Athletics and Growth

[VULB#62]

Not that we can remotely match what Clemson is doing with respect to growth and development as a result of their successful marquee sports program, football, but there is a lesson to be taken from the overall tenor of the article:  athletics promote the brand, donations and applications.  End result:  better ca$$h flow.  Our marquee program, MBB, should be leveraged much the same way so that Valpo's mission, 30 Year Plan, as well as  short-term goals can be better facilitated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-clemson-football-success-brings-windfall-that-most-schools-only-dream-of/2016/09/21/2bdb12fa-791c-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

[bbtds]

Not that we can remotely match what Clemson is doing with respect to growth and development as a result of their successful marquee sports program, football, but there is a lesson to be taken from the overall tenor of the article:  athletics promote the brand, donations and applications.  End result:  better ca$$h flow.  Our marquee program, MBB, should be leveraged much the same way so that Valpo's mission, 30 Year Plan, as well as  short-term goals can be better facilitated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-clemson-football-success-brings-windfall-that-most-schools-only-dream-of/2016/09/21/2bdb12fa-791c-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

"Athletics have allowed Clemson to create a better identity," Athletic Director Dan Radakovich said. "The success that Dabo's had with our football program has allowed us to create some really positive momentum. . . . It's created opportunities to really showcase our institution."

I think on a lesser scale the Valpo MBB program is doing much the same for Valparaiso University. I don't think MBB has to define the university but I do believe that by the board of directors not acknowledging the strong pull among people of college age that sports has on these young people the decision makers at Valpo, the board, are turning a blind eye to areas that the board could use to facilitate the goals that the board does have--i.e. increase enrollment, pay for building new buildings, expose the academic side of Valpo to the public, etc.

[valpo64]

Agree, bbtbs.  Even our past experience with our NCAA run of a number of years ago proved that.  One would think the Board and Administration would learn from that.

[bbtds]

Agree, bbtbs.  Even our past experience with our NCAA run of a number of years ago proved that.  One would think the Board and Administration would learn from that.

I think that there is a fear among the Valpo decision makers that spending on athletics can be very wasteful (also due to Title IX commitments) which the story points out is happening at Clemson (as the Clemson athletics dept raises more funds through athletic success the Clemson athletics dept has spent those funds at a similar rate) and lead to the wrong emphasis being promoted at Valpo. What the board of directors still fail to see is how that athletic success can be translated into meeting the goals that the board has set for the university. Many of the decision makers can not fathom how athletics can better Valpo as an institution when larger institutions are hurting themselves by their schools getting involved in scandals that are exploding in the news over situations in their athletic depts (example: Baylor). They really fear athletics will get way over emphasized and Valpo will be known as just another athletics oriented university when the board really wants the academics emphasized.

[vu72]

Not that we can remotely match what Clemson is doing with respect to growth and development as a result of their successful marquee sports program, football, but there is a lesson to be taken from the overall tenor of the article:  athletics promote the brand, donations and applications.  End result:  better ca$$h flow.  Our marquee program, MBB, should be leveraged much the same way so that Valpo's mission, 30 Year Plan, as well as  short-term goals can be better facilitated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-clemson-football-success-brings-windfall-that-most-schools-only-dream-of/2016/09/21/2bdb12fa-791c-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

I was a witness to student interest in successful athletic programs (or so it seemed) just the other night.  I was representing Valpo at a College Fair here in Dallas.  Being a "V", I was placed right next to Villanova.  As we all know, Villanova won the National Championship in basketball.

Villanova is twice the size of Valpo but compares in many ways in that they have colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Nursing and Engineering as well as a law school, which is exactly what Valpo offers.  They are considered a Regional University as is Valpo.  they have been ranked #1 in the North in this category while Valpo is ranked #4 in the Midwest.  Both are located well north of Dallas with Villanova being outside of Philadelphia and Valpo being outside of Chicago.

Other than the fact that we were at a Catholic prep school and Villanova is Catholic, the comparison between the number of visits to our tables wasn't even close.  I had five kids stop by while Villanova reps saw a constant and continuous flow of students visiting them, sometimes two or three deep.  Was it in part due to the national exposure resulting from the NCAA run?  Perhaps...

[VULB#62]

I think that there is a fear among the Valpo decision makers that spending on athletics can be very wasteful (also due to Title IX commitments) which the story points out is happening at Clemson (as the Clemson athletics dept raises more funds through athletic success the Clemson athletics dept has spent those funds at a similar rate) and lead to the wrong emphasis being promoted at Valpo. What the board of directors still fail to see is how that athletic success can be translated into meeting the goals that the board has set for the university. Many of the decision makers can not fathom how athletics can better Valpo as an institution when larger institutions are hurting themselves by their schools getting involved in scandals that are exploding in the news over situations in their athletic depts (example: Baylor). They really fear athletics will get way over emphasized and Valpo will be known as just another athletics oriented university when the board really wants the academics emphasized.

It doesn't have to be if handled within perspective.  The idea is to do more to get the word out to the world about Valpo and it's academics and culture.  Giving further strength the MBB program could do that without turning athletics into a factory atmosphere.  Stupid Analogy Time:  You can't win the lottery is you don't buy a ticket, right? I think most of us are saying that we need to give it at least a trial shot -- i.e., kicking up the investment in the athletic program with particular emphasis on MBB and ride it out to see what benefits, if any, accrue.  After a reasonable period of time, revisit and either stop, stay the same or increase to the effort.

Not that we can remotely match what Clemson is doing with respect to growth and development as a result of their successful marquee sports program, football, but there is a lesson to be taken from the overall tenor of the article:  athletics promote the brand, donations and applications.  End result:  better ca$$h flow.  Our marquee program, MBB, should be leveraged much the same way so that Valpo's mission, 30 Year Plan, as well as  short-term goals can be better facilitated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-clemson-football-success-brings-windfall-that-most-schools-only-dream-of/2016/09/21/2bdb12fa-791c-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

I was a witness to student interest in successful athletic programs (or so it seemed) just the other night.  I was representing Valpo at a College Fair here in Dallas.  Being a "V", I was placed right next to Villanova.  As we all know, Villanova won the National Championship in basketball.
Villanova is twice the size of Valpo but compares in many ways in that they have colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Nursing and Engineering as well as a law school, which is exactly what Valpo offers.  They are considered a Regional University as is Valpo.  they have been ranked #1 in the North in this category while Valpo is ranked #4 in the Midwest.  Both are located well north of Dallas with Villanova being outside of Philadelphia and Valpo being outside of Chicago.
Other than the fact that we were at a Catholic prep school and Villanova is Catholic, the comparison between the number of visits to our tables wasn't even close.  I had five kids stop by while Villanova reps saw a constant and continuous flow of students visiting them, sometimes two or three deep.  Was it in part due to the national exposure resulting from the NCAA run?  Perhaps...

72 - Perfect example of the value of exposure.  And I'd suggest that it wasn't JUST the national championship, it was the cumulative impact of exposure over time that was produced by an athletic department that was proactively promoted -- but within the context of Villanova's values.  I might add that we always measure ourselves (in certain aspects) versus Butler.  In my mind, isn't the level of brand recognition and overall national awareness they enjoy as a result of their promotion of the athletic program where we'd like to be.  And they are not a basketball factory fraught with scandal and overburdened by insane debt by any means.

[78crusader]

I just don't see any evidence of a causal link between athletic success and enrollment or endowment growth.  Yes, there may be some anecdotal references such as more kids showing up at the Villanova table at a college fair, but  unless someone can cite to a study showing a link, I just do not believe one exists. Maybe a short term spike, but nothing long-term.

Butler is a case in point. They went to the national championship game in basketball two years in a row, but here we are five years later and they are still behind Valparaiso in endowment. And I haven't seen any articles in the Indianapolis Star referencing, for example, a huge growth in enrollment for Butler.

Paul

[bbtds]

I just don't see any evidence of a causal link between athletic success and enrollment or endowment growth.  Yes, there may be some anecdotal references such as more kids showing up at the Villanova table at a college fair, but  unless someone can cite to a study showing a link, I just do not believe one exists. Maybe a short term spike, but nothing long-term.

Butler is a case in point. They went to the national championship game in basketball two years in a row, but here we are five years later and they are still behind Valparaiso in endowment. And I haven't seen any articles in the Indianapolis Star referencing, for example, a huge growth in enrollment for Butler.

Paul

So you think Butler stays the same if they don't change conferences and move to the Big East, a conference with a lucrative TV contract?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/tiny-butlers-ncaa-tournament-success-provided-a-bounce-beyond-basketball/2013/03/20/8f749926-8ca3-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html

The above story is from March 2013.

Many students say they were attracted by Butler's small and quiet campus, tucked away in a historic, upscale neighborhood in north Indianapolis. Classes typically have fewer than 20 students, and most professors prioritize teaching over research. Star basketball players study, sleep and eat in the same places as non-athletes. On a recent tour, the student guide pitched Butler as being "a small campus with a big-campus feel."

Recently, the boom in interest has caused a capacity squeeze; the number of undergraduates has grown about 8 percent in five years. The residence halls, university-run apartments and Greek houses are packed, with students sometimes living three to a room or in converted lounges. Parking is scarce. The university has struggled to staff all of its introductory courses without increasing class sizes.

Danko's (Butler's president) vision for Butler: Hire a vice president for marketing to pinpoint the "Butler brand" and then promote it. Launch an aggressive fundraising campaign to expand the endowment five fold, to $750 million, in the next 12 years. Continue to offer the "luxury" of a traditional, four-year residential education, but also expand graduate program offerings, certificate programs and online education. And expand the "undergraduate market" to more than 5,000 in the coming years.

"We've got an unprecedented opportunity to move beyond what was once a local university, then regional, to more national prominence," Danko said. "And we need to move aggressively on that."

Butler's March Madness fame immediately provided results. Applications to Butler increased from 6,760 before its first Final Four victory to 9,522 afterward. Last year it was 9,683, and this year was in the same range, Weede said.

"The fact that we've been consistently in the brackets, now for 15 years, has really served us well," said Gonzaga President Thayne M. McCulloh. "The real power of this is that it gives us a chance to say, 'Hey, as long as your eye is on us, let's throw you a little factoid.' "

Butler current enrollment: 4,848
Butler 2010 enrollment: 3,982

[usc4valpo]

At USC, the admission rate have lowered to 19.8 percent, and student qualifications have increased. Ironincally, the admission standards improved steadilty while Pete Carroll was coaching the football team.

The board needs to give the basketball program more love, as basketball has provided significant exposure to the university.

[crusadermoe]

That post by bbts about Butler is amazing.