ASK OLE MISS provides Rebel fans interactive opportunities with some of the key figures in Ole Miss athletics. The latest installment features Director of Athletics Pete Boone. Questions were sent in by fans through OleMissSports.com over the past week, and Boone has addressed many of those in the following Q&A.

Q: What factors have gone into the lateness of the 2009 football schedule announcement and the difficulty of finding a 12th game?

A: We probably should have completed this during the summer and had everything done. The mitigating factors with regard to finding and securing non-conference games have to do with schedules, not only for us but for other teams; and the amount of guaranteed money that different teams request. We try to get that in the most efficient way possible (on a typical non-conference game, our gate revenue probably averages $1.1 million, while Division 1 non-conference opponents are looking for $700,000-$800,000 for a guarantee). A lot of mid-level Division 1 teams would like a two-for-one, where they’ll agree to play two games here and we’ll agree to return a game at their place. That is something that we’ve seen other BCS schools do, and we will be doing it also. We consult with our head football coach on all non-conference opportunities, and there may be reasons that he has that he would not want to play a certain school even though the dates would match up. Another factor is television opportunities, working with ESPN to potentially get some of our non-conference games on a nationwide broadcast. They get involved in the scheduling and moving games around to try to make these things happen. That is one of the issues that happened here. With all of those things in mind, there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that have to fit right to get the full picture of why we are where we are and how this decision process goes.

Q: Why aren't all sports scheduled to avoid time conflicts, such as last weekend when baseball played at the same time as basketball?

A: It’s difficult to try to isolate every game. Not only did we have baseball and basketball on Saturday, we also had softball and rifle competing. While in a perfect world, all of our fans would leave one event and go to the next. That is just not always feasible. Sometimes we are not really sure if TV is going to change a timeframe on us or not. Then we also have inclement weather issues that could pop up that we just have to make the call as we go. During the spring, it is just almost impossible.

Q: If student attendance at men’s basketball games continues to be so poor, would the athletics department consider reducing their ticket allotment?

A: I’m not sure why the attendance has fallen this year. Over the past several years, they have been extremely conscientious about attending our ballgames. I’ve also noticed that non-students with season tickets are also not attending games. I’m not sure that it is just a student thing this year. It may have to do with the injuries and possibly a slow start for our team. Maybe people lost some interest early on. Certainly, we are going to look at every avenue. I think next year will change as we will have a very good team, and we will see if that might have been the reason.

Q: When can we expect to see a bowling in of the north endzone?

A: A date for that decision will be made as we start seeing an increase in season ticket sales. We have had a decline in season ticket sales since Eli (Manning) left. Last year was the first year that we did not have a decline, but at the same time, we didn’t grow. We hope to see an increase in season ticket sales this year. Until that trend starts turning, it makes no economic sense to spend the money to have additional seats.

Q: What are the chances of moving the band into the end zone where the fans on the home side are able to hear them during the game?

A: They are in the endzone, and I think our fans need to understand that 85 percent of the people there in our stadium are our fans with only 10-15 percent of the fans in the stadium being from opposing teams. Where they are is a spot that the band chose, so they could be closer to the students and also be in a corner where they can project out. Our band has moved over time, in the endzone and on the side, and there is no perfect place for them. This seems to be working as well as can be.

Q: What determines the game times of our non-televised home football games?

A: The athletics department tries to take into consideration the fans’ desires, economic opportunities for Oxford’s retail businesses, the coach’s wishes, university events such as homecoming, and consistency. It is quite evident to us that that most of our fans would like a 5 p.m. or later start time. Generally speaking, other than when it is hot, our coaches would like an earlier start time. Most of our non-conference games are going to be earlier in the season. I think with all of those factors in consideration, we will probably be looking at more 5 p.m. or later start times for our non-conference games that aren’t televised.

Q: Can you shed some light on the future of a mascot at Ole Miss?

A: I think that everyone is in agreement that a mascot is needed. Determining how to select one has been our Achilles heel. Most people think that the student leadership should have the most say, and I don’t disagree with that. When and how that gets done remains to be seen.

Q: Why aren’t future schedule for football and all sports not released to the public or listed on OleMissSports.com?

A: Schedules are initially driven by the SEC’s schedule, which is given to us through the conference office. It is hard for us to schedule any games until we have that. Currently, we don’t have SEC football schedules from 2011 on. Generally speaking, we won’t get the SEC schedule for any of our other sports until within a year of when the schedules go into effect. Some are even later than that. For example, we have next year’s basketball SEC schedule, but we don’t have any after that. Some of them we just don’t get until later in the year. We are hindered by the SEC trying to determine the SEC schedules which in fact are done in conjunction with our TV partners.

Q: Can anything be done to improve the postgame traffic flow for men’s basketball?

A: We look at that every year. I think if we compare our traffic flow to other schools, we get out relatively quickly, especially if the games are during the day. I have not had any complaints in the last year from any sport. I think to a certain extent, we move traffic pretty fast compared to other venues.

Q: Why does it have to be so expensive to watch and listen to Ole Miss sports on the internet?  

A: When talking about expenses, I think everything is relative. People just have to choose what’s important to them. Fifty dollars could easily be one meal out at a restaurant. It’s just what people value. We think the price we have for RebelVision is very reasonable.

Q: Are there any plans to upgrade Tad Smith Coliseum or perhaps build a new basketball arena?

A: We have continuously upgraded Tad Smith Coliseum. Much of it has been done underneath where the players, cheerleaders and media meet. There are no plans in the works for any remodeling of the concourse area or any other areas of the coliseum. I think with the economy as well as funding needed for higher education, I don’t see any new arena being authorized in the next 10 years.