Alaska teams?

[laker]

Re: Alaska teams?

status.

So many questions. So few answers. You hit the nail square on the head. It is a mess.

[hoosierdaddy34]

Re: Alaska teams?

https://www.adn.com/sports/uaa-athle...to-become-one/

[hoosierdaddy34]

Re: Alaska teams?

And just like that, the University of Alaska announces that ALL athletic programs will compete for the 2019-20 season at both UAF and UAA.

[hoosierdaddy34]

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Re: Alaska teams?

Yeah... backpedaling and claiming it was all just a conversation starter. I think he just made people even more angry claiming it was a starting point. That and it's not really his job to appropriate money to the university, it's the legislative body's job. He just bypassed them and made his dreams of getting any deal from them on the PFD even harder now too. What a moron. Mass chaos and a summer of doom? We should definitely recall the governor.

Ultimately my hunch is that the UA system will not move to one accreditation. The GNAC will likely not accept one UA program. It's a lot of travel to get here for just one game for other teams. Dropping hockey would probably shore up both school's athletics cuts, but UAF would have to seek a waiver for their number of sports teams being less than required for NCAA, or add a team. Hockey is pretty darn beloved in Fairbanks, even though it's been eons since the hockey team won that often. We would still have the semi-pro "Ice Dogs" team in town though, so it's not as if hockey would completely be gone from the community. With all the other problems hockey has right now with the league not wanting them, the venue for games falling apart... The overall support for athletics on both campuses and everyone's preference for their own campus accreditation will likely foil Johnson's idea to consolidate that piece of UA. Gosh, I would not want his job right now!

[Rob_AK]

Re: Alaska teams?

Yeah... backpedaling and claiming it was all just a conversation starter. I think he just made people even more angry claiming it was a starting point. That and it's not really his job to appropriate money to the university, it's the legislative body's job. He just bypassed them and made his dreams of getting any deal from them on the PFD even harder now too. What a moron. Mass chaos and a summer of doom? We should definitely recall the governor.

Ultimately my hunch is that the UA system will not move to one accreditation. The GNAC will likely not accept one UA program. It's a lot of travel to get here for just one game for other teams. Dropping hockey would probably shore up both school's athletics cuts, but UAF would have to seek a waiver for their number of sports teams being less than required for NCAA, or add a team. Hockey is pretty darn beloved in Fairbanks, even though it's been eons since the hockey team won that often. We would still have the semi-pro "Ice Dogs" team in town though, so it's not as if hockey would completely be gone from the community. With all the other problems hockey has right now with the league not wanting them, the venue for games falling apart... The overall support for athletics on both campuses and everyone's preference for their own campus accreditation will likely foil Johnson's idea to consolidate that piece of UA. Gosh, I would not want his job right now!

I have been watching this discussion. Don't get your hopes up for recalling Dunleavy. I am not a fan but think his 31% approval rating comes not only from people that don't like cuts to their favorite programs, but also from people who wanted him to really stick it to state government and are disappointed he didn't do more. As for the University of Alaska, they spend more on management than on instruction salaries. People see that they have more than 100 people in management making over $175,000 a year in salary and benefits. There is some fat that can be cut and I think it will be through consolidation and, hopefully, through the use of technology such as online courses between campuses. We have talked about the waste of dollars on an athletic facility in Anchorage that did not have to seat 5500 people - half that would have been about right. And UAF's $250 million coal-fired power plant. I could have built an equivalent gas-fired plant for $50 million and used the other $200 million to get cheaper gas to Fairbanks for all to use (great for almost everyone but Usibelli would have lost a small market for its coal). Fiscal responsibility and University of Alaska are terms that have never been used in the same sentence. But they can be, and I don't think athletics must be destroyed to do it. The two hockey teams probably cost more than the rest of the athletic teams combined. If the community cannot support those teams, then they will probably have to go. They have a year or two to find the support. However, the rest of the sports can be salvaged at least for the short term. To get there will require that UAA and UAF get rid of the petty BS rivalries. Maybe in their mutual hate of Dunleavy they will be able to do so. Personally, I feel that the UA system should be based n Fairbanks, as that city would dry up without UAF as a major employer.

Anyway, looking forwards to enjoying basketball again this fall. The "deal" that has been worked out lets the UA system adjust to the reality of lower state contributions in the future without destroying it. I can only assume that Dunleavy wasn't ever really serious about sticking UA with the $135 million cut in one year as that was wholly unachievable practically speaking. Seemed more of a bargaining chip for the dividend. Not sure it worked out as Dunleavy had hoped, as he looked rather weak in the final resolution.

Just a note on what the Alaska Governor's job is. We have the most powerful executive branch of all the states in the nation. The line item veto was intended to force limited government. While the legislature passes a budget, it is the Governor's job to keep the budget within the means. He can't add but he can subtract. I was President of a non-profit at one point in my life and had the Governor line item veto an appropriation for a project of ours. A rather bitter disappointment after months of lobbying, we thought had been successful.