A few weeks ago, I had some ideas as to what events should be held at the new FAU Football Stadium.
I spoke to Associate Athletic Director for Corporate Sponsorships Michael Smith. He took this position after serving as Director of Collegiate Sports Properties for the University of Mississippi in the Southeastern Conference.
Smith gave me his reasons why he moved to Boca Raton and in this Observer interview, he talked about what the South Florida Community has to look forward to.
Q: What made you decide to take this position at FAU?
A: To be Associate Athletic Director was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I am looking forward to the inner workings of working behind the scenes, of what it takes [to build] a new stadium for a Division I School. I see the athletic program growing into a Conference USA, Big East or ACC member one day. I am thrilled to see the excitement of the Boca Raton Community.
Q: How many events do you foresee and what type of financial benefit will Boca Raton receive?
A: I anticipate that the stadium has a $1.7 million impact to the community of Boca Raton. It’s the largest facility between Miami and Orlando. It will hold 15 events the first year … five football games, along with 10 other events. I anticipate concerts, college events, international soccer, high school all-star games and, eventually, landing a college bowl game. We hope to expand to at least 20 events.
Q: Were you familiar with FAU before you took this position?
A: Yes. Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger’s reputation speaks for itself. Mike Jarvis won 21 games this year for the basketball team and has an excellent track record for taking his teams to the NCAA Tournament. John McCormack’s baseball team [players] are perennial winners.
Q: How will your previous position benefit you here?
A: I worked in the multimedia areas. I worked in marketing, advertising and promotions so we have lots of inventory here. I will be working on selling signs for the Football Stadium, radio spots, coach’s call-in radio shows for all sports, Internet and promotions on the field.
According to Smith, there has been an increase in landing new students. Last year, FAU had 9,000 applications from incoming freshman. This year, the total is 22,000.
Oct. 15 is right around the corner and, by the end of the week, the FAU Football Team will be in training camp, preparing for that inaugural season. It will be interesting to see which players go down in history as the ones who score the first touchdown, have the first yard, etc.
If the growth of the football program goes according to planned, the football stadium has the ability to be expanded in two phases, from 30-45,000 and 45-65,000. The addition of more students, as aforementioned, could be the beginning of what lies ahead.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.
