Delta State $11 Million in the Hole

[CheapSkate]

Wow! How does this happen at a public school?

See Exhibit A -- State University, Saint Cloud

[Eagle74]

I wish Delta State the very best! However, I can't help thinking about Florida Tech and how I thought that growing program was secure for it's future. Major budget cuts can be scary for athletic programs.

[cwfenn]

Better hope the DSU president doesn’t come
from a D3 school or likes the D3 model…

[CalifOKRA]

Better hope the DSU president doesn’t come
from a D3 school or likes the D3 model…

Prior to being hired by Delta State this past June, he served in various positions at Coastal Carolina since 1999.

[UNALions]

I wish Delta State the very best! However, I can't help thinking about Florida Tech and how I thought that growing program was secure for it's future. Major budget cuts can be scary for athletic programs.

Except that FIT had only sponsored football for 7 seasons, while DSU is going on 100. FL Tech used an excuse (COVID) to get rid of a program ceratin academic administrators never wanted at their tech-focused school which mainly caters to science and engineering students. At DSU, football is a big part of the school's identity.

[Eagle74]

Prior to being hired by Delta State this past June, he served in various positions at Coastal Carolina since 1999.

Well, Coastal Carolina has definitely been supporting football in a big way for the past 15 years or so, and has built a really nice program.

[UWARTime]

Our last admin said they wanted DSU to be the “flagship school of the delta.” Now 1) that’s a low bar and 2) I asked, why would your goal be to be the flagship school in an area that the population is in SERIOUS decline. Recruit elsewhere. I was met with crickets.

I remember one year in my late 40’s I signed up for a 5k. My thoughts going into it was I wanted to be the flagship of my age group and gender. Well I was. Sort of. I came in first place in my gender of male and age group of 45-49. Only problem was is that I was the only one in my age group. After receiving my little trophy I went up to one of the organizers and asked how many did I beat, and the lady said none, you were it. Point is UWA is the flagship Univ of the black belt already and I’d say delta is the flagship U of the delta already, why? Because there are no others, which is actually good on a lot of levels in my opinion. The only bad thing is enrollment because I imagine the delta and black belt have one thing in common: poverty and prob not quality education from grades 8-12.

[CalifOKRA]

I remember one year in my late 40’s I signed up for a 5k. My thoughts going into it was I wanted to be the flagship of my age group and gender. Well I was. Sort of. I came in first place in my gender of male and age group of 45-49. Only problem was is that I was the only one in my age group. After receiving my little trophy I went up to one of the organizers and asked how many did I beat, and the lady said none, you were it. Point is UWA is the flagship Univ of the black belt already and I’d say delta is the flagship U of the delta already, why? Because there are no others, which is actually good on a lot of levels in my opinion. The only bad thing is enrollment because I imagine the delta and black belt have one thing in common: poverty and prob not quality education from grades 8-12.

Delta State does have Mississippi Valley to compete with in the Delta. So, technically, Delta State isn't the only school in the Delta. However, yes, I would say they were already the flagship school of the Delta.

It's definitely a poor goal, if you ask me. The administration should look bigger than the Delta. Especially with the Delta population decreasing. Unfortunately, I think this situation is going to get worse. I really hope I'm wrong.

[WGCBraves92]

Didn't Delta just build a new locker room for the football team?

[CalifOKRA]

Didn't Delta just build a new locker room for the football team?

It looked more like an update. It’s not a new locker room. Same locker room I used in the mid 2000s.

[Shugley]

as the enrollment declines, admission standards get lower, and basically turns into a community college. Probably with mississippi, you already have a lot of 2 years.

Huge number of LARGE community colleges. Many community colleges are larger than our small universities. However DSU has the same admissions standards as the other state public institutions. On paper at least.

[Bearhof]

The small schools are all going to suffer a decline in enrollment from what I have been told. Would not surprise me to see some closures like Alderson B. of the mountain east conference spring up across the country. Community Colleges are going to grow because tuition is cheaper and they train you for a strong job market there in your own community. You don’t have to spend 120,000 and then become a self employed professional. Inflation is really hurting us now and the greed from it is going to make the cost of living even worse. Food prices are going to be the next thing to skyrocket. Our best hope is to elect some people who know how to run a country like a business and stop all these handouts.

[CalifOKRA]

Acknowledging Challenges, Ennis Addresses Delta State’s Future (18 October 2023)
https://www.deltastate.edu/news-and-...hIyY0RDkmIEZZk

[statesmen supporter]

They will do what they have to do! He knows it may be tough but I think he will do what needs to be done and DSU will be ok in the end!! Go Statesmen / Delta State!!

[Braves'86]

The small schools are all going to suffer a decline in enrollment from what I have been told. Would not surprise me to see some closures like Alderson B. of the mountain east conference spring up across the country. Community Colleges are going to grow because tuition is cheaper and they train you for a strong job market there in your own community. You don’t have to spend 120,000 and then become a self employed professional. Inflation is really hurting us now and the greed from it is going to make the cost of living even worse. Food prices are going to be the next thing to skyrocket. Our best hope is to elect some people who know how to run a country like a business and stop all these handouts.

Absolutely terrible idea. One of the main roles of government is to provide for the common good. A business exists solely to make a profit. In fact, if a government is profiting, then they are probably hoarding tax dollars for no good reason.

Companies have the luxury of dumping a line of business because it isn't profitable or choose to streamline their offerings to serve just one sector of the population. Government agencies do not have this option. This is a good thing. Imagine if Apple ran the government. Fire and Police departments would only answer calls to the homes of twenty-something hipsters, we'd have to use iTunes to file our taxes, and all legal disputes would be resolved at the Genius Bar. Try closing a local, little used fire station to save a few bucks. Outraged neighbors of all political stripes would storm the city council in protest.
It would be horrible.