A number of smaller universities are exploring special general student fees to support athletics programs, particularly player compensation. Some have already announced these additional charges for the upcoming academic year.
Requiring students who don't follow the MBB team to pay a mandatory fee to support the players' de facto salaries is jaw dropping to me. For students of modest means, it's saying you should borrow an additional $100, or spend a few more weekends eating creative takes on instant ramen, to pay these guys lots of money in addition to their full-ride scholarships.
In lieu of mandatory student fees, charge students the going rate for game tickets. At least let the marketplace of student support determine the student contribution to players' pay. At a school that is savagely cutting majors based on that marketplace, it's the fair and appropriate policy approach.
Requiring students who don't follow the MBB team to pay a mandatory fee to support the players' de facto salaries is jaw dropping to me. For students of modest means, it's saying you should borrow an additional $100, or spend a few more weekends eating creative takes on instant ramen, to pay these guys lots of money in addition to their full-ride scholarships.
In lieu of mandatory student fees, charge students the going rate for game tickets. At least let the marketplace of student support determine the student contribution to players' pay. At a school that is savagely cutting majors based on that marketplace, it's the fair and appropriate policy approach.
The "marketplace of student support" is free tickets. You want to drive support for the sports teams up. Making students pay, even if it is 15 dollars, only hurts the support from the student body. While I don't agree with the charge on the bursar for the athletics. Adding a tax rate to the concessions I would wholeheartedly support. It's no differebt than buying popcorn from a boy scout. Cookies from a girl scout. Or any other food based fund raiser. You have peace of mind knowing that your money is going where you want it, and not lining the pockets of a billionaire like in pro sports.
Consequently, no matter what revenue individual mid-majors attain on their own, they are constantly falling even further behind. The 280 or so mid-major basketball schools need to unite as an alliance for greater leverage to negotiate better terms of rules, regulations, and funding with the major conferences.
If they want to compete long term, the mid majors will have to form an alliance of some sort and that may include purposefully choosing to break away from the P4/5 schools. Come up with their own championship, etc. I'm sure there's enough sports appetite to support it and some network is always looking for product.
How about framing it as if athletics don't survive at Valpo, due to the ongoing craziness, their Valpo degrees will carry even less weight, as no one will have heard of the school, outside of the direct region it sits? Now that I have 20 years of work experience, I no longer have to worry about the school on my resume, but the current and future students need to rely on their university name recognition in a lot of scenarios. I would have gladly paid an extra $100 per semester or year, to guarantee that we continue to garner any sort of national name recognition.
How about framing it as if athletics don't survive at Valpo, due to the ongoing craziness, their Valpo degrees will carry even less weight, as no one will have heard of the school, outside of the direct region it sits? Now that I have 20 years of work experience, I no longer have to worry about the school on my resume, but the current and future students need to rely on their university name recognition in a lot of scenarios. I would have gladly paid an extra $100 per semester or year, to guarantee that we continue to garner any sort of national name recognition.
I've been on the East Coast since 1982 (NYC for 12 years, Boston since then). Even with the Sweet Sixteen boost and the continued airing of The Shot every March Madness, VU is not well-known. In fact, it's unusual to encounter anyone who is truly familiar with VU, unless they have some connection with it.
I think folks are overestimating the visibility value of a mid major MBB team that isn't a perennial threat to pull off an upset or two in the tournament.
You have the opposite experience that I've had. I run into a lot of folks in Texas that know our school, solely because of basketball. As a matter of fact, they still think that we are good at the sport, so I have to unfortunately tell them that it has now been almost 9 years since our last NCAA bid.
Consequently, no matter what revenue individual mid-majors attain on their own, they are constantly falling even further behind. The 280 or so mid-major basketball schools need to unite as an alliance for greater leverage to negotiate better terms of rules, regulations, and funding with the major conferences.
If they want to compete long term, the mid majors will have to form an alliance of some sort and that may include purposefully choosing to break away from the P4/5 schools. Come up with their own championship, etc. I'm sure there's enough sports appetite to support it and some network is always looking for product.
100%.
I've been on the East Coast since 1982 (NYC for 12 years, Boston since then). Even with the Sweet Sixteen boost and the continued airing of The Shot every March Madness, VU is not well-known. In fact, it's unusual to encounter anyone who is truly familiar with VU, unless they have some connection with it. I think folks are overestimating the visibility value of a mid major MBB team that isn't a perennial threat to pull off an upset or two in the tournament.
You have the opposite experience that I've had. I run into a lot of folks in Texas that know our school, solely because of basketball. As a matter of fact, they still think that we are good at the sport, so I have to unfortunately tell them that it has now been almost 9 years since our last NCAA bid.
No doubt it depends on both region and generation. The Baby Boomers I think were pretty aware of VU as a basketball school but they are now past the age of having kids go to college and also retiring out of hiring roles where their familiarity with VU could help a recent alumn; the GenXer's were sort of aware (and mostly Midwest, not so much East or West Coast), but are also aging out of college connectivity at least on the parent-of-applicant aspect; the Millennials are too young to remember the 1990s sweet sixteen run or anything like that so do not have so much sense of any Valpo name recognition, but they are increasingly the hiring managers and parents of today's applicants.
Re: NCAA runs affecting attendance. I forget the numbers but both Gonzaga and Florida Gulf Coast had major enrollment jumps in just the year they first made their mark in the NCAA tournament. It is, frankly, likely amongst the best if not the best form of advertisement. Virtually everyone I know who has at least heard of Valparaiso, is aware of the school because of The Shot alone.
@jd24 This question of 'why Valpo was known' seems prone to self-selecting dynamics though, and I don't see any reason to reduce it to 'the Shot.'
Though I have become more of a sports fan, I actually didn't know at all about The Shot (before my cognitive awareness; I was under 10 when that happened and our current undergrads were not even close to being alive!) and didn't even know about it as an employee until I'd been a couple years at Valpo and somebody mentioned it, so I looked it up. I first heard of Valpo via other institutions and networks as a strong undergrad pedagogy school and as a strong place for the humanities where it had a pretty stellar reputation for a while (little brother/sister of U. Chicago sort of ethos... a complicated and sometimes kind of controversial reputational association, but a 'thing' in broader higher ed networks nonetheless!).
I think Valpo used to have a national reputation actually on a couple of axes -- sure, Bball/ 'the Shot' as I've learned (!), but also the Honors College/pedagogy thing, also in music, also in in the ND/VU Catholic-Lutheran dialogues, also in Engineering. My sense is that VU's success in the 1980s and 1990s really was a kind of multi-legged stool where a variety of different publics knew of and respected the place for sometimes entirely different reasons. It is unfortunate that the school has let these various historic strengths slide, and that NIL is making the BBall legacy so tough to recover...
I have followed Valpo for 63 years. At this specific point in its history within that 63 year window, the answer to the question: “What is Valpo best known for?” is pretty simple, IMO. It has consistently demonstrated the lack of ability to anticipate the future, leverage and optimize its core ethos, and, sadly, squander publicity-heavy and brand-expanding gift horses thrown at its feet (i.e., Sweet Sixteen, NIT). Its one saving grace is that it has been able to grow its endowment sufficiently (unlike so many schools its size) that it creates a buffer that enables it to continue to at least exist in these hard times.
As has been stated early on when Padilla made his announcement, the next president has got to be a home run. It’s for all the marbles. If we blow it we go home.
I have followed Valpo for 63 years. At this specific point in its history within that 63 year window, the answer to the question: “What is Valpo best known for?” is pretty simple, IMO. It has consistently demonstrated the lack of ability to anticipate the future, leverage and optimize its core ethos, and, sadly, squander publicity-heavy and brand-expanding gift horses thrown at its feet (i.e., Sweet Sixteen, NIT). Its one saving grace is that it has been able to grow its endowment sufficiently (unlike so many schools its size) that it creates a buffer that enables it to continue to at least exist in these hard times.
As has been stated early on when Padilla made his announcement, the next president has got to be a home run. It’s for all the marbles. If we blow it we go home.
Its not just the older crowd to. You have people asking on reddit of all places if VU is a good school. The main blurb for the inquiry is mostly variations of, "I like the program and it looks to be really good, but I have just heard so many bad things on the news and am at a loss." VU has to get the marketing in check and try to curb some of the muddied waters that the hacks at the tribune have spun.
