egregiousbob

So based on this alleged "shell game," you want to give every Ohio taxpayer free tickets to UA games. Got it. That'll solve the fiscal crisis.

I don't think there's anyone who is more wrong more often. Taxpayers do not pay for athletics or athletic facilities on university property in Ohio.

Taxpayers don't pay for athletics in Ohio. The funds come from student fees, ticket revenue, sponsorships and donations. They do not pay for on-campus sporting facilities either. The scoreboard has zero taxpayer money behind it.

Not even remotely true. First of all, financial strength and enrollment are two separate issues. Unfortunately, Akron is in crisis in both areas. The Board of regents recently issued a report on the financial position of Ohio's state universities. The strongest financially were OSU, Miami, Ohio University, BGSU, and Wright State, as I recall. Cincinnati has a ton of debt but is not in crisis in any respect. Strongest enrollment trends are at OSU, Cincinnati, OU, and BGSU. OU has had record freshman classes in each of the past three years and is projecting additional growth this fall. Worst enrollment trends are Akron, Toledo and Central State.

Kraft MAC and Cheese Conference

Dr. Miller was hired to accomplish 2 main objectives: 1. Stabilize the university's finances. Fact: They recently had to dip into emergency funds AGAIN to the tune of $30MM and are on track for another $50MM shortfall next year. This "rainy day" fund is drying up. 2. Reverse enrollment declines. After much hullabaloo about attracting a whopping 11 more students than the year before in fall 2023 (even though undergrad enrollment declined by nearly 200), the board was disappointed and embarrassed to hear that enrollment is projected to decline again in the fall 2024. And not by a small number. The board had to do something, even if only for optics. When enrollment numbers are released in September there will be a hue and cry from faculty, alumni, etc. The university is caught in a severe financial emergency.

It's an urban university. Part of the role of an urban university is to help people of all ages discover whether college is right for them. This automatically reduces retention. It would be interesting to see the trendline over the past 10-12 years, however.

You're incredibly naive if you believe MAC commissioner, ADs and presidents aren't already talking about this as a revenue possibility as well.

I'm guessing enrollment projections for fall show another decline.

Has anyone ever seen a study on whether the incidence of injury is higher in a game between a P5 and G5 team than any other regular season contest? I suspect there's not a lot of difference.

APR is about to become meaningless for P5 conferences/teams. Hopefully not for schools/programs that still value the concept of student/athlete. having said that, being last in this area is not something we should be proud of. Need to take a hard look at why this is the case - is it a natural outcome of a program overhaul or is Akron trying too hard to "win now" at the risk of a shitty graduation rate?

I've spoken to a couple of MAC head coaches and these games are recruiting tools for MAC level athletes. It's a thrill for a player to compete in the Horseshoe, at Tennessee, Penn State, etc. And every once in awhile, the underdog pulls one out. I'm sure Appalachian State fans aren't sorry they played Michigan at the Big House. Or Ohio fans for the game at Penn State several years back.

You do realize the university had to borrow $30MM from its ever shrinking reserves this past year and that at least that amount must be cut from the budget going into fall 2024. I'm guessing those facts led Miller to retire 3 years early.

That was a fast search process. They authorized the search and then named the new president 45 seconds later.

Guessing he didn't want to oversee the coming budget cuts.

Likely not a good development.

15-20%?

I don't think that's true based on $30MM budget shortfall UA is facing. Miller said faculty layoffs not an option this time, so expect major cuts to colleges and athletics. Likely a very big cut to athletics.

Shocking that the university's debt is higher than its endowment. Had no idea the endowment was less than $300MM. This is not a good situation. Very surprised, also, that Miller allowed the university to operate at a $30MM deficit this fiscal year. I thought he was making more progress than that.

Heard something very interesting from a well-placed source. Next year's team should be named the Wentz Financial Group Zips - Mr. Wentz wrote the necessary checks for each and every newcomer.

Mr. Wentz's skills at hypebole might qualify him as a certain presidential candidate's running mate.

There are two sides to NIL funds. Coaches not only have to find new players but retain existing players. If a team has a solid returning core (not implying Kent falls into this category), they might not be able to throw around much money to add new pieces. The whole thing sucks, basically.

I assume you haven't seen the plans for their new arena. WMU received a $100M gift to athletics ($1B overall) that is putting them on another level. They'll still be stuck with the "directional Michigan" label, but nonetheless.

Yeah, okay, I hate to keep calling BS on Wentz, but he doesn't even have a website operational and he claims we're on pace or ahead of other G5s? I would not be surprised if we're behind even a few other MAC schools - though not many. WMU, Toledo and OU come to mind.

This is an EXTREME exaggeration. Take another look at JMU's facilities, for example. Their volleyball facility is better than the JAR, much less the bball arena.