Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

UC Riverside looking at eliminating sports ... why not go D2?

Collapse

Support The Site!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • UC Riverside looking at eliminating sports ... why not go D2?

    So UC-Riverside is thinking about cutting all sports, which would make them the only UC university without sports. It's mentioned briefly in the article below, go D2 or D3, but quickly dismissed with ignorant athlete quotes that their lives will be ruined without D-1 athletics.

    Riverside has been D-1 since 2001 (didn't know that) and are the most heavily subsidized school in America for athletics (taking in the most student fees and other fees from the college) ... for what? They are on absolutely no sports radar regionally or nationally. They stink. Oh sure, they can point out an MLB player on the Dodgers right now. So what? WOU has had two NFL players in the last 20 years, CWU has had two of the best CFL players in the entire league; APU has had NFL guys.

    It's like when Cal Baptist went D-1. Why? Going D2 for Riverside would mean zero overnight trips in most sports. Their travel budget would be cut in half, probably more.

    As the prof (former A.D.) said in the story, the "front porch" mantra is just a saying and it's not correct in regards to collegiate athletics as all money brought in is quickly spent on facilities and salaries. WSU is more than $100 MILLION in debt with no relief in sight. They have to do something. Oregon State is $60M in debt -- both OSU and WSU debts were BEFORE the pandemic. Cal is $20-$40M in debt. It's not sustainable.

    I'm not saying everyone go D2, Pac-12 schools obviously not. But UC-Riverside, Cal Baptist, and Sacramento State, Portland State, Idaho State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Chicago State, most of the WAC ... why are you chasing this expensive D-1 endeavor? For one shining CBS moment where you get beat by 40 in the NCAA tourney? Stop the madness.

    Link:

    https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...eason-covid-19

  • #2
    Originally posted by tsull View Post
    So UC-Riverside is thinking about cutting all sports, which would make them the only UC university without sports. It's mentioned briefly in the article below, go D2 or D3, but quickly dismissed with ignorant athlete quotes that their lives will be ruined without D-1 athletics.

    Riverside has been D-1 since 2001 (didn't know that) and are the most heavily subsidized school in America for athletics (taking in the most student fees and other fees from the college) ... for what? They are on absolutely no sports radar regionally or nationally. They stink. Oh sure, they can point out an MLB player on the Dodgers right now. So what? WOU has had two NFL players in the last 20 years, CWU has had two of the best CFL players in the entire league; APU has had NFL guys.

    It's like when Cal Baptist went D-1. Why? Going D2 for Riverside would mean zero overnight trips in most sports. Their travel budget would be cut in half, probably more.

    As the prof (former A.D.) said in the story, the "front porch" mantra is just a saying and it's not correct in regards to collegiate athletics as all money brought in is quickly spent on facilities and salaries. WSU is more than $100 MILLION in debt with no relief in sight. They have to do something. Oregon State is $60M in debt -- both OSU and WSU debts were BEFORE the pandemic. Cal is $20-$40M in debt. It's not sustainable.

    I'm not saying everyone go D2, Pac-12 schools obviously not. But UC-Riverside, Cal Baptist, and Sacramento State, Portland State, Idaho State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Chicago State, most of the WAC ... why are you chasing this expensive D-1 endeavor? For one shining CBS moment where you get beat by 40 in the NCAA tourney? Stop the madness.

    Link:

    https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...eason-covid-19
    I live in SoCal, and Cal State San Bernardino (home of the Coyotes) is on the other side of Interstate 10 from UC Riverside (just 16 miles away) and they've been D2 for as long as I can remember. UC Riverside going to D2 makes sense. And it sure beats shutting down Highlanders athletics all together. These two schools would make perfect D2 rivals due to their close locations in the Inland Empire.

    Last edited by crixus; 10-21-2020, 06:46 PM.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by crixus View Post

      I live in SoCal, and Cal State San Bernardino (home of the Coyotes) is on the other side of Interstate 10 from UC Riverside (just 16 miles away) and they've been D2 for as long as I can remember. UC Riverside going to D2 makes sense. And it sure beats shutting down Highlanders athletics all together. These two schools would make perfect D2 rivals due to their close locations in the Inland Empire.

      I would guess outside of the athletes, there's not 10 students on campus who care if UC Riverside is D-1 or D-2. I lived in SoCal for 3 summers recently, it's all USC, UCLA, Dodgers, and Lakers. Even then, sports attitudes are sort of lax, people aren't that into it. Another dude at the place I was working was totally into the Lakers, we started talking NBA and a bunch of co-workers looked at us like we were crazy.

      Those 6-figure Riverside administrators would be stunned at how much travel would be reduced by a D2 move, how much other costs (6-figure coaches in every sport) would be reduced, and that their attendance would either bump up or not reduce

      Why? They averaged 580 (!!!) fans per game last year. Half the GNAC averaged more fans (UAA good job in averaging 1,200+ last year).

      http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_bask...021/Attend.pdf



      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by tsull View Post

        I would guess outside of the athletes, there's not 10 students on campus who care if UC Riverside is D-1 or D-2. I lived in SoCal for 3 summers recently, it's all USC, UCLA, Dodgers, and Lakers. Even then, sports attitudes are sort of lax, people aren't that into it. Another dude at the place I was working was totally into the Lakers, we started talking NBA and a bunch of co-workers looked at us like we were crazy.

        Those 6-figure Riverside administrators would be stunned at how much travel would be reduced by a D2 move, how much other costs (6-figure coaches in every sport) would be reduced, and that their attendance would either bump up or not reduce

        Why? They averaged 580 (!!!) fans per game last year. Half the GNAC averaged more fans (UAA good job in averaging 1,200+ last year).

        http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_bask...021/Attend.pdf


        Most people who live in California didn't grow up here and that's why there's the lax attitude. I see more sports gear for other colleges around the country than I do for the local schools. People move and keep their loyalties and that's normal. It's just that in most states people don't move around much. But we have lots of military bases and the entertainment industry attracts people from all over the country and the World as well. It goes all the way back to the California gold rush of 1849, and they've never stopped coming out here. And then there's the classic song California Dreamin' which mentions the good weather which attracts even more people.
        Last edited by crixus; 10-22-2020, 01:21 PM.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by crixus View Post

          Most people who live in California didn't grow up here and that's why there's the lax attitude. I see more sports gear for other colleges around the country than I do for the local schools. People move and keep their loyalties and that's normal. It's just that in most states people don't move around much. But we have lots of military bases and the entertainment industry attracts people from all over the country and the World as well. It goes all the way back to the California gold rush of 1849, and they've never stopped coming out here. And then there's the classic song California Dreamin' which mentions the good weather which attracts even more people.
          Great post crixus. I had the typical Northwest attitude and thought I would hate Southern California when I went down there. I flat out loved it. Then again I was working on the Loyola Marymount campus with free rent and a beautiful neighborhood two miles from the beach, so it's not like I was stuck in traffic everyday. I like the weather and I thought the people were fantastic.

          Back to sports and UC Riverside, a pretty good off-season topic ... they should try to become a Northwest Missouri or Grand Valley State in D2 and get great D2 athletes down there and try to win some national titles. I respect that a lot more than trying to hang on in D1 and getting 500 fans a game in your main sport, and not being on the national radar in anything except deficit spending.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by tsull View Post

            Great post crixus. I had the typical Northwest attitude and thought I would hate Southern California when I went down there. I flat out loved it. Then again I was working on the Loyola Marymount campus with free rent and a beautiful neighborhood two miles from the beach, so it's not like I was stuck in traffic everyday. I like the weather and I thought the people were fantastic.

            Back to sports and UC Riverside, a pretty good off-season topic ... they should try to become a Northwest Missouri or Grand Valley State in D2 and get great D2 athletes down there and try to win some national titles. I respect that a lot more than trying to hang on in D1 and getting 500 fans a game in your main sport, and not being on the national radar in anything except deficit spending.
            You should send an email to the Director of Athletics at UC Riverside with your D2 idea. It can't hurt, and it just might help. Oh, and mention a rivalry with Cal State San Bernardino since they're only 16 miles apart.

            https://gohighlanders.com/staff-directory

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by crixus View Post

              You should send an email to the Director of Athletics at UC Riverside with your D2 idea. It can't hurt, and it just might help. Oh, and mention a rivalry with Cal State San Bernardino since they're only 16 miles apart.

              https://gohighlanders.com/staff-directory
              I think I will send an email someone. I think I might link this thread as I liked your thoughts a lot, too. The a.d. robably wouldn't look at it but sometimes if you go down the roster a little bit the associate or assistant athletic director might respond. I'm guessing they've talked about division 2. Too many college administrators think if they're not division 1 they have to eliminate sports as nothing matters but that level ... which is insane.
              Last edited by tsull; 10-22-2020, 08:17 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                UCR just spent money on a new set of logos, it would be a shame to waste the money and the logos.

                Nothing wrong with dropping from D1, it's been done a few times already. Savannah State just did so and Centenary went to D3 while Oklahoma City dropped all the way to NAIA.

                They can replace UC San Diego as the only UC in the CCAA.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Tech Boys View Post
                  UCR just spent money on a new set of logos, it would be a shame to waste the money and the logos.

                  Nothing wrong with dropping from D1, it's been done a few times already. Savannah State just did so and Centenary went to D3 while Oklahoma City dropped all the way to NAIA.

                  They can replace UC San Diego as the only UC in the CCAA.
                  Good call, I just logged on to mention the CCAA. https://goccaa.org/

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    If you are averaging 580 fans per game in your main sport because you don't have football, should probably rethink the division you are in. About half the schools in the country that are playing D1 shouldn't be doing so, and are in heavy debt trying to just stay afloat with tricky accounting.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Google says the population of Riverside California is 330,000.

                      Google also says that Riverside California is 55 miles from Los Angeles.

                      So let me get this straight: You have a city of 330, 000 a fairly long drive from Los Angeles, and a major university there and you are drawing 580 fans for division 1 basketball. Your athletic department is either horrific at marketing or few people care about Riverside's venture into D1 Sports. I'll go with the latter.

                      Just guessing, but I would think if they started winning big in D2 they would draw more than 580 fans for men's basketball games.

                      Comment

                      Ad3

                      Collapse
                      Working...
                      X