WT's Athletic Director Taking Position at Stephen F. Austin

[AngeloFan]

Couple of other nuggets that are hurting WT:

1. Texas Tech is developing a robust RN program that is in direct competition to WT.
2. Wendler went to a 4-day school week, which turned it into a suitcase college almost overnight. Really bad move there.

There are other, external factors that are not on Wendler, but to give up 15 percent in enrollment on your watch is sobering. The one thing I can say about the guy is that he can fundraise. The Capital Campaign is nearing $200 million the last I checked. I have no idea how anyone can verify that, nor how it is calculated, but it sounds good on paper.

What really needs to happen is the raising of a $100 million athletic endowment that would continue to fund topflight teams and take some pressure off of the university budget. That would generate $5 million a year in permanent revenue. I think that could be raised over a 5-year period if all hands were on deck.

Since Texas does not allow state schools to finance athletics with tax or tuition money how would an athletic endowment take pressure off of the university. My understanding is that the school can charge the students an athletics fee and that is the only university funds money that can go to athletics and all other funding has to come from private funds.

I guess a school can direct or not direct undesignated endowments to athletics.

[MooseLodge]

Since Texas does not allow state schools to finance athletics with tax or tuition money how would an athletic endowment take pressure off of the university. My understanding is that the school can charge the students an athletics fee and that is the only university funds money that can go to athletics and all other funding has to come from private funds.

I guess a school can direct or not direct undesignated endowments to athletics.

Any private monies - whether an endowment or otherwise - supplement the subsidy received by student fees. One of the reasons that WT dominates most sports in the LSC is because they have far more scholarships available than most D2 programs. Not only is the school fully funding their D2 athletic scholarship limit, but there are a number of private, endowed scholarships for the various teams that don't count against the athletic scholarship limit. Some of these are as little as $500 a year, some full cost to attend. I don't know specifics for the various teams, but for example in the D2 world, if you have 15 kids on the volleyball team on scholarships, you are going to have the athletes to win most of your games. Easy math.

[AngeloFan]

Any private monies - whether an endowment or otherwise - supplement the subsidy received by student fees. One of the reasons that WT dominates most sports in the LSC is because they have far more scholarships available than most D2 programs. Not only is the school fully funding their D2 athletic scholarship limit, but there are a number of private, endowed scholarships for the various teams that don't count against the athletic scholarship limit. Some of these are as little as $500 a year, some full cost to attend. I don't know specifics for the various teams, but for example in the D2 world, if you have 15 kids on the volleyball team on scholarships, you are going to have the athletes to win most of your games. Easy math.

Unless things have changed, the school does not give out any athletic scholarships. Those scholarships are funded by private funds and targeted student fees.

Any scholarships targeted for a specific sport count against the NCAA allotment for that sport. The private scholarships, not targeted for athletics, have to be available to the general student population on a competitive basis.

The same hold true for any university and state funded scholarships and discounts.. They have to be available to everyone on an equal/competitive basis. One LSC school got in trouble for giving athletes extra credit for scholarship consideration. ACU got in trouble for giving athletes housing discounts.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

Unless things have changed, the school does not give out any athletic scholarships. Those scholarships are funded by private funds and targeted student fees.

Any scholarships targeted for a specific sport count against the NCAA allotment for that sport. The private scholarships, not targeted for athletics, have to be available to the general student population on a competitive basis.

The same hold true for any university and state funded scholarships and discounts.. They have to be available to everyone on an equal/competitive basis. One LSC school got in trouble for giving athletes extra credit for scholarship consideration. ACU got in trouble for giving athletes housing discounts.

Aren't all bets off now with the NIL?

I doubt it happens very much in D2 but would it be possible to take care of the 36 scholarships but have Caleb Williams over here on an "athletic scholarship" with 2 million in NIL?

[MooseLodge]

Unless things have changed, the school does not give out any athletic scholarships. Those scholarships are funded by private funds and targeted student fees.

Any scholarships targeted for a specific sport count against the NCAA allotment for that sport. The private scholarships, not targeted for athletics, have to be available to the general student population on a competitive basis.

The same hold true for any university and state funded scholarships and discounts.. They have to be available to everyone on an equal/competitive basis. One LSC school got in trouble for giving athletes extra credit for scholarship consideration. ACU got in trouble for giving athletes housing discounts.

Athletic scholarships are indeed funded by student fees and private dollars. Your second point is a matter of semantics. If I am rich and want to, I can personally fund the John Doe Memorial Scholarship, with preference given to those that play on the checkers team. It happens all of the time. Usually, a third-party non-profit administrator or foundation, at arms-length from the school, administers these. There are hundreds of these at WT in a variety of areas - from violin to volleyball, from show pigs to pigskins.

[MooseLodge]

Aren't all bets off now with the NIL?

I doubt it happens very much in D2 but would it be possible to take care of the 36 scholarships but have Caleb Williams over here on an "athletic scholarship" with 2 million in NIL?

Already happening at WT with a number of athletes, albeit on a very modest scale. "NIL" has effectively eliminated scholarship limits or prohibitions, from D1 through D3.

[huntnfish]

Why isn't WT more successful in Football. I keep hearing about these great facilities, NIL money, etc. etc. Why have they not had any sustained success since Don Carthel?

[MooseLodge]

Why isn't WT more successful in Football. I keep hearing about these great facilities, NIL money, etc. etc. Why have they not had any sustained success since Don Carthel?

Everyone seems to like to blame the now former A.D. for his coaching picks. I dispute that. But I will admit that the coaches have been pretty mediocre since Carthel, and then before Carthel. There are a lot of moving pieces with football, and it's a much tougher turn around than a sport with only 5 or 6 participants on the court. If funding doesn't get slashed by the CFO (a very real possibility), then football will eventually find itself, if by nothing else, dumb luck.

As for facilities, yes, WT would be mostly unmatched in the D2 world, top to bottom.

[Rockofwesties]

Why isn't WT more successful in Football. I keep hearing about these great facilities, NIL money, etc. etc. Why have they not had any sustained success since Don Carthel?

This comment reminds me of a time when I went hunting n fishing with ASUpops.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

Everyone seems to like to blame the now former A.D. for his coaching picks. I dispute that. But I will admit that the coaches have been pretty mediocre since Carthel, and then before Carthel. There are a lot of moving pieces with football, and it's a much tougher turn around than a sport with only 5 or 6 participants on the court. If funding doesn't get slashed by the CFO (a very real possibility), then football will eventually find itself, if by nothing else, dumb luck.

As for facilities, yes, WT would be mostly unmatched in the D2 world, top to bottom.

I didn't mind the Hughes hire at the time but they passed up a more highly qualified candidate in Tremaine Jackson because WT wouldn't give him a multi year contract.

Now Jackson is doing great things at Valdosta State and Hughes was in over his head and out the door losing to teams outside the country that no longer sponsor football.

I hope the same thing here isn't setting up where WT hires Lynn when they could have had Kris McCullough who won a LSC championship his first year at UTPB.

[MooseLodge]

I didn't mind the Hughes hire at the time but they passed up a more highly qualified candidate in Tremaine Jackson because WT wouldn't give him a multi year contract.

Now Jackson is doing great things at Valdosta State and Hughes was in over his head and out the door losing to teams outside the country that no longer sponsor football.

I hope the same thing here isn't setting up where WT hires Lynn when they could have had Kris McCullough who won a LSC championship his first year at UTPB.

WT coaches are at-will. There are no contracts. Been that way for decades. That's actually very common in D2 and below.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

WT coaches are at-will. There are no contracts. Been that way for decades. That's actually very common in D2 and below.

At some point old lines of thinking needs to change.

UTPB signed McCollugh to a multi year extension.

UTPB signs new contract with Coach Kris McCullough after historic season - Permian Proud

Not saying Lynn is bad at all but at some point WT will fall to the dregs of the coaching positions.

When you start treating the football position as hiring "from wish" then you will continue to get mediocre results.

[MooseLodge]

At some point old lines of thinking needs to change.

UTPB signed McCollugh to a multi year extension.

UTPB signs new contract with Coach Kris McCullough after historic season - Permian Proud

Not saying Lynn is bad at all but at some point WT will fall to the dregs of the coaching positions.

When you start treating the football position as hiring "from wish" then you will continue to get mediocre results.

Actually, at-will is the new line of thinking. Overall, it's worked well. A contract in D2 is all one-sided. It protects the coach if they suck yet offers zero protection to the school if they are good. They just get hired away anyway.

In big time ball, there are buyouts. Not in D2.

[Rockofwesties]

Actually, at-will is the new line of thinking. Overall, it's worked well. A contract in D2 is all one-sided. It protects the coach if they suck yet offers zero protection to the school if they are good. They just get hired away anyway.

In big time ball, there are buyouts. Not in D2.

Our previous AD was very good at hiring football head coaches that other schools didn’t want hire away from WT.

[MooseLodge]

Our previous AD was very good at hiring football head coaches that other schools didn’t want hire away from WT.

The only football coach in the modern era that was hired away from WT was Bill Yung, who left WT for UTEP. Everyone else was canned or quit.