Facilities

[valpo tundra]

For those of you who are still not accepting the depth of the grave situation facing higher education these days, there have been and will continue to be very difficult choices to be made. So, while we are complaining about our facilities and the lack of action on a buyout for our basketball coach, an alternative is St. Francis College in Brooklyn who is eliminating all Division 1 sports at the end of this semester. Other schools in the Northeast Conference didn't see it coming. This is how wh has suggested to lead. Those who have the knowledge and ability to do something about it should take decisive action and let the chips fall where they may.

[usc4valpo]

D1 sports are changing drastically where universities are goingt o have to make these kind of decisions based on finances.

[VULB#62]

For those of you who are still not accepting the depth of the grave situation facing higher education these days, there have been and will continue to be very difficult choices to be made. So, while we are complaining about our facilities and the lack of action on a buyout for our basketball coach, an alternative is St. Francis College in Brooklyn who is eliminating all Division 1 sports at the end of this semester. Other schools in the Northeast Conference didn't see it coming. This is how wh has suggested to lead. Those who have the knowledge and ability to do something about it should take decisive action and let the chips fall where they may.

SFU (NY) is (was?) a member of the Northeast Conference along with Fairleigh Dickinson. Totally urban "campus 🙄" with little in the way of typically expected ambiance. Amazed they stuck with athletics at any level for this long.

But the point is relevant. The parents are beginning to devour the children.

[VU75]

Nearer to home, a former football opponent  Trinity International University is closing their classroom and moving all undergraduate classes online.

From Christianity today website   

TIU Announces Plans to Move Undergrad Program Online


"The Deerfield, Illinois, institution—which includes a graduate school and law school in addition to an influential evangelical seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS)—will continue to offer in-person education through its divinity school in Illinois and law school in California.


TIU's media release characterized the discontinuation of its residential undergraduate program as a "transformational strategy" that will "position the University for long-term growth, industry leadership, and continued academic excellence."

Like higher education institutions across the country, TIU–and its seminary–have seen consistent enrollment declines over the last 20 years. As of last fall, the school had 356 full-time undergrad students on campus.

Friday's announcement comes almost a year after TEDS cut nearly $1 million in spending since the number of full-time students at the evangelical seminary dropped 44 percent in 20 years. The cut in spending involved the elimination of at least seven faculty positions. At the time, TIU said that budget reduction was the first part of a three-phase process of "creating efficiencies."

[David81]

I saw the St. Francis announcement, too, and immediately thought of conversations on this board.

FWIW, St. Francis has an endowment of approx. $40 million, well short of VU's. It is a local liberal arts college with an undergraduate enrollment of about 2,600. So we needn't look at St. Francis and fear that schools like VU are next to shutter their athletic programs.

Same with Trinity. Not the same type of school, not as solid a reputation.

That said, it's possible that these are the early signs of a broader trend of schools simply shutting down their athletic programs if they are not sustainable. In the case of St. Francis, they didn't bother dropping down to D2, D3, or NAIA. They just said that's it.

[valpo tundra]

St. Francis was founded the same year as Valpo and their athletics were a charter member of the NCAA with men's basketball starting in 1896. They added men's volleyball and women's soccer only in 2019. The decision to cancel all 19 Division 1 sports was a result of "increased operating expenses, flattening revenue streams, and plateauing enrollment due in part to a shrinking pool of high school students in the aftermath of COVID."

[JD24]

I saw the St. Francis announcement, too, and immediately thought of conversations on this board. FWIW, St. Francis has an endowment of approx. $40 million, well short of VU's. It is a local liberal arts college with an undergraduate enrollment of about 2,600. So we needn't look at St. Francis and fear that schools like VU are next to shutter their athletic programs. Same with Trinity. Not the same type of school, not as solid a reputation. That said, it's possible that these are the early signs of a broader trend of schools simply shutting down their athletic programs if they are not sustainable. In the case of St. Francis, they didn't bother dropping down to D2, D3, or NAIA. They just said that's it.

Part of the reason that they dropped the entire program was facility related. Their situation was far worse than Valpo's. I think they sold the building their gym, which I've played in a few times, was housed and they'd have to further rent facilities for all sports.

[usc4valpo]

Didn't Norm Van Lier play at St. Francis?

[VULB#62]

Didn't Norm Van Lier play at St. Francis?

Wrong SFU. He played for SFU (PA).  And geez aren't there a lot of St. Francis colleges and universities.

[usc4valpo]

thanks 62.

[usc4valpo]

BTW - does Valpo toss tshirts at games, which really get fans go crazy. I would hope so. If not, why?

[crusader05]

Yeah they do that pretty regularly. They also have had some fun giveaways at the door as well.

[JD24]

Saint Francis College (as opposed to St Francis University) has a long history in college basketball but they really haven't had any notable pros and have never made the NCAA tournament.

[historyman]

Didn't Norm Van Lier play at St. Francis?

Wrong SFU. He played for SFU (PA).  And geez aren't there a lot of St. Francis colleges and universities.

St. Francis was very popular after he drove all those snakes out of that airplane.  😉


..... or do I have my saints & snakes mixed up?

[VULB#62]

That was St. Patrick and you know what?  There were never any snakes in Ireland to begin with. Fake news!  Well spun by the church at the time.  Heh, heh.

[historyman]

That was St. Patrick and you know what?  There were never any snakes in Ireland to begin with. Fake news!  Well spun by the church at the time.  Heh, heh.

You did see my  😉?   

[VULB#62]

Of course 😜

[historyman]

Didn't Norm Van Lier play at St. Francis?

Yes, right after he drove the snakes out of Jerry Sloan's locker & the Bulls locker room.

[vok22]

Valpo posted a link to donate to an "ARC Enchancement Project" with a goal of 12,000 dollars.

https://bit.ly/3UnoSTh

It says the following:


GOAL
The ARC is our home and a place that is very important to the success of our program. Our goal is to continue to make improvements both big and small to the arena, to improve the student-athlete experience and to enhance the game day environment for our fans. This is important as we look to create a true home court advantage. This year, your support will go towards new branding and technology in the ARC.

[VALPO LI]

$12,000 for Branding and Technology:
Perhaps a $1,000 will now go towards each member of the pep band

[4throwfan]

Maybe it's to buy out the contracts of those two dogs.

[Chairback]

4throwfan, that might be the best (and funniest post) ever on this board.  Hilarious

[valpo64]

I hope the money raised will not go for dog food !

[AlaskaCrusader19]

Valpo posted a link to donate to an "ARC Enchancement Project" with a goal of 12,000 dollars.

https://bit.ly/3UnoSTh

It says the following:


GOAL
The ARC is our home and a place that is very important to the success of our program. Our goal is to continue to make improvements both big and small to the arena, to improve the student-athlete experience and to enhance the game day environment for our fans. This is important as we look to create a true home court advantage. This year, your support will go towards new branding and technology in the ARC.

This is great and all, but it's going to take a little bit more than $12,000 to get the ARC to respectability.

[vok22]

I don't understand what 12,000 dollars is going to do. Fix half of the speaker system? It is also concerning they need to start a fundraising campaign for 12000 dollars.