Transfers

[CALUPA69]

Re: Transfers

As it turns out, somehow, he put a good class together last year. A really good one.

Which sadly is now being coached by two graduate assistants otherwise known as volunteers. Except that his roster is pretty full, I would guess that group of FRIENDS OF DANNY SANCOMB, from last spring's fiasco, could steer some of those players on up I-70.

[boatcapt]

Re: Transfers

I take no joy in seeing this. I mean that sincerely. However, reality is reality. If players, on what is probably a good scholarship, are leaving the school, I have to wonder if students who have to pay close to full-admission are doing.

I think that is part of the problem...not a lot of the current students are paying full tuition! Significant tuition discounts had been offered for a few years in an attempt to pump up the enrolment numbers. While it did drive enrolment up on paper, it has had a disastrous effect on the financial stability of the school. It is counterintuitive but from a budget/financial solvency standpoint it is better to cut these loss leaders.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Transfers

Which sadly is now being coached by two graduate assistants otherwise known as volunteers. Except that his roster is pretty full, I would guess that group of FRIENDS OF DANNY SANCOMB, from last spring's fiasco, could steer some of those players on up I-70.

Their two best post players are already gone/signed. This latest departure ... we'll see where he ends up.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Transfers

Their two best post players are already gone/signed. This latest departure ... we'll see where he ends up.

Actually just saw several tweets that Kamgain is opening his recruitment and is looking to go D1.

Lordy Lordy

[Columbuseer]

Re: Transfers

I think that is part of the problem...not a lot of the current students are paying full tuition! Significant tuition discounts had been offered for a few years in an attempt to pump up the enrolment numbers. While it did drive enrolment up on paper, it has had a disastrous effect on the financial stability of the school. It is counterintuitive but from a budget/financial solvency standpoint it is better to cut these loss leaders.

Fundamentally, it seems that the "market" (students and parents) did not have the willingness to pay full tuition, but they needed to get enrollment numbers up to keep critical mass and reduce the per student share of the operating expenses. Seems like a Catch-22.

It seems like the current President is willing to take the drastic measures to reduce their cost of doing business by downsizing the staff and majors. Fortunately, they are purportedly only playing $2500/month for the land and buildings, so all they have to do to allocate enough money for repairs. Many risks remain:
1) Will these cutbacks improve the value proposition for attending the school or damage it?
2) How quickly does the enrollment have to increase and what is the breakeven point?
3) Will donors reduce academic giving if sports are cut back (drop football and drop to D3 for example)? Would donors shift athletic donations to academic donations?

The current President will probably get blamed, but the root cause is that the can kept getting kicked down the road by former Presidents.
Kind of like out national debt that no one talks about, which exceeds 100% of our Gross Domestic Product and is out of control. When this hits the fan, the incumbent President at the time will be vilified.

[boatcapt]

Re: Transfers

The opportunity for success is VERY narrow for WU but it is there. Looks to me like they are trying to reset to a much smaller university (500 to 700 undergrad student range?). Stream line instructor staff eliminating many of the higher cost tenured positions...stream line majors and programs eliminating low enrolment programs in favor of higher ones. I would imagine that they will try and develop a nitch specialty that they hope will bring in students who can't get "that" specialized education elsewhere. I'd also expect that they will focus efforts on their graduate programs as these seem to do well even at schools that are having problems (like WU). Once they stabilize as a much smaller stream lined and focused university, they can then grow back to the 1200-1500 student range.

Not saying they will be able to successfully negotiate that narrow path to success, but that at least looks like what they might be trying to do.

[CALUPA69]

Re: Transfers

The opportunity for success is VERY narrow for WU but it is there. Looks to me like they are trying to reset to a much smaller university (500 to 700 undergrad student range?). Stream line instructor staff eliminating many of the higher cost tenured positions...stream line majors and programs eliminating low enrolment programs in favor of higher ones. I would imagine that they will try and develop a nitch specialty that they hope will bring in students who can't get "that" specialized education elsewhere. I'd also expect that they will focus efforts on their graduate programs as these seem to do well even at schools that are having problems (like WU). Once they stabilize as a much smaller stream lined and focused university, they can then grow back to the 1200-1500 student range.

Not saying they will be able to successfully negotiate that narrow path to success, but that at least looks like what they might be trying to do.

500-700 students sounds like D3 to me. Which would actually be a good idea considering the number of really nice leagues in the tri-state area.

[boatcapt]

Re: Transfers

500-700 students sounds like D3 to me. Which would actually be a good idea considering the number of really nice leagues in the tri-state area.

I love how the default "advice" people give when every a school has any sort of financial problem starts with "they should go D3!" I remember the exact same advice when Urbana was having problems, and when AB was having problems, and when D&E was doing what ever it is that they do, and Malone, and Cheyney, and Clarion all the way back to Mansfield!!

[Fightingscot82]

Re: Transfers

500-700 students sounds like D3 to me. Which would actually be a good idea considering the number of really nice leagues in the tri-state area.

Size doesn't determine division - its scholarship revenue. WJU could give every kid $1 in athletic scholarship aid and they'd be DII not DIII. There are DIII schools with over 20,000 students.

[Fightingscot82]

Re: Transfers

I love how the default "advice" people give when every a school has any sort of financial problem starts with "they should go D3!" I remember the exact same advice when Urbana was having problems, and when AB was having problems, and when D&E was doing what ever it is that they do, and Malone, and Cheyney, and Clarion all the way back to Mansfield!!

For the publics, the only savings would probably be lower coaching salaries but not really much. The private schools - like Urbana, D&E, AB, and WJU - fund their athletic scholarship from discounting. So shifting to sports without discounting would solve campus-wide financial woes but not athletic ones.

[CALUPA69]

Re: Transfers

I love how the default "advice" people give when every a school has any sort of financial problem starts with "they should go D3!" I remember the exact same advice when Urbana was having problems, and when AB was having problems, and when D&E was doing what ever it is that they do, and Malone, and Cheyney, and Clarion all the way back to Mansfield!!

Actually, I wasn't even thinking about the money as much as the size and academic mission of the school. Assuming they are able to survive, the PAC with schools like BETHANY, GROVE CITY, THIEL, W&J, and WAYNESBURG seems like a good fit with similar athletic and academic missions. Or they can struggle to compete with state funded or heavily endowed private schools that simply have more $$$ to throw away and likely will for the foreseeable future.

[boatcapt]

Re: Transfers

For the publics, the only savings would probably be lower coaching salaries but not really much. The private schools - like Urbana, D&E, AB, and WJU - fund their athletic scholarship from discounting. So shifting to sports without discounting would solve campus-wide financial woes but not athletic ones.

Privates, just like publics, can also "adjust" the number of schollys they offer. Privates in financial difficulty could reduce schollys to JUST the number they have endowed by outside sources and if none were endowed, they could reduce them to zero...effectively becoming a D3 playing in a DII conference.

I think in WU's case (or any other struggling DII), you have to ask what is their long term goal? If they want to stay forever at the 500-700 student level, then D3 is probably the right move. If their long term goal is to rebound to the student level they are currently at, then staying DII but temporarily cutting schollys makes more sense.

[Columbuseer]

https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2015...ollege-sports/

[boatcapt]

Re: Transfers

Actually, I wasn't even thinking about the money as much as the size and academic mission of the school. Assuming they are able to survive, the PAC with schools like BETHANY, GROVE CITY, THIEL, W&J, and WAYNESBURG seems like a good fit with similar athletic and academic missions. Or they can struggle to compete with state funded or heavily endowed private schools that simply have more $$$ to throw away and likely will for the foreseeable future.

You could make that argument about any number of current successful (and some less successful) current DII privates in SR1. Are you advocating that DII be restricted to public schools and privates only if they are over a certain size or if their "academic mission" is in alignment with publics??

[Fightingscot82]

Re: Transfers

The schools at risk of closing all look like WJU: ~1,000 students, private, small endowment (tuition dependent), and a high discount rate. Its like a small time car dealership trying to survive with the low-price volume dealers (West Liberty and WVU) by offering bigger sales. The margin is so slim that a down year will mean cuts if you don't have the reserves (WJU doesn't). String a few years together and its catastrophic.