NORFOLK, Va. – While the topic here for the next day will be all about football, some of the coaches who are attending the MEAC football kickoff spoke openly Thursday about one of their biggest challenges – raising money for their programs.
They might find themselves talking more on the subject today when coaches and players meet the reporters at the Waterside Marriott.
Fund-raising has become one of the most pressing issues for many HBCU programs, as many of them operate in a financial deficit. At FAMU, the shortfall has skyrocketed to $7 million. Some of the other 10 schools with football programs in the conference aren’t too far behind.
Coaches say they often bounce ideas off each other in an effort to find a fund-raising concept that works.
“You have to,” said FAMU’s head coach Earl Holmes. “Not saying that your way is the wrong way, but you to get some feedback from other coaches that might work.
“When you can get any kind of idea on raising funds, at the end of the day, it is what it is. You’re raising funds. You try different methods to see how it works.”
