Son, your ego is promising checks your alma mater can't cash

Ten million dollars was a lot to promise. I mean, it sounded really cool and made for a lot of excitement and press coverage.

At last count: $100,000 down, $9,900,000 to go.

I graduated from Madera High School nearly 20 years ago. I've worked hard, enjoy a satisfying level of personal (not financial) success, and would love to make a contribution to the ol' blue and white...one of these days. Not today.

But, what if I hold a press conference? I can afford that. I can even afford to make a 1% contribution to the overall goal. It will get the ball rolling, right? Lives will be changed. Energy and excitement will grow. Hell, I might get my high school antics pardoned (one can hope). Then I can disappear.

I first read of the broken promise to Fresno State thanks to a tweet from ABC 30. Looks like the $10,000,000 pledge from Alphonso Bigelow's company, Nykel Bam International (closest thing to a company site), isn't going to happen after all.

I would imagine the fund developers at CSUF probably tried to leverage Mr. Bigelow's pledge to generate additional dollars from other donors. That only makes sense. I am not casting blame on CSUF. I am just concerned that in the midst of a budget crunch, a philanthropist's promise provided a false sense of hope.

Share your thoughts situation.

Maybe we can write a song for Mr. Bigelow the same way Scott't Tots did.