“We wanted to look five years out; what are some of the things we want to accomplish? You want to give a road map to your staff and your coaches so they have something concrete to point to and work towards.” – Jon Palumbo, Texas A&M Corpus Christi Athletic Director
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi athletic director Jon Palumbo has been on campus for about a year, and from day one, he’s had a goal of making Texas A&M-Corpus Christi a premier program in the Southland Conference.
Now that plan, Making Waves, has been put to paper.
“This involved a lot of individuals, coaches, student-athletes, our staff, university staff, input from constituents and donors, this was an inclusive process. It’s not just my plan, it’s a plan everyone can be invested in.”
The five-year master plan for the athletic department called ‘Making Waves’ underlines the steps for the school to achieve Palumbo’s lofty goals.
“This is to hold ourselves accountable,” Palumbo said. “You can talk all you want, but when you put it down on paper and get it out there for the world to see, there’s another level of accountability, both in our department and in our community about who we want to be.”
Among the goals:
◾Creating a more desirable environment for student-athletes
◾Becoming financially stable
◾Competing for championships
◾Transforming Corpus Christi into a college sports town
The process of setting these goals started in February of 2019; six months of planning and meetings made this five-year plan possible. As far as when those goals will be executed, Palumbo tells CollegeAD, the time is now.
“A lot of the internal processes and metrics we use to measure and reach these goals that have been outlined have already begun. Other goals have a timeline of this fall, some are a bit further out in the spring. Some are recurring strategies that will take place every year as we move forward. Some of the longer-term goals, like facilities and capital projects, those are 2,3,4, and even five years out.”
Palumbo says the university is in the early stages of a campaign that will fund a planned basketball facility. Right now, the 10-year old Dugan Wellness Center is home to the volleyball program and select women’s basketball games but has limitations for men’s college basketball and a limited seating capacity of 1,200.
“We are exploring funding mechanisms, obviously fundraising is a large component, but there are other avenues to explore to complement the private fundraising.”
Though Making Waves is labeled as a five-year plan, Palumbo and the university do not have a firm timetable on the construction of a new arena. Plus, it is not known how much a new arena might cost.
“This plan is obviously ambitious, I think we can do things that have never been done here, in terms of competitive success, the way we support our student-athletes by getting some facilities projects off the ground.”
This story first appeared in The NightCap, CollegeAD’s evening newsletter. The NightCap delivers the day’s college athletics news in simple bullet points, giving you what you need to know in just a few lines. Get The NightCap today.