It’s a serious matter, no less then The (re-branding of) Naming of Cats. (Thank you, Old Possum.) But we’d have to have The Fighting Irish Boys; The Nittany Cubs; and of course the (Alabama) War Chicks.
That’s what it’s all about sports! The education thing is a sideline. The state college wants to change conferences and needs $10 Million smackers leaving fee and is cutting non profitable sports like swimming. They’ve already upped the tuitions.
OK, so the biz plan is in place. We do classes online, rent out the extra buildings to corporations, turn the outer parking lots into extra practice fields, knock out a few walls in the dorms so each athlete has a full perks expansive apartment and voila! A National Championship!
If anything, HS graduates have become more ignorant since 1994. In the early 2000s over 50% of HS grads entering college have to take remedial class in math and English
When the faculty at the local state university (and my 2-time alma mater) was unionizing a few years ago, they had an outside party analyze the school’s finances; turns out the athletic department gave the school a net loss of $11M per year. The adminsitration had been touting getting into bowl games as a great revenue source; it actually cost the school $1.1M every time they made it – thus validating the old “joke”:
What’s the definition of “faculty salary”? What’s left over after the coaches get paid.
I saw a map of the US with the highest-paid state employee of each; one state – alas, I disremember which – it was the head of the state university system’s medical schools. In every other state it was either a football coach or a basketball coach (except Minnesota – where it was a hockey coach).
I, myself, stand with Robert Maynard Hutchins, who – besides being one of the greatest educational theorists of all time – was President of University of Chicago in the 1930s, when U of C was the football powerhouse; he said “Interscholastic athletics is completely incompatible with education” and shut the whole thing down.
True, U of C hasn’t had a championship team in almost 90 years – but they have more Nobel Prizes than any other university in the world.
Univ. of Washington owns eight square blocks of the central business district in downtown Seattle (because of covid, will never be the same again..), charges the owners of the commercial office skyrises rollover 99-year land-leases, and yet quarterly hits its alumni up and incrementally raises student dorm & tuition rates.
BE THIS GUY about 4 years ago
Got to keep that Division I money coming in.
Charliegirl Premium Member about 4 years ago
Aha. And there it is!
eromlig about 4 years ago
It’s a serious matter, no less then The (re-branding of) Naming of Cats. (Thank you, Old Possum.) But we’d have to have The Fighting Irish Boys; The Nittany Cubs; and of course the (Alabama) War Chicks.
Troglodyte about 4 years ago
My, such dedication to the noble cause of educating young minds!
NeedaChuckle Premium Member about 4 years ago
That’s what it’s all about sports! The education thing is a sideline. The state college wants to change conferences and needs $10 Million smackers leaving fee and is cutting non profitable sports like swimming. They’ve already upped the tuitions.
Wizard of Ahz-no relation about 4 years ago
at least the president has the grit to fight the entropy, the other man’s clearly given in
admiree2 about 4 years ago
OK, so the biz plan is in place. We do classes online, rent out the extra buildings to corporations, turn the outer parking lots into extra practice fields, knock out a few walls in the dorms so each athlete has a full perks expansive apartment and voila! A National Championship!
Kabana_Bhoy about 4 years ago
Walden isn’t up to the level of some JC teams.
timbob2313 Premium Member about 4 years ago
If anything, HS graduates have become more ignorant since 1994. In the early 2000s over 50% of HS grads entering college have to take remedial class in math and English
Cozmik Cowboy about 4 years ago
When the faculty at the local state university (and my 2-time alma mater) was unionizing a few years ago, they had an outside party analyze the school’s finances; turns out the athletic department gave the school a net loss of $11M per year. The adminsitration had been touting getting into bowl games as a great revenue source; it actually cost the school $1.1M every time they made it – thus validating the old “joke”:
What’s the definition of “faculty salary”? What’s left over after the coaches get paid.I saw a map of the US with the highest-paid state employee of each; one state – alas, I disremember which – it was the head of the state university system’s medical schools. In every other state it was either a football coach or a basketball coach (except Minnesota – where it was a hockey coach).
I, myself, stand with Robert Maynard Hutchins, who – besides being one of the greatest educational theorists of all time – was President of University of Chicago in the 1930s, when U of C was the football powerhouse; he said “Interscholastic athletics is completely incompatible with education” and shut the whole thing down.
True, U of C hasn’t had a championship team in almost 90 years – but they have more Nobel Prizes than any other university in the world.
cosman about 4 years ago
Univ. of Washington owns eight square blocks of the central business district in downtown Seattle (because of covid, will never be the same again..), charges the owners of the commercial office skyrises rollover 99-year land-leases, and yet quarterly hits its alumni up and incrementally raises student dorm & tuition rates.