How will the U be able to raise the money it needs for athletics?

In a Twin Cities Business profile of University of Minnesota Athletic Director Norwood Teague, former Gopher sports radio color analyst Dave Mona captures both the huge challenge Teague faces as a fund-raiser -- and the skills his team has that might pull it off:

“They are going to have to identify people who they haven’t historically gotten [to contribute]. Some people said, ‘I’ll give for the stadium,’ but more or less implied it was a one-time thing. The low-hanging fruit was tapped for that, and before that, attempts to raise money for Gopher athletics produced some pretty low numbers.

“But Teague and his people have done it elsewhere. I went to an event about fundraising the other day and I’ve got to tell you it was pretty sophisticated stuff, in terms of things like trusts for high-capability donors. And [Executive Associate AD] Dave Benedict more than held his own, asking questions with some real depth and knowledge. I get the feeling they are doing massive amounts of research to know where people [alumni and others interested in the program] are, beyond just this geographical area. They ‘get’ fundraising.”

Read the full story -- which is loaded with numbers -- here.

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