks in the office. • The Cornell Football budget is not sufficient to pay students to help with office tasks, and also was not able to fully cover the cost of student workers at practice • Even with a reduced staff this year we still went over our budget • Reduced staff made managing practice more difficult on coaching staff • Penn has 4 student employees that each work 8 hours a week in the office • Harvard has extra student staff working in season helping with game break downs

Student employees take the administrative workload off of coaching staff and allow them to focus on developing our players. We need to increase our budget for that. Hire Coaching Assistants. Here is what they do:

• Recruiting: • Upload recruiting data and constantly recruit mining and searching • Administrative recruiting tasks for coaches, including compiling and send out recruit mailings • Recruiting is a process that never stops: They begin on Junior class during the season, mine during spring ball and when coaches are on the road, and they recruit while coaches coach • Quality Control Studies: • Red zone efficiency, other team tendencies, etc • Administrative practice prep including typing schedules and creating scout cards on opponents • Game prep: • Break down the next opponent way more in-depth the previous week, dramatically increases knowledge of each opponent • Other benefits: • Provide a constant presence in the office and reduce need for student managers • Allow coaches to work more summer camps

Cornell Football needs to hire 2-4 coaching assistants to facilitate the logistics of recruiting and developing players. Ivy League Coaching Assistants (not limited)

Coaching Assistants Columbia Coaching Assistants: Brown Harvard Penn Cornell Yale Dartmouth Columbia Princeton 0 1 2 3 4 5 Coaching Assistants *Found in game program

Half of the league has added coaching assistants to their staff, giving them additional staff to assist in recruiting players. Coaching Assistants

We do not fully know the number of staff members of the other Ivies, because most of the Coaching Assistants / Quality Control Coaches are unlisted • Yale has never had a Special Teams and Defensive Line Intern/Grad Assistant listed on their website but according to a recent post it appears they do have that position – how many more do they have? • Columbia had 2 unlisted Quality Control positions last season • Princeton had 4 unlisted Graduate Assistants last season • We are behind with listed employees – how far behind are we actually?

Increase Academic Support

• Sarah Wattenberg, The Andrew ’78 and Margaret Paul Assistant Director of Athletics for Student Services, is fantastic! We have posted 5 straight semesters of a Team GPA over 3.1 She goes above and beyond for the Football Team. She runs our study hall twice a week in the fall and once a week in the spring. This is not sustainable. She needs additional support to provide the level of service that contributes to recruits success on the front-side and academic success on the back-side.

We need to add additional academic support personnel to sustain the off the field success we have had developing our players academically! Thinking creatively we might be able to make the Financial Aid Process more efficient while increasing academic support. Facilities Maintain Offices for the Coaching Staff

Schoellkopf Hall provides our staff with large, spacious offices in line with, or exceeding that of our competition.

Cornell Football has the best offices in the Ivy League! This allows a great environment for coaches to work at recruiting and developing our program. Build a Covered Practice Field

• The current indoor space is not big enough (not even the size of a full football field), not the correct playing surface (turf, not field turf), and shared with every team. • This would increase the number of practice fields, allowing us to practice at a reasonable time in the spring (instead of 6 AM or 9 PM). • Given our winter climate, an indoor facility would provide us with a tremendous advantage in player off season development. • Four of our Ivy League Competitors already have indoor facilities.

A covered practice field provides the opportunity to develop players with a facility that is the proper space, has the proper playing surface, and at reasonable times. Covered Practice Field Harvard Bubble Penn Bubble

Dartmouth Fieldhouse Coming Soon Columbia Bubble Installing new field this summer with footers for bubble installation

Replace the playing surface of Schoellkopf Field

Schoellkopf Field has several places that have been patched together. The surface is worn out and needs to be replaced. Thinking creatively we could increase the area that is turfed, allowing for more practice space to help develop players. Replace the West Stands

The West Stands are condemned and can not be used during our games. For obvious reasons, these need to be replaced. Thinking creatively we could combine replacing the stands with some of the items listed that could help recruiting and developing. Create a Bigger Weight Room with Priority for Football • We have the third smallest weight room in the Ivy League: • It is too small to facilitate an entire team lift during the season. • It is too small for our players to use on their own time because other teams are in their taking up the space. • The Friedman Center is used by 27 different sports. This creates a scheduling conflict – because every team wants to use the center during the 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM time slot. • We went early in the morning to get exclusive use of the center this off season, and experienced low back injuries. (It is not good to do heavy squats that early in the AM). • Track, Hockey, and Wrestling all have their own weight rooms at Cornell and avoid this conflict. Like some other sports at Cornell we need our own weight room with enough space to develop our entire team. This will also allow us to work out at optimal times during the day. Update the Meeting Rooms for Functionality and a Valued Learning Environment

The development of our players is negatively impacted by the poor functionality (audio, video, chairs) and appearance of our meeting rooms. Functionality of our meeting rooms: • The network connecting the projectors to each other was never installed properly (10 years ago!) making the room unusable for film study for Team, Unit and Special Teams meetings. We can teach more effectively if we are able to show the film on multiple screens and all rooms will have capability of sound, and all new HD projectors. • New chairs – many of our current chairs are broken and many of our larger players do not fit in our combo chair/desk • Rows of tables instead of our current combo chair/desks provides a better surface to take notes and learn our scheme.

By creating a functional learning space through audio/visual equipment, with the correct tables and chairs we increase the ability to develop our players in our football systems. Other Ivy Meeting Rooms Columbia Yale

Dartmouth Appearance of our meeting rooms: • As a teacher I learned the importance of classroom appearance. You could tell the classrooms where learning was valued. This type of impression needs to be replicated in our space. We have many blank walls that could be used as impact walls to create a positive learning environment and promote pride in the program that our players are apart of.

The use of impact walls creates a positive learning environment to develop players, and also a sense of pride to recruit players. Upgrade to Training Room Cornell Penn

• No upgrades or renovations have been made to the Schoellkopf training room in over 10 years. • Both Lynah Rink and the Wrestling Center have newer training rooms with more up to date equipment, and less athletes to service. • Schoellkopf training room is used by multiple teams and has far more athletes receiving treatment. Larger space with more tables needed.

We need more space and updated equipment and facilities to properly develop our players and maintain their health, making them as strong and as productive on the field as possible. Create a Study Lounge in Schoellkopf Hall

• A comfortable area, with tables, chairs, couches, WiFi and a networked printer would create an ideal studying environment. This would allow players to not always have to walk to the library to find a great study place. They can eliminate some travel time and maximize their efficiency. • The only lounge area we have is the Tradition Room which is off limits to our players. • We have been notified on multiple occasions by the Athletics Department that our players should not be using the Tradition Room unless it is part of a team event • Seth Hope ‘18 during an official visit reception in Tradition Room said in front of recruits, "this is only my second time in this room, the door is always locked"

A study lounge will promote team unity, a focus on academics, and pride in their program. It will help develop our current players academically, and also show recruits we are invested in their success. Ivy League Study Lounges Harvard Columbia

Dartmouth Yale Expand Locker Room Space Harvard Currently there is not sufficient space in the locker room to house and address the team: • This is particularly an issue on game days, especially when trying to make halftime adjustments. We need more open spaces with white boards to address the offensive and defensive position groups. We currently use both the varsity and the sprint locker room. • The lack of space in our locker room will Princeton become a greater issue as we look to expand our roster from 110 to 120 for a JV program. We currently only have space for 110 lockers. This season players will have to double up lockers.

We need a bigger locker room for more lockers, and more functional space on game day to be able to meet and make necessary adjustments. Create More Impact Walls for Recruiting

• All hallways where recruits and their families will walk should be filled with information on the history of our program

We need to add a line item to the budget to insure we can continue to add and update impact walls that promote our program to recruits. Recruiting Budget and Communications Maintain Travel, and Recruiting Services Budget to Recruit Nationally

We need to continue to invest in our recruiting budget. We need the best recruiting services, the money to off campus recruit and travel to work outside camps. Upgrade Team Website

• InsideCornellFootball.com is a flash based website that is not compatible with Apple products. • 43% of smartphone owners have an iPhone. 48% of Tablet owners have an iPad. Those people can not use our website currently. • We are currently paying for a website almost HALF of everyone we recruit can not use.

Mobile phones are now the most popular method for accessing the internet, and our site is not compatible with nearly half of them. We need to have a site that is accessible on a phone of a recruit. • It costs $20,000 to upgrade our website to a format everyone can use. • 6 of the 8 Ivy football teams use the company Blue Chip for their websites. Blue Chip ranks our site 6th in terms of content and functionality – we can not be competitive that way. • The other five Ivy League sites have been converted and work with Apple products • Yale even has its own app for Apple users.

Recruits immediately judge our program by our website - it must be first class, and accessible on the mobile phone. Increase budget for personalized mailings • The NCAA no longer has restrictions on the content of recruiting materials. Because of this it is now a very effective way to creatively communicate with a recruit. • Prospects are constantly receiving mail from other schools, if they don’t get mail from Cornell they think we aren’t interested, or at least aren’t as interested as the other schools. • Additionally, in order to do more mailings we need funds to outsource the work or receive additional funding for student employees.

In order to compete with our competition to recruit student athletes we need to send mailings. Example of Mailings from our Competition

Yale mailing showing recruit’s Penn mailing showing recruit’s name on CEO paychecks name on jersey Player Support and Experience Enable better use of Practice Time

• A typical college football program needs a 4.5 - 5 Hour Block (4 Countable Athletic Related Activity Hours) of time to execute a football practice from start to finish. We need: • ¾ Hour for weight lifting session • ½ Hour for training room treatments and getting dressed • 1 Hour for unit/position meetings and film review • 2 Hours for on the field practice • ½ for post practice training room treatments and getting dressed.

Cornell’s 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM time block does not allow us the needed time to properly prepare for competition. To help increase the time having a dining hall stay open until 9 PM would allow us the time needed. (We would let any and all players with night classes and/or exams leave practice early without exception!)

Facilitating a proper practice session each day is critical to our ability to best develop our student athletes. Invest in High Quality Gear

Several Ivy teams, including Harvard and Brown team got camouflage shirts and Penn, have numbers on all gear hats for military appreciation week

Team apparel/gear is one of the top recruiting tools for college football teams. • Our players look at the gear that their peers get and say things like “why is Cornell so cheap?” • Dartmouth has home and away helmets • Penn, Princeton and Dartmouth have alternate jerseys • “Coach Bagnoli does not play when it comes to getting the best equipment for our players. So anything that we need we get” – Penn player on Facility Tour Video • Our players are required to pay for some of their gear and next year we will no longer be able to purchase team hats due to budget cuts. • Every recruit that visits wants to go down to Michael Rolfe is one of our top the locker room to check out the gear and take 2016 recruits a picture wearing a uniform

In order to recruit top talent we can not require them to buy their own gear. We must provide high quality work out gear. Increase funding for team meals a meals and snacks

Examples from Columbia and Penn of what our competitors are providing for their players after practice/workouts.

The Lions are not the only Ivy team that provides considerable “snacks” to their players.

Dartmouth and Penn both have snacks stocked in their locker room at all times. Items include chocolate milk, fresh fruit and granola bars.

Cornell Football lags behind our peers in terms of the quantity and quality of food that we provide to our players. Proper nutrition is key to developing football players.

The nutrition and ability of our players to maintain their weight during the season is critical to our success. If our players don’t have sufficient fueling before and after games and practices their performance suffers. Here are some examples of how our insufficient food budget has negatively impacted our players: • In order to cut the cost of meals on road trips the previous Director of Football Operations provided hotels with guest counts 10-15% below actual numbers. This led us to run out of food at dinner the day before games. • Our budget for food on the bus ride to away games is $10 per person, which is simply inadequate to feed a player from when they get on the bus at 10am to when they eat dinner at 6pm. This season, especially on our trip to Harvard, players were so hungry that upon arrival at the hotel they went to the Hotel restaurant and purchased food. • The only way we were able to provide snacks for our players this season was to get the local ALDI to donate PB&J supplies (Coach Archer bought the first few weeks with his own $) that we provided to the team after some of our meetings and practices. • Our postgame meal budget is $12 a person. This must feed a player that has not eaten in 5 hours enough food to keep them satisfied for another 4+ hours. Our post game meals are generally a sub and a small pizza, but this year we were unable to stay under budget providing that to our players. The $12 also does not cover the cost of beverages that we provide for the players. Harvard has a budget of $20 per person and their meal includes 2 pieces of fruit, 2 candy bars and 2 bags of chips.

We must increase our food budget so that players can physically develop and not be hungry on road trips. Revitalize the Game Day Environment at Schoellkopf Conducive to Championship Football • Hire Staff that will be energetic and speak positively about the team. • Fly a pennant or flag for each of the eight Ivy schools – currently it is the only stadium in the Ivy League that does not. • Open all rest rooms and ensure they are functional. • Put Impact walls in the concourse of Schoellkopf and make the area look first class. • Open multiple concession stands.

It is historic and terrific venue to watch a game. All facilities should be in working order. It is part of the infra-structure of Cornell University and the atmosphere should be positive, festive, and attract people to the games. Action Time Line

• July 2015 – December 2015 • Streamline Pre Read Admissions Process. • Eliminate the restrictions of spots in certain Colleges. • Provide 100% Financial Aid Match, and Increase Efficiency. • Utilize the Win Big Red Initiative. • Embrace a Top Down Commitment to provide necessary staffing. • Hire a Dedicated Fundraiser for Football, to Utilize the WBR Initiative. • Increase Budget for Student Managers. • Increase Budget for Road Game Meals. • Increase Academic Services. • Revitalize Game Day experience and environment. • Maintain budget for Travel and Recruiting Services. • Upgrade team website. • Create study lounge. • Schedule JV Games.

• January 2016 – June 2016 • Increase Strength and Conditioning Coaches. • Invest in higher quality gear. • Redistribute funding for snacks. • Allow Football to use the Weight Room from 4:45 PM – 6:45 PM. • Maintain use of Ramin Room on Friday Mornings and during select times during the week. • Generate plans for West Stands Renovation. • Enable Better Use of Practice Time for the Fall. • July 2016 – December 2016 • Hire Coaching Assistants. • Update meeting rooms for increased functionality and a valued learning space. • Increase funding for team meals and snacks. • Create more impact walls for recruiting. • Replace playing surface on Schoellkopf Field, and Demolish West Stands. • Finalize Plans for West Stands Renovation. • Make use of Better Practice Time.

• January 2017 – August 2017 • Build the New West Stands (this can involve creative answers to get the bullet points below) • Create a Football Weight Room • Upgrade training room • Expand locker room to increase space • Creation of Limited Indoor Space • Generate Plans for Covered Field • August 2017 – December 2017 • Finalize Plans for Covered Field • January 2018 – December 2018 • Build Covered Practice Field • 2019 – Beyond • Constantly revisit this list to keep upgrading items as needed. • Every Year • We must ALWAYS be thinking about how to grow our endowment so that one day we will be self funded.