Dear Cornell Hockey Coach’s Club Prospective Member for 2024-25
Wow! This is it. My 30th and final year as the head coach of the Big Red men skaters. And I get to spend the finale with a good friend, Casey Jones, and a squad of eager young men just coming off a European trip of bonding and competition. This year, we were allowed to bring the freshmen with us, and that will prove valuable going forward. Each year, we look forward to fresh and unique adventures with our team.
Our Coach’s Club has developed into a record-breaking organization providing much support to our hockey program. Last year’s Club numbers were a record-breaking 125 members and the Coach’s Circle set an all-time high.
Now comes the pitch for this year. For the first time since the Club started 29 years ago, we have increased our membership prices. Last year, if a member attended all nine events, the Coach’s Club account realized after expenses, only 50% of the membership cost. And we lost money on guests.
So, the membership fees for 2024-25 will increase to $600 for Captain’s Circle and $1,200 for Coach’s Circle members. Guest fees will increase from $20 to $25 and remember that guests (except spouses/partners) may only be invited by a member to one luncheon per season. Hopefully, your guests will enjoy the experience and join!
The $600 Captain’s Circle membership entitles you to one complimentary meal ticket at each gathering, Coach’s Schafer’s mid-season party, and one comp ticket to the end-of-season banquet.
The $1,200 Coach’s Circle membership entitles you to two complimentary lunches/dinners during the season, a summer dinner with Circle members only, a mid-winter party, and two comp tickets to the end-of-season banquet.
We are back at the Moakley House this year on weekends that we play at home with six luncheons (one more than last year) and two dinners. The first luncheon will be on Friday, October 18, the day before the exhibition game vs. Princeton at Lynah Rink.
You may not realize how much the Coach’s Club means to the Men’s Hockey program. To receive this much love from fans in Ithaca, surrounding areas, and our most loyal alumni is unsurpassed in the NCAA hockey collegiate ranks. Annually, rival coaches have commented on how they wished their programs received the support that the Big Red receives year after year.
Money generated from the Coach’s Club has been used to bring important recruits to Cornell, take short notice recruiting trips; and provide fruit, Gatorade, and Power Bars in the locker room before games. Income provides the extra benefit of serving our players Friday night post-game dinners, and Saturday morning breakfasts during home weekends. Coach’s Club money also enhances our equipment budget to make additional purchases, insuring Cornell hockey remains a first-class program.
To our loyal members, we ask for your help in continuing to grow our Coach’s Club. Many fans are not aware of this awesome organization providing so much support to the program, and members also having the advantage of listening to inside information at our lunches/dinners. Please think about renewing your membership today and encouraging others to join.
You can sign up at the CHA website: by check or by credit card
Casey and I know the CHA is the best fan-support-association in the country, and we both want it to maintain #1 status! Thank you for your past support, and we look forward to our first luncheon at the Moakley House on Oct. 18.
Sincerely,
Mike Schafer