DOE/PSAL Incompetence Diaries - DOE Stops $2Million From Going To Schools & Students
DOE/PSAL Incompetence Diaries - DOE Stops $2Million From Going To Schools & Students
PSAL INCOMPETENCE DIARIES - PARTS I & II
For those who do not know about the PSAL, which is a part of the DOE, here's a story that will floor you and will show the incompetence at the DOE Administration. The PSAL is the Public Schools Athletic League, which is the organization within the DOE that controls NYC public school sports. The PSAL is the largest public school sports league in the U.S. and represents 40,000 NYC Public School students. Below is a firsthand experience of the DOE/PSAL incompetence at the very top of the PSAL & DOE.
DECEMBER 18, 2011
I've been quiet enough about the incompetence of the PSAL and to watch the NYC public school students continue to suffer with academics, scholarships and the NCAA eligibility process is sickening when there's help and resources available that they don't know about because the PSAL keeps the resources under wraps. Let's forget about the blame on how we got here but let's go to what's available to help the student-athletes immediately.
The PSAL, the largest athletic league in the U.S., has tons of funding and resources available to them, which would all assist the players, coaches, athletic directors, principals and schools, but there's no one at the PSAL who understands how to accept these resources so they routinely turn them down. I am talking from firsthand experience. The PSAL has turned down $800,000 in direct financial scholarships as well as Free resources to specifically assist student-athletes through the NCAA eligibility process. I would say that is a crime. No one at the PSAL wants to take responsibility for making a decision as to accepting financial help, scholarship money, free services, etc... The PSAL executives are scared to lose their jobs or lose their pension if they make a wrong decision, so guess who suffers? That's right, the same students that they pretend to support.
I have a personal connection to the 40,000 student-athletes of NYC through NYCFootball.com, NYCBasketball.com and I am the product of the NYC public school system and a lifelong New Yorker. I always knew there were problems with the system since the time my son, who had a 90% average in middle school but was turned down for all of his NYC Public School choices. Thankfully I had the ability to send him to a boarding school, which by the way is the best thing anyone can do for their child. The NYC public School system did me a favor by being so incompetent.
The incompetence of the PSAL would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. This is a VERY serious issue that must be taken care of immediately. Parents if you want your children to become NCAA eligible then this is your fight...Coaches if you want your players to be eligible, you want buses, uniforms, equipment, etc..., then this is your fight......Players if you want to become eligible for scholarships, want scholarship funding, want new uniforms, etc...then this is your fight.....Fans if you want to see more students receive scholarships, want to see more people at the games, want to see proper fields being built, etc... then this is your fight. In fact, if you live in NYC then this is YOUR fight. pop warner said "Occupy the PSAL" in one of his blogs and he's right.
Coaches must stop being afraid of the PSAL and must write to the Chancellor, the Mayor, your Councilman, etc... to get the help that you need for your players and school. This is a serious time and the games have to stop NOW! The lives of 40,000 student athletes are at stake. I'm committed to doing my part....are YOU?
I will write about this issue each week until things change at the PSAL. We need policy changes, which would need to be instituted by the DOE. Hopefully things will change quickly.
DECEMBER 19, 2011 PSAL:
So here's how the incompetence of the DOE/PSAL slammed the door on $800,000 in real scholarship dollars for students AND $1.2 million for 200 NYC High Schools, instead opting to go with $400,000 for the PSAL, $100,000 for Octagon Sports Marketing and $0 for students and $0 for schools:
As stated in the blogs below, I was the Director for School Partnerships for MSG Varsity from 2009-2010. Armed with 5 Managers working under me, we were tasked with offering the following to 200 NYC Public High Schools:
- $2,000 in cash per school strictly for student scholarships (academic or athletic)
$400,000 per year x 2= $800,000
- $3,000 in cash per school -
$3,000 x 200 = $600,000 per year x 2= $1.2 million
- Free Real Hands-On Career Media Training (Video & Editing using Final Cut Pro) for as many as
20 students per school = 4,000 students x 2 years= 8,000 students
That's $2 million in cash to students and schools plus real hands-on Media training for 8,000 students.
15 NYC Public High Schools had already signed on but received an email from the PSAL telling the Principals they should not work with MSG Varsity. The Principals that signed on were outraged but felt helpless because they received their marching orders. I will name the schools later.
Ok, so now the PSAL has this grand idea, spurred by Octagon no doubt, of bidding out a possible TV broadcast contract out to the highest bidder for the right to be the Broadcast Network of the PSAL. That's when I said let me get out of MSG Varsity and try to help the PSAL get a decent deal because it was clear they didn't know what they were doing, and I am a supporter of the students of the Public School System and a product of that same system. I left MSG Varsity and went over to the PSAL as a Consultant, to bring on sponsors and to help with the Broadcasting deal. By this time MSG Varsity felt ok this is great, we're the only company broadcasting games so we should be a lock to get the deal AND we won't have to give the schools or students any funding. On top of that MSG Varsity knew the incompetence that they were dealing with so it would be a slam dunk to run through the PSAL during the negotiation process.
Now pay attention please. MSG Varsity comes into a negotiations meeting and I am there at the table. Take a guess at what happens next. MSG Varsity expressed their concerns to the PSAL, about having me in the meetings. The PSAL held firm for the next meeting and had me in the meeting but subsequent meetings they caved and I was out of the loop. MSG Varsity knew I was going to get the PSAL a great deal but the PSAL could not understand that thought process. With me out of the meetings now MSG Varsity outsmarted the PSAL and Octagon and walked away with a steal of a deal. Octagon walked out of the deal in good shape because they went from $0 to $100,000, with more to come. The students and schools got stiffed, as usual, and the PSAL still thinks they got a good deal, which is the definition of incompetence. You got stiffed and don't even know it.
Fast forward to this past month and behold, the PSAL signed a deal with MSG Varsity, the same company the PSAL told the Principals not to work with, to become the Official Broadcast Network for the PSAL. Keep in mind, MSG Varsity was going to give the scholarship money and the funds to the schools AND they were still going to broadcast the games for a lot more money, before these "great minds" (PSAL & Octagon) put their heads together to "negotiate" with MSG Varsity/Cablevison, the master negotiators. Again, this new deal gives $0 to students and $0 to schools. Octagon, a company that should not have received any money ended up with $100,000 and probably stand to make more during the life of the deal.
Here's how the MSG Varsity deal looked after the PSAL & Octagon blessed it with their incompetence:
- $400,000 over 2 years to the PSAL
- $100,000 over 2 years to Octagon
- $0 over 2 years for scholarships to students
- $0 over 2 years for the schools
- Real Hands-On Career Media Training for 0 students
So let's do the math. That's $1.5 million less than what MSG Varsity was willing to give, plus nothing for students and nothing for schools. If the PSAL was competent they could have taken the first deal that I begged them to take when I was at MSG Varsity and they could have asked for an additional $1,000 per school to go to the PSAL. MSG Varsity more than likely would have said ok, which would have meant the PSAL would have still received their $400,000 over 2 years, plus the $2 million would have gone to the students and schools. In that scenario only Octagon would have walked away with $0. We are talking about a very simple deal here people. But this is the incompetence that runs through the PSAL daily. I was there for just 8 months and have MANY real stories that are simply unthinkable. Every sponsor that I spoke to had the same first response when I called."we had been trying to work with the PSAL for years but no one ever called us back. we are curious to see if you can get the PSAL to allow us to sponsor some of their events. We don't think you can do it...." I did get deals done but when you hear what I had to go through to bring in money you are going to fall out of your seats. Stay Tuned for Part III
posted by Unknown @ 8:53 PM
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