Colleges in Dire Financial Straits

[Antiphon1]

Condolences, larry.  It's here, too. Something's got to give.

I've been offered an academic coaching position (yes, it's head of tutoring) at an R1 that I will most likely take.  More money, less paper work, more autonomy, four assistants, reports directly to the AD - all in all a win.  The youngest anti graduates from HS this year, so it's good time to make the jump.  Oh, yeah, and it's in a town I really like.  While I'm sad about possibly leaving this place, I know it's inevitable.  You can't stay anywhere forever.  Maybe this is a "if you can't beat em join em" moment. 

[Wahoo Redux]

We haven't always seen eye-to-eye, Larry, but I am truly sorry.

In some ways, your uni sounds just like ours at this point in time.

Best of luck.

[Hegemony]

That is appalling, Larry. I wish someone up top had some sense.

[Mobius]

With several schools moving to FBS football (highest level), some of these are going to be in rough shape. They will lose the financial arms race since additional revenue they'll take in won't match the money they will need to spend on facilities and salaries. One coach who got fired criticized the half-hearted approach by not spending money on new uniforms this year and not allowing recruiting trips (even though it was a state that let up on Covid restrictions fairly early on).

[Wahoo Redux]

Maybe sports really are a necessity in contemporary higher ed. 

Our admin is defending the uptick in athletics spending with the pay-to-play theory of students, even though every undergrad from our very poor community pays around $1,200 every year to keep athletics afloat, even though we are hemorrhaging programs and shedding people, even though every one of our teams have very weighty "loss" columns, even through admin's theory simply doesn't make sense when we see the numbers (which were just made public).   

Maybe sports is simply a part of the higher ed landscape and are as important as other aspects of higher ed.

[dismalist]

Maybe sports really are a necessity in contemporary higher ed. 

Our admin is defending the uptick in athletics spending with the pay-to-play theory of students, even though every undergrad from our very poor community pays around $1,200 every year to keep athletics afloat, even though we are hemorrhaging programs and shedding people, even though every one of our teams have very weighty "loss" columns, even through admin's theory simply doesn't make sense when we see the numbers (which were just made public).   

Maybe sports is simply a part of the higher ed landscape and are as important as other aspects of higher ed.

Alas, this is astounding!

every undergrad from our very poor community pays around $1,200 every year to keep athletics afloat

Get the logic of the system: We tax the poor $1200 per year so they can get an education. The tax proceeds are partially rebated to the poor in the form of bread and circuses.

Maybe sports is simply a part of the higher ed landscape and are as important as other aspects of higher ed.

Again, the logic of the system: Sports is a way to finance higher education! Makes sense if sports and education are a joint product or at least complements for some, such that one can't or doesn't want to become educated without imbibing in sports!

No, they are not joint products and they are not complements for all people. It's just that fun and games reduce the pain of getting educated for some or many, so it's privately worth paying for.

It's the sporty types who discovered how to rip off the education system. And we're being encouraged to pay more for it through taxes because tuition and enrollments aren't holding up.

Gimme a break.

[Wahoo Redux]

I was just asking because, no matter what, sports persevere.  I am of the opinion that it is time to divorce sports from all but Division I schools that can prove they are self-sustaining (and maybe even then too), but that is simply something that does not happen.

Maybe there is something we are missing.

[dismalist]

I was just asking because, no matter what, sports persevere.  I am of the opinion that it is time to divorce sports from all but Division I schools that can prove they are self-sustaining (and maybe even then too), but that is simply something that does not happen.

Maybe there is something we are missing.

No subsidies for tertiary education!

Then, those who want the sports can pay for it out of their own dime, in cash or as a loan. Division I or Division XX. It would sort itself out.

[Harlow2]

So sorry, LarryC.  This is frightening account.

[Wahoo Redux]

I was just asking because, no matter what, sports persevere.  I am of the opinion that it is time to divorce sports from all but Division I schools that can prove they are self-sustaining (and maybe even then too), but that is simply something that does not happen.

Maybe there is something we are missing.

No subsidies for tertiary education!

Then, those who want the sports can pay for it out of their own dime, in cash or as a loan. Division I or Division XX. It would sort itself out.

I'm with you.

But that never happens.

In some ways, our opinions as academics are much less valuable than your average sports fan. 

Does anyone know if students understand that they are paying college athletes to play? 

[Mobius]

I was just asking because, no matter what, sports persevere.  I am of the opinion that it is time to divorce sports from all but Division I schools that can prove they are self-sustaining (and maybe even then too), but that is simply something that does not happen.

Maybe there is something we are missing.

No subsidies for tertiary education!

Then, those who want the sports can pay for it out of their own dime, in cash or as a loan. Division I or Division XX. It would sort itself out.

The problem is sports cost money and hardly any programs bring in money. The D-II and D-III schools at least aren't spending ungodly amounts on football and men's basketball.

[dismalist]

I was just asking because, no matter what, sports persevere.  I am of the opinion that it is time to divorce sports from all but Division I schools that can prove they are self-sustaining (and maybe even then too), but that is simply something that does not happen.

Maybe there is something we are missing.

No subsidies for tertiary education!

Then, those who want the sports can pay for it out of their own dime, in cash or as a loan. Division I or Division XX. It would sort itself out.

The problem is sports cost money and hardly any programs bring in money. The D-II and D-III schools at least aren't spending ungodly amounts on football and men's basketball.

How much is ungodly? I'm not really worried about spending, but about financing. If from tickets, e.g., fine. If as part of the U budget, subsidized by state governments and paid for from student fees, which can be borrowed, no.

[ciao_yall]

The problem is sports cost money and hardly any programs bring in money. The D-II and D-III schools at least aren't spending ungodly amounts on football and men's basketball.

They bring in students. And students bring in money. And students who enjoy sports might stick around long enough to graduate, thus helping success stats.

[dismalist]

The problem is sports cost money and hardly any programs bring in money. The D-II and D-III schools at least aren't spending ungodly amounts on football and men's basketball.

They bring in students. And students bring in money. And students who enjoy sports might stick around long enough to graduate, thus helping success stats.

Graduating? In sports?

This is the, probably correct, attitude of a U president. It makes a mockery of the tertiary educational system.

Let them watch television. It's not subsidized.

[Wahoo Redux]

The problem is sports cost money and hardly any programs bring in money. The D-II and D-III schools at least aren't spending ungodly amounts on football and men's basketball.

They bring in students. And students bring in money. And students who enjoy sports might stick around long enough to graduate, thus helping success stats.

Except this is really not what happens at a place like Larry's school or mine.