July 1 - Moving Day 2024

[Finchwidget]

Gallaudet finds conference to call home - D3football

Good for them. Was starting to think they were gonna be the odd one out in the musical chairs game that the dissolution of their conference became over the past few years

[laker]

Good for them. Was starting to think they were gonna be the odd one out in the musical chairs game that the dissolution of their conference became over the past few years

The college where the huddle was invented should have a home. Good news for them and college football.

I officiated a football game with the Minnesota School of the Deaf. Overturned a TD because their fullback had jumped the snap. When the team turned to me to see why I had thrown the flag, he pointed at himself and shook his head affirmatively. He knew, I appreciated that. They were fun to watch.

[EastStroud13]

Of course the Mountain East is very desperate too to replace lost members. It knows what is coming. Point Park doesn't have football though.

If they are smart, basketball will be the lifeblood that keeps the MEC in business as it is a solid basketball conference.

[Finchwidget]

Conference Carolinas is launching women's flag football as a sponsored sport in 2025, the same time that they'll be launching men's football. Inaugural members will be Chowan, Emmanuel, Ferrum, King, Lees-McRae, and Mount Olive. Women's flag football currently isn't sponsored by the NCAA, and they'll be only the second NCAA conference to sponsor it, but that could change in the coming years; the NAIA adopted it as a sponsored sport a few years ago, and other conferences like the CIAA have recently expressed interest in sponsoring it as well.

https://conferencecarolinas.com/news...r-2025-26.aspx

[crixus]

Happy 4th of July everybody!

[tuffeagle]

On your second point - people have been beating the apocalyptic drums for the better part of a decade and the predictions always fall flat. Some people who follow closures more closely than I do believe it's largely followed historical rates, though others disagree. One thing that can't be argued is the last 6 months have been some of the worst on record.

When you have institutions of 100+ years old closing, that tells me it is worse now than ever. Sure you have those startup colleges that might be around for a few decades closing every year, but college enrollment numbers are not expected to grow and if anything decline. That does not bode well for struggling institutions with limited endowment funds.

[Northeast01]

When you have institutions of 100+ years old closing, that tells me it is worse now than ever. Sure you have those startup colleges that might be around for a few decades closing every year, but college enrollment numbers are not expected to grow and if anything decline. That does not bode well for struggling institutions with limited endowment funds.

I guess two things can be true at the same time:

1. Times are as bad as they've ever been for very small colleges without institutional backing.
2. Despite that, times still aren't as apocalyptically bad as some predicted they'd be.

[crixus]

When you have institutions of 100+ years old closing, that tells me it is worse now than ever. Sure you have those startup colleges that might be around for a few decades closing every year, but college enrollment numbers are not expected to grow and if anything decline. That does not bode well for struggling institutions with limited endowment funds.

Having been a long time fan of the former Alderson Broaddus University Battlers, I agree with you. :(

[Bballfan]

[/B]

Having been a long time fan of the former Alderson Broaddus University Battlers, I agree with you. :(

I have friends and family that went there. It was a university that was around for 150+ years. That is a long time. So it survived through 2 world wars, Vietnam, and a pandemic. Yet in the end it was no longer sustainable, and closed about a month before the fall semester was to start.

This article provides a good summation of the challenges that every university is facing today. Those that are in poor health financially will be the ones to go.

https://www.collegetransitions.com/b...lment-decline/

[zimmy21]

The college where the huddle was invented should have a home. Good news for them and college football.

I officiated a football game with the Minnesota School of the Deaf. Overturned a TD because their fullback had jumped the snap. When the team turned to me to see why I had thrown the flag, he pointed at himself and shook his head affirmatively. He knew, I appreciated that. They were fun to watch.

Oof, in 2007 they decided they wanted to try their hand at the MSHSL Playoffs and were granted the 1 seed in the section after beating other deaf schools from across the country.....The opening handoff play against us in the 2nd round of the playoffs went for a touchdown after our running back got pulled down on top of their d-line, he stood up and kept running for the score. The Trojans defenders were looking around confused. I still feel bad about that. It wasn't fair to them, they had some athletes but it's just not the same.

The Star Tribune did a write up about the game in the paper the next week and did not paint us in a good light, like we were supposed to let them win or something....Freshman were in at halftime and I think we wound up winning by 30+. Rough, but respect to them for playing and enjoying the game. It was an interesting experience, that is for sure.

[the Northeasterner]

A lot of these institutions that are closing are under1,500 students focus on liberal arts degrees Liberal arts degrees are not something students want to go into the workforce with because a lot of employers doubt the value of them. ( Deservedly so). This demographic drop has been talked about since 2016 and 17 among universities. The Smart ones started creating degrees that were more orientated toward career training. Southern Arkansas University has done a decent job of keeping their enrollment numbers steady what everybody else in Arkansas declined. A lot of junior colleges are being flexible with their degrees trying to Vo-Tech train students to add some extra college hours and get an associate's degree. Missouri has really gone out with their junior colleges creating associates degrees that used to be Vo-Tech only certificates. But you're going to have to work and compete for students. But until they get cost down it's not going to be the same it was 20 years ago. Student debt is a real fear among first generation students

[SW_Mustang]

When you have institutions of 100+ years old closing, that tells me it is worse now than ever. Sure you have those startup colleges that might be around for a few decades closing every year, but college enrollment numbers are not expected to grow and if anything decline. That does not bode well for struggling institutions with limited endowment funds.

IMO, age is largely irrelevant. The AAU has members that aren't 100 years old yet and if any of those institutions closed it would send shockwaves through the higher education world. Brandeis comes to mind as one that's only around 80 years old, and much of the UC system isn't that old either (for example).

The bulk of the schools that are shutting down right now are small, private LACs, many of whom are religiously affiliated. For better or worse, the market share those schools had has moved on. LACs outside of the top 50 are going to struggle - there just isn't high demand for that type of education right now, regardless of enrollment cliffs and declining birth rates.

The real "doomsday" scenario is when we start seeing these closure rates with public universities (IMO) - and that hasn't happened yet.

[SW_Mustang]

A lot of these institutions that are closing are under1,500 students focus on liberal arts degrees Liberal arts degrees are not something students want to go into the workforce with because a lot of employers doubt the value of them. ( Deservedly so). This demographic drop has been talked about since 2016 and 17 among universities. The Smart ones started creating degrees that were more orientated toward career training. Southern Arkansas University has done a decent job of keeping their enrollment numbers steady what everybody else in Arkansas declined. A lot of junior colleges are being flexible with their degrees trying to Vo-Tech train students to add some extra college hours and get an associate's degree. Missouri has really gone out with their junior colleges creating associates degrees that used to be Vo-Tech only certificates. But you're going to have to work and compete for students. But until they get cost down it's not going to be the same it was 20 years ago. Student debt is a real fear among first generation students

Yup. The winners in this new landscape will be the ones that can provide a proven value and/or can pivot in relation to the headwinds.

It's a totally different world where I live. Of the seven public universities, three are in an arms race with each other, one was opened as a result of that arms race, and one is a 4 year tech school that has one of the best starting wage statistics for graduates in the country (famously topping Harvard at one point). We also have 2-3 of the top 2 year schools in the US. There's no closure concerns here.

[Bballfan]

Small private schools are a big part of D2 and D3 athletics.

I disagree that a school that has survived for 100+ closing is irrelevant. The fact they can no longer adapt, changing demographics, and with donations drying up, it is going to have an impact. In Ohio even big state schools are making cuts. Even MAC conference schools are cutting sports. With revenue sharing, I think more will transition from varsity to club sports to keep the football and basketball going.

[SW_Mustang]

Small private schools are a big part of D2 and D3 athletics.

I disagree that a school that has survived for 100+ closing is irrelevant. The fact they can no longer adapt, changing demographics, and with donations drying up, it is going to have an impact. In Ohio even big state schools are making cuts. Even MAC conference schools are cutting sports. With revenue sharing, I think more will transition from varsity to club sports to keep the football and basketball going.

I see what you mean, but it's also possibly the case these schools have been limping along for 2 decades at this point. I mean, I've never heard of 85% of them.

UArts was the one that shocked me the most. That's a huge blow.