NEC member drops all sports

[MDZip]

St Francis University drops all intercollegiate sports. Eventually it might only be the money making schools that continue. Sports as we know are mostly big money losers. Looks like at least one college decided the costs outweigh the benefits. 

[Section210Zip]

15 hours ago, MDZip said:

St Francis University drops all intercollegiate sports. Eventually it might only be the money making schools that continue. Sports as we know are mostly big money losers. Looks like at least one college decided the costs outweigh the benefits. 

That is SFC. The Terriers from Brooklyn not SFU Red Flash from PA that we played last year and Western plays this year. 

[GP1]

I was listening to Full Ride the other morning. Neuheisel and his co-host were lamenting this story and acting surprised it happened. Nobody who follows college athletics should be shocked this happened to this school. Nobody should be surprised when it happens to other schools like St. F. Living in the world of reality is important so I'm not even certain what happened to them is a bad thing. Maybe D1 sports aren't for them in 2023. Maybe there are opportunities at D3...I don't know and I don't care. I never heard of this school before this happened.

 

As private schools go, unless a school has access to a lot of money, such as Notre Dame/Gonzaga/Villanova/Vandy/Baylor/Northwestern/Georgetown through TV money or Ivy League endowments, these schools are going to have to make some really hard decisions about what the core mission of the school is.

 

I do know schools with access to taxpayer dollars will be fine even though the athletic departments of these schools typically lose money. If taxpayers wake up to this, there could be a problem. If public schools show taxpayers what they are doing is a benefit to the athletes, students, alumni, fans and general communities around those schools, they should be fine. One way to do that for MAC schools is to allow the taxpayers REASONABLE access to the athletic departments they are supporting by giving access to the games in the form of a voucher for four seats to two games of their choice in the general admission section. 

 

If I am paying taxes in my state, I should have access to and be allowed to drive on any state road I want to drive on as long as I obey the law, and I can. If I am paying taxes in my state, I should have access to the public universities and be able to at least walk the grounds, and I can. If I am paying taxes in my state for college athletics, I should have reasonable access to those games by attending an event or two annually.  

 

I used to believe giving away tickets devalues MAC events. I was largely wrong. There is some devaluation, but it is minimal. I don't think giving away tickets to MAC events could devalue the product any more than what the MAC Conference does to devalue it's own product by doing things such as playing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The Pittsburgh Penguins used to have college ID nights when the team was struggling playing in the old arena. If a student showed up before a game with a college ID and there were upper balcony seats available they either got a free ticket or a really cheap ticket for around $5.00 (I also saw the Guardians are selling monthly passes for $50 and I think it's a great idea). Did it devalue the Pens?....Short term, maybe.  What I do know is it created a generation of passionate fans that did not exist before. I also know the valuation of the franchise is the highest it has ever been.

[GP1]

Colleges Closing

 

For lack of anywhere else to put this....

 

In the near future, we aren't just going to see fewer D1 sports programs, we are going to see fewer colleges. Public universities will benefit from this trend as college eligible students will go to college somewhere. 

 

I doubt this trend will make MAC sports any better as we are not in the D3 talent market. The Zips gave up on this market when Arth departed.