ACTIVE BOOSTER SUPPORT AIDS SEMO'S JUMP TO DIVISION I

*The Southeast scholarship budget was about $340,000 during the school's final years as a Division II member. That figure stands at a remarkable $1.1 million today.

The record indicates that Southeast Missouri State University has made a successful jump into the world of NCAA Division I athletics.

Southeast athletic director, Dr. Richard McDuffie, says that is due in no small part to an active and involved booster club that helps generate quite a bit of money for the school's $1.1 million scholarship budget.

"Without scholarships, you don't have any athletes, and the athletes are always the key to building a strong athletic program," said McDuffie. "We've got a tremendous booster club and tremendous overall community support, which is the main reason we've been able to make a nice transition to Division I."

Southeast's sports teams have more than made their mark since joining the Division I Ohio Valley Conference in 1991.

Last year, in the school's third Division I season, Southeast finished third out of nine schools in the OVC's all-sports competition, which factors in a school's total athletic program. And this year, Southeast appears to stand a solid chance of finishing first in the OVC's all-sports competition.

"If we don't win it, it will be darn close," said McDuffie. "When we joined Division I and the OVC, our goal was to put competitive teams on the field in every sport. We have definitely done that. Our overall sports success compares favorably with any school in the OVC."

The Southeast Booster Club has played a major role in making sure the school's coaches have the resources necessary to recruit top-flight student-athletes.

The club has almost 1,200 members, that figure having doubled in the last five years, said McDuffie. Booster club members donate a minimum of $100 to Southeast athletics and some donate as much as several thousand dollars.

"I guess the main thing we get out of it as boosters is the ability to join in the sporting events as a group and support all aspects of Southeast athletics," said booster club President Al Spradling III. "The booster club has really taken off the last five, six years. Obviously, basketball has been one of the main reasons, but football really came on this past year."

McDuffie said that the Southeast scholarship budget was about $340,000 during the school's final years as a Division II member. The booster club was strong even during the Division II days.

McDuffie said that when the school made the jump to Division I it was vital that Southeast be able to increase its scholarship budget. But he never dreamed it would reach the level it is at today.

"We never thought we'd be able to generate this kind of money," said McDuffie. "It's a real tribute to the community support we get."

McDuffie said the scholarship money comes from Southeast's general pool of athletic revenue, which consists of booster donations, ticket sales, advertising, television rights and sponsorships.

Through booster club donations and season ticket sales alone, McDuffie said that between $600,000 and $700,000 is raised annually.

"The boosters and season ticket-holders are really the backbone of our ability to raise money," McDuffie said.

McDuffie and Greg Brune, Southeast's associate director for athletic development, work closely with the booster club and all of the school's fund-raising efforts.

Southeast's men's basketball program, which led the OVC in attendance last season, generates the most season ticket sales, about 3,000. The football program, which had its first winning Division I season last fall, has increased its attendance for games and has about 1,000 season ticket-holders. The Southeast gymnastics program, which does not compete in the OVC, also has a strong fan following.

"Those are the sports we draw the most fans to," said McDuffie.

The booster club holds several special events throughout the school year, including an annual barbecue in August that serves as a kickoff to the sports season. There are also several booster club golf tournaments and a booster club auction.

"We have various activities throughout the year," Spradling said. "We also have the booster corral for football, where members can get together for food and drink before the games, and we have the booster run at halftime of the basketball games.

"At basketball the boosters occupy the lower seats and at football we've got the chairback seats. Those all make it nice."

In the future, McDuffie said Southeast will continue to try and increase its scholarship budget through various avenues.

"As football continues to improve, we'll have additional ticket sales there, and when basketball becomes eligible for the OVC tournament (in 1996-97), we should even increase ticket sales there," he said. "And we think there are avenues in gymnastics, baseball and other sports we can explore."

The Southeast Booster Club, along with the rest of the community, figure to remain a vital part of the school's athletic fund-raising efforts.

"We hope the booster club will keep growing and growing," said Spradling. "The more support we get, the better off the scholarship funding is. Our main goal is to contribute money for scholarships."

Said McDuffie, "Without a very supportive community, we would never have been able to pull this thing off."