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I've never understood the "I can never miss a game" people. I went to every home game as a student, but I don't see how it's possible as an adult with responsibilities and friends and family members who didn't all go to A&M. Hell, I've had a client blow stuff off to his own detriment during crunch time because he and his wife and friends were determined to go to every game home and away. I don't know how you can be that devoted unless you're retired.

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Different strokes for different folks. While seeing every away game in person isn't a priority for me, seeing the home games is. So I work late during the week or stay up late painting a bedroom if I need to. Not everyone that attends games is like your client. The schedule comes out a year in advance. I find it very easy to attend all the home games with that much lead time. If I liked to travel (which I generally do not) and had nothing better to do with my money, attending all the away games would be pretty easy too with a year of advanced notice. What adult responsibilities do you have that you aren't able to take care of during the week?

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Football has become more of a chore than an enjoyable experience for our family. Skipping games to spend time with friends and family or traveling are all about to be infinitely better this year.

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This. Now into my fifth year of down-valuing Aggie football in my life. One of the best decisions I've evermade. I now regret the years of angst/joy/concern/fear/focus/highs/lows I spent on it.

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. I want the TMF to be about the almighty dollar, because that's what wins championships.

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Taking this point at face value, the question becomes, "Why then do you want championships?"

It's a fundamental point. Why does any of us care about what is, in all reality, an entertainment choice performed by athletic young men.

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If you do have a concern, just know they are working to build relationships and his door is open

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If working to build relationships means they just want our money, you are correct.

I don't know why some of you donate to the TMF. Our on field product is perpetually mediocre.

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Final straw was getting to the first game of last year and realizing that not one single change had been made to the Zone where we sit. We had to pay a lot more money, and get re-seated away from friends we've had for 13 years, but the construction didn't even touch the Zone. Same gray cinderblock bathrooms, same exact seats (remind me why we had to get re-seated??), same everything. Only change I noticed was a garbled PA system that somehow got worse instead of better as the season went on.

I wrote a letter to the athletic dept about all the above, and received a form letter about concession stand problems and parking problems - neither of which were in my letter (we RV, remember?).

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When did the TMF ever say that the Redevelopment of Kyle would include refurbishing the interior of the Zone? I never saw anything that said the Zone bathrooms would be upgraded or the seats would be replaced. It's not on the TMF if those were your expectations because those are things they never promised.

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What adult responsibilities do you have that you aren't able to take care of during the week?

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Oh, I'm not trying to sound dramatic about my demanding life or anything, but work and other local community stuff make it impossible for me to go to every game, even if I had an unlimited budget. It's been a long time since my worklife was contained to a regular M-F office schedule. And friends and family members who didn't go to A&M don't understand why I'd rather be at an Aggie game than whatever else - trust me, that's been an issue many times over the years.

But it's all about personal priorities. I never said anything bad about the folks who make every game, just that I can't pull it off. And I'm not really complaining about that, either.

I guess I am kind of jealous of the folks who come from big multi-generational Aggie families and don't have to argue about where you want to be on Thanksgiving, etc.

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Final straw was getting to the first game of last year and realizing that not one single change had been made to the Zone where we sit. We had to pay a lot more money, and get re-seated away from friends we've had for 13 years, but the construction didn't even touch the Zone. Same gray cinderblock bathrooms, same exact seats (remind me why we had to get re-seated??), same everything. Only change I noticed was a garbled PA system that somehow got worse instead of better as the season went on.

I wrote a letter to the athletic dept about all the above, and received a form letter about concession stand problems and parking problems - neither of which were in my letter (we RV, remember?).

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When did the TMF ever say that the Redevelopment of Kyle would include refurbishing the interior of the Zone? I never saw anything that said the Zone bathrooms would be upgraded or the seats would be replaced. It's not on the TMF if those were your expectations because those are things they never promised.

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I agree and I take full responsibility for missing the 'fine print' that I'm sure was somewhere in all of my season renewal info.
Forgive me if all I heard and saw in big block maroon letters was "NEW NEW NEW" and months of propaganda about state-of-the-art everything.
I guess I also ASSUMED that since we were having to donate more and get re-seated, that the Zone was also going to change.

I was wrong. But setting aside my oversight for missing the notification that the Zone wasn't going to be touched, my question about why we had to pay more and change seats remains. Obvious answer is that those of us in the Zone helped fund changes to the rest of the stadium. Gee, so glad I could help pay for things I'll never experience, while getting crapped on.

As for Staff's posts about how incredibly willing to discuss concerns the TMF is, that's great and all, but just saying that & coming on a message board and giving contact info doesn't change the realities that a ton of us have experienced. I'm so glad that you're willing to look at me with compassion and understanding while I vent about having to pay more and move in order to sit in the same unchanged section of the stadium. And then you'll spout some corporate-sounding BS line about 'vision and committment'. Doesn't change the fact that we had to pay more and be re-seated and got zilch in return.

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Everyone in the entire stadium got re seated. The west side lost some 4 to 6 thousand seats. There is absolutely no way to handle the stadium without re seating everyone. Nothing unfair or questionable about that. You also could have moved to anywhere else in the stadium that you could afford or qualify for.

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I know everyone got reseated. And as I said, that makes sense where the seats were physically ripped out and re-installed and were an inch wider etx etc.

Why the heck reseat the Zone where literally the same seats and benches remained? And where there were no upgrades?

Yes we could've moved anywhere else in the stadium and chosen to give even more money. That's sorta my point - no consideration for longtime loyal season ticket holders - just open it up to whoever has the most money to jump in and sit wherever they want.

Point is, we're out - as are many others obviously.

Paid a bunch more money, our 'experience' didn't improve at all, and in fact became worse.

And in response the Athletic dept sent us a reply letter about concession stands and parking lots. So...bye.

Sounds like A&M is still a money pit.

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Think your seats are going to be empty this year?

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And that's the bottom line. Money is the driver. Heck, winning is only a means to more money.

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I posted to our-turn-to-rule in another post that I'm always happy to listen to donors. I supplied my information and encouraged him to call me so that we could talk. I would like to reiterate that I will always listen to our donors. Again, my information is below. If you just want to troll, that's fine too. But, if you want to air your complaints and help make a change....please call.


Mark Riordan
VP Marketing & Communications
mark@12thmanfoundation.com
(979) 260-7989 (desk)
(979) 587-0011 (cell)

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Hey guys, I just want to acknowledge that Mark has commented and been active on a number of different threads as of late and he is always willing to help.

He has been active on the forums to try to talk through some of your concerns and get better at helping you feel more at home with the 12th Man Foundation.

The 12th Man Foundation did a handful of Q&A threads last year, on TexAgs, to give you the chance to ask questions that you may have had about the redevelopment project, the seating chart, the parking assignments, etc, etc, etc and he didn't stray away from any of the hard questions when they were asked.

If you do have a concern, just know they are working to build relationships and his door is open.

I didn't want his post to go unseen.

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I appreciate that he has come on here and posted his information now, however for many of us the toothpaste is out of the tube. I'm paying again this year, but once my kid graduates from TAMU I may drop my tickets.

I do challenge your statement that he answered the hard questions though. Here are the links to the Q&A's from this forum that I could pull back up. There might have been more.
Q&A 1 Q&A 2 Q&A 3

I'm frustrated with the TMF that this is something that happened through TexAgs and not something they did with their constituents directly. Frankly, I'd rather Mark stay off the forum and find a way to communicate to everyone that is a member of the TMF. And if you he is going to post, he's going to have to address all of the questions. It appears disingenuous to ask people to reach out to him directly and ignore questions that are posted here.

So, to my post earlier here. What is happening to make sure we communicate to ticket holders if they somehow owe money past the due dates so they don't have to realize they don't have their tickets?

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Completely unacceptable that last fall a percentage of ticket holders didn't get their tickets because they owed money, however the fact that they owed was not communicated to them in any way. These folks paid what the system asked and were given crappy excuses for invoices. Even after getting info from a rep at TMF about my account, I am not clear how this miss happened.

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Here's a reference thread

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I refuse to donate money to the athletic side of UT and only donate money to student organizations and engineering school.

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sip troll...

might want to lay off the weed when you troll our site at 3AM... lolz

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It wasn't 3am in my location when I posted this. You do realize how time zones work, don't you? I am currently in Tokyo.

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Point is, we're out - as are many others obviously.

Paid a bunch more money, our 'experience' didn't improve at all, and in fact became worse.

And in response the Athletic dept sent us a reply letter about concession stands and parking lots. So...bye.

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Think your seats are going to be empty this year?

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Well of COURSE my seats will be empty. I mean, five of us aren't renewing and since everyone thinks exactly the way I do, I'm 100% certain that no one else is going to step in and buy them.

I mean, DUH.

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. I want the TMF to be about the almighty dollar, because that's what wins championships.

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Taking this point at face value, the question becomes, "Why then do you want championships?"

It's a fundamental point. Why does any of us care about what is, in all reality, an entertainment choice performed by athletic young men.

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Cecil points out the painfully obvious: the emporer has new "clothes"....

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I refuse to donate money to the athletic side of UT and only donate money to student organizations and engineering school.

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sip troll...

might want to lay off the weed when you troll our site at 3AM... lolz

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It wasn't 3am in my location when I posted this. You do realize how time zones work, don't you? I am currently in Tokyo.

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So you're an international troll. AND still a sip.

Poor guy.

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I worked at the 12th man when I was a student, you people are unreasonable a holes to current students who don't have the authority to move you to founders suites for the $100 you donate annually. I sincerely doubt they were rude to you, probably just didn't give you wanted because they literally can't give everyone everything they want/ think they deserve

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And there we have it!! Bad service is my fault. What an Aggie joke we have here (did I say anything about rude?)

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Well, since you didn't say what your problem was, AND since I've never had an issue with the 12th Man when I actually called them, then yes. My assumption is,that it is your fault.

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I posted to our-turn-to-rule in another post that I'm always happy to listen to donors. I supplied my information and encouraged him to call me so that we could talk. I would like to reiterate that I will always listen to our donors. Again, my information is below. If you just want to troll, that's fine too. But, if you want to air your complaints and help make a change....please call.


Mark Riordan
VP Marketing & Communications
mark@12thmanfoundation.com
(979) 260-7989 (desk)
(979) 587-0011 (cell)

---

Hey guys, I just want to acknowledge that Mark has commented and been active on a number of different threads as of late and he is always willing to help.

He has been active on the forums to try to talk through some of your concerns and get better at helping you feel more at home with the 12th Man Foundation.

The 12th Man Foundation did a handful of Q&A threads last year, on TexAgs, to give you the chance to ask questions that you may have had about the redevelopment project, the seating chart, the parking assignments, etc, etc, etc and he didn't stray away from any of the hard questions when they were asked.

If you do have a concern, just know they are working to build relationships and his door is open.

I didn't want his post to go unseen.

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I appreciate that he has come on here and posted his information now, however for many of us the toothpaste is out of the tube. I'm paying again this year, but once my kid graduates from TAMU I may drop my tickets.

I do challenge your statement that he answered the hard questions though. Here are the links to the Q&A's from this forum that I could pull back up. There might have been more.
Q&A 1 Q&A 2 Q&A 3

I'm frustrated with the TMF that this is something that happened through TexAgs and not something they did with their constituents directly. Frankly, I'd rather Mark stay off the forum and find a way to communicate to everyone that is a member of the TMF. And if you he is going to post, he's going to have to address all of the questions. It appears disingenuous to ask people to reach out to him directly and ignore questions that are posted here.

So, to my post earlier here. What is happening to make sure we communicate to ticket holders if they somehow owe money past the due dates so they don't have to realize they don't have their tickets?

quote:

---

Completely unacceptable that last fall a percentage of ticket holders didn't get their tickets because they owed money, however the fact that they owed was not communicated to them in any way. These folks paid what the system asked and were given crappy excuses for invoices. Even after getting info from a rep at TMF about my account, I am not clear how this miss happened.

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Here's a reference thread

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You sound stubborn. You obviously have a bone to pick. Why not call him?

Or are you demanding he spend his weekends hovering Texags?!

Thanks for freeing up seats for others!

I have sent notes to the TMF about my concerns before and gotten crickets. And if you read my post you would see I said I don't think he should be on here.

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I have sent notes to the TMF about my concerns before and gotten crickets. And if you read my post you would see I said I don't think he should be on here.

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Just call him bro. Call that phone number.

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Sounds like A&M is still a money pit.

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About sums it up. We pay top tier pricing for mediocre results

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My parents canceled last year after a decade for the same reasons. The TMF is all about the almighty dollar and not focused on the Aggie family anymore.

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Guess I'm too new-army. I want TMF to do as well as possible. That means they need as much money as possible. If they can sell my tickets for more than I'm willing to pay, I believe they should do it. It's not personal and I would never hold it against them. I want the TMF to be about the almighty dollar, because that's what wins championships. Priority point system adequately rewards the people that have been loyal members of the Aggie Family in my opinion.

On the other hand, I hope that t.u. sells all their tickets for $1 each so that their revenue is minimized. I hope that tickets are distributed only based on age so that only old people can go to the games and the current generation is soured by the process and decides not to support the team anymore since they can't get tickets, resulting in aging fan base that's dieing out.

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This fallacy is what they (TMF) have been using to scare people into donating money for over a decade now. There is no proven direct correlation between donating and winning championships.

Keeping it Aggie:

Track
Men's golf
Women's basketball

Big donation sports right?

Actually the lower zone was changed. They made it worse.

I have ALWAYS found that the employee and the student vols I have reached out to at the TMF have been very helpful and ALWAYS worked to resolve any problem I have had. NOW if you expect to email or call a staffer or volunteer and get 50 yd line club catered lux-o-boxes for a nickel ninety five simply cause you call Buzz or Biff at the TMF and issue a litany of sob stories and threats...well.....uh..NO. Virtually NONE , nada, zilch of the employees or volunteers EVEN the managers had anything to do with the overall re-alignment and reseating of Kyle. NONE of them set donation levels and NONE of them can change a darn thing. The macro-issues were due to a handful of guys at the very very top along with a few senior staff at the highest levels. Even the Board of the TMF had little input on the types of decisions that led to the oft posted stories about seating and $$$$ required today. Every concern or problem that I have called about has been fixed BUT they are issues at a level that a staffer or even a vol CAN handle. Example...Our new club seats are at the very edge of he 2nd level right net to t weird walkway that kinda juts out next to the Zone. If standing room or simply guys trying to get a better view or picture walk out on th eramp they block my view of the end zone. They have a painted line that says DO NOT STAND PAST THIS LINE or something like that and ,of course, EVERYONE ignored ti and blocked the hell outa our view during the first 2 games. I called after game one and they had a usher out there running em off, BUT as soon as he left it filled up again.
The TMF called me back and asked if it was better..I said NO and the next game they had a steel barricade installed that blocked access during the game. ALL thanks to a single phone call...

NOW if you are talking about that thing doing a poor imitation of a website...well THATS a whole new thread.
Absolute WORST website I have ever tried to navigate. I doubt that Silicon Valleys best designer could design a more user Unfriendly hard to navigate thing than the TMF has.

The psychology of public/group criticism at its finest.

People should approach problems with proposing a possible solution.

I would hope people on this forum would have learned this in their careers. If you truly care, call Mark and talk about your concerns like an adult.