WKU AD faces $1.3M reduction in budget

[Coach Bill Lewis]

Budget Council recommends athletics budget cut of over $1.3 million

link: http://wkuherald.com/news/budget_cuts_2018/budget-council-recommends-athletics-budget-cut-of-over-million/article_73c0886c-18bb-11e8-a2ef-b3534f1b49c3.html

 

[untbowler]

well I guess their tennis team loses the scholarships again

[outoftown]

With how things are going, soon UNT will have the highest budget in C-USA, potentially by a significant margin.

[Wag Tag]

1 hour ago, outoftown said:

With how things are going, soon UNT will have the highest budget in C-USA, potentially by a significant margin.

This and winning could possibly help us move to a stronger conference?

[GrandGreen]

WKU also sponsors two more sports than NT including men's swimming and baseball.  

[Mean Green 93-98]

I would expect to hear of this happening to more schools in the near future.  The wheels have come off the TV gravy train, sports attendance is down, and students and others are saying "enough" to the hikes in tuition and fees.  That's part of the reason why our recent student vote is so huge.

[El Paso Eagle]

19 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

I would expect to hear of this happening to more schools in the near future.  The wheels have come off the TV gravy train, sports attendance is down, and students and others are saying "enough" to the hikes in tuition and fees.  That's part of the reason why our recent student vote is so huge.

With Title 9 compliance issues it will be the men's sports that take the hit. In the future, I believe we will see some smaller schools with very few men's teams outside of Football and Basketball.

[Mean Green 93-98]

22 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

With Title 9 compliance issues it will be the men's sports that take the hit. In the future, I believe we will see some smaller schools with very few men's teams outside of Football and Basketball.

Or maybe schools getting rid of football?  If it stops being the cash cow it has been the last 20 years, Title 9 becomes a lot more manageable without football and its 85 scholarships.

[wardly]

We probably have seen more schools add football than drop it in the last decade or so, but that may change. I think schools will drop down to the minimum sports required by the NCAA. With T.V. money all but gone for everyone except P5 conferences, the rest of us must look to reduce expenses in all sports, especially travel. This should lead to regional conferences in an effort to create rivalries and increase interest and attendance. Football for us will become a gate revenue sport identical to 1AA programs. I would expect another conference reshuffle in 2020 when SBC,AAC, and MWC T.V. contracts expire. It is my understanding that CUSA  contract is set to expire 6-30-2018, but they were trying to get a 2 year extension to get in step with 3 other G5 conferences.I don't know what the status is of that request is.  Another fly in the pie is what will happen to Big 12. Texas,Texas Tech,Baylor, and TCU could go to PAC 12, but the Longhorn Network must be dissolved . Oklahoma, OSU, Kansas, and K-State would be welcome in Big 10, but Iowa State would probably end up in AAC. I think the SBC and CUSA sort out schools one way or another, with ULM getting push out and maybe New Mexico State moving in dependent upon what happens to UTEP. Travel expenses going east may finally  push the Aggies to 1AA or kill their football program, and I don't know how UTEP can afford to continue  play in the CUSA. For the same reason UNT will not move to MWC, as we cannot afford the travel costs. If revenues decrease, then expenses must as well. The targets are travel, coaches salaries, and administrative overheads. How can G5 programs continue to pay $1 million to head football coaches and $500,000 to head men's basketball coaches is going to be a real problem going forward, as well as bloated administrative costs. The next few year are going to be both interesting and challenging for North Texas.

[GrandGreen]

On 2/26/2018 at 12:34 PM, El Paso Eagle said:

With Title 9 compliance issues it will be the men's sports that take the hit. In the future, I believe we will see some smaller schools with very few men's teams outside of Football and Basketball.

That has already been done at most colleges.  I always wonder why someone doesn't sue because of the lack of men's sports compared to women. 

Look at what most colleges offer in the way of men's sports, basically what NT sponsors plus baseball.  Many sports colleges offer are essentially only female such as volleyball, soccer, rowing, equitarian and tennis.

Yes, football skews the scholarship numbers in favor of men, but being football is by far the most important sport at almost all fbs programs, it should be treated on some type of exception basis.  There has to be some common-sense correlation to number of available participants, financial implications including cost to benefit ratio, and popularity with fans. 

 

Edited February 28, 2018 by GrandGreen

[untjim1995]

1 hour ago, wardly said:

We probably have seen more schools add football than drop it in the last decade or so, but that may change. I think schools will drop down to the minimum sports required by the NCAA. With T.V. money all but gone for everyone except P5 conferences, the rest of us must look to reduce expenses in all sports, especially travel. This should lead to regional conferences in an effort to create rivalries and increase interest and attendance. Football for us will become a gate revenue sport identical to 1AA programs. I would expect another conference reshuffle in 2020 when SBC,AAC, and MWC T.V. contracts expire. It is my understanding that CUSA  contract is set to expire 6-30-2018, but they were trying to get a 2 year extension to get in step with 3 other G5 conferences.I don't know what the status is of that request is.  Another fly in the pie is what will happen to Big 12. Texas,Texas Tech,Baylor, and TCU could go to PAC 12, but the Longhorn Network must be dissolved . Oklahoma, OSU, Kansas, and K-State would be welcome in Big 10, but Iowa State would probably end up in AAC. I think the SBC and CUSA sort out schools one way or another, with ULM getting push out and maybe New Mexico State moving in dependent upon what happens to UTEP. Travel expenses going east may finally  push the Aggies to 1AA or kill their football program, and I don't know how UTEP can afford to continue  play in the CUSA. For the same reason UNT will not move to MWC, as we cannot afford the travel costs. If revenues decrease, then expenses must as well. The targets are travel, coaches salaries, and administrative overheads. How can G5 programs continue to pay $1 million to head football coaches and $500,000 to head men's basketball coaches is going to be a real problem going forward, as well as bloated administrative costs. The next few year are going to be both interesting and challenging for North Texas.

The 2025 end of the GOR for the Big XII is the real key. Will the networks try to keep the Big XII together for another decade as it stands? Will UT, OU, and KU jump at the first chance they get to leave? To me, those are the big questions. Last go around, ESPN basically kept the Big XII together to keep UT and OU from heading out to the Pac, which they didn't have content deals with at the time. Now, in TV terms, ESPN and Fox both have the Pac-12, so they may not care if they leave. Its no secret that the B1G wants KU, because of the location, academics, and basketball. They'd love KU with OU. But OU may like the idea of staying with Texas and going out West, especially if it gets OSU and Tech to stay with them and go to the Pac, which I believe is most likely.

I still believe this will happen with the Big XII, Big Ten, and the SEC--The Texoma 4 go out West, getting them to 16. KU and Missouri go north to the B1G, which gets them to 16. The SEC, now back at 13, adds in KSU, which gets them back to 14. And then, the ACC adds in WVU, which gets them to 16 teams (includes Notre Dame). ISU, TCU, and Baylor get left behind. At that point, I see ISU joining the AAC, along with Baylor. That gets them the AAC to 14 teams in football, 16 teams in everything else. And the MWC adds TCU again, while BYU comes back into the fold, which gets the MWC to 14 teams. 

I still don't see how UNT goes up beyond CUSA, but I also strongly believe that even if we could get an MWC invite, the fans have made it overwhelmingly clear that they don't want to go that direction, that staying in CUSA is preferable. So, I think we will be here for quite a while.

[jdennis82]

Whatever their stated budget status, someone will still be dropping bags for their hoops program.

After "landing" Mitchell Robinson (#9 national recruit per 247sports) in 2017, WKU is reportedly in on Charles Bassey (#3 national recruit) in 2019...

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/preps/kentucky/2018/02/14/western-kentucky-basketball-mix-nations-top-2019-recruit-charles-bassey/332583002/

[wardly]

8 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

The 2025 end of the GOR for the Big XII is the real key. Will the networks try to keep the Big XII together for another decade as it stands? Will UT, OU, and KU jump at the first chance they get to leave? To me, those are the big questions. Last go around, ESPN basically kept the Big XII together to keep UT and OU from heading out to the Pac, which they didn't have content deals with at the time. Now, in TV terms, ESPN and Fox both have the Pac-12, so they may not care if they leave. Its no secret that the B1G wants KU, because of the location, academics, and basketball. They'd love KU with OU. But OU may like the idea of staying with Texas and going out West, especially if it gets OSU and Tech to stay with them and go to the Pac, which I believe is most likely.

I still believe this will happen with the Big XII, Big Ten, and the SEC--The Texoma 4 go out West, getting them to 16. KU and Missouri go north to the B1G, which gets them to 16. The SEC, now back at 13, adds in KSU, which gets them back to 14. And then, the ACC adds in WVU, which gets them to 16 teams (includes Notre Dame). ISU, TCU, and Baylor get left behind. At that point, I see ISU joining the AAC, along with Baylor. That gets them the AAC to 14 teams in football, 16 teams in everything else. And the MWC adds TCU again, while BYU comes back into the fold, which gets the MWC to 14 teams. 

I still don't see how UNT goes up beyond CUSA, but I also strongly believe that even if we could get an MWC invite, the fans have made it overwhelmingly clear that they don't want to go that direction, that staying in CUSA is preferable. So, I think we will be here for quite a while.

I am 75, and while I should see the G5 conferences mix and match in a few years, I may not make it to the  breakup of the Big 12.I would think that 4 schools go to PAC 12, 4 to Big 10, and someone gets left behind. Missouri was passed over by BIG 10 in favor of Rutgers a few years ago, and would probably stay in SEC if they are moved to Western Division, which leaves an opening in SEC East. What hurts TCU and Baylor is that are private schools, and what hurts Iowa State is that they are Iowa State.

[GrandGreen]

It appears to me that many states directly fund athletics and those funds are drying up as sports can not be justified as a budget priority.  

WkU has historically funded non-revenue sports to a much higher level than most of their conference mates. This has been reduced already and appears will continue before they touch football and basketball. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by GrandGreen

[Cerebus]

For the 95% G5s the only sport that even comes close to breaking even is football.  That other 5% is the mid major basketball powers.

There are probably about 20 programs that break even or better in FBS.  Most P5 teams don't.  Yes football is expensive but it is the only program, for most schools, that has a chance to get close to breaking even, and the only program that excites people.

It's not just the donations to the AD.   Football is an engagement driver that gets people back on campus, and lets the development officers work on them.  Schools know that.  They'll drop every other mens sport before they drop CFB.

[Aquila_Viridis]

I don’t know when ‘fans’ ever made it clear not to join MWC. This fan is all in favor of it.  Beyond that, we don’t do this just to be on TV so no reason to expect TV will pay for it. And we don’t do it so a handful of people can drive to every away game. NT needs a national, metropolitan reputation that has to be funded by other means if necessary. It’s FLY like an eagle, not ride the bus like an eagle.

[TreeFiddy]

I would not be surprised to see referendums for the NCAA to reduce the number of sports a school must sponsor to be considered D1.  A reduction to 12 sports seems like a possibility, especially at the G5 level.  5 mens's and 7 women's would help a little, maybe in the $1m-$2m range. 

Unfortunately, in this scenario the oly sports would continue to be under pressure.

[Arkstfan]

1 hour ago, TreeFiddy said:

I would not be surprised to see referendums for the NCAA to reduce the number of sports a school must sponsor to be considered D1.  A reduction to 12 sports seems like a possibility, especially at the G5 level.  5 mens's and 7 women's would help a little, maybe in the $1m-$2m range. 

Unfortunately, in this scenario the oly sports would continue to be under pressure.

Maybe.

But if you are Texas, Michigan, or Ohio State (to name three P5 with a significant number of G5s in their states) you mostly just tolerate the idea of all these schools getting to share your FBS (and Division I branding)

Division I requires 14 sports and awarding more 50% of the maximum scholarships you could offer with those sports. So if you have 14 sports and those sports have a combined scholarship limit of 120, you need to award 61 scholarships (unless grandfathered in like the Ivy). Last time I sent an FOI, UALR was awarding 105 of 120.

FBS means offering 16 sports and 200 grants.

Division II is 10 sports.

In the formal voting structure FBS dominates so it would likely be very difficult to get a reduction passed. In FBS near impossible. In Division I as a whole dropping from 14 to 12 or 10 would be hard because that would just reduce the investment needed to go from Division II to Division I.

 

[wardly]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 9:24 PM, Aquila_Viridis said:

I don’t know when ‘fans’ ever made it clear not to join MWC. This fan is all in favor of it.  Beyond that, we don’t do this just to be on TV so no reason to expect TV will pay for it. And we don’t do it so a handful of people can drive to every away game. NT needs a national, metropolitan reputation that has to be funded by other means if necessary. It’s FLY like an eagle, not ride the bus like an eagle.

I see no advantage to being in MWC. It doesn't  address reduction in travel expenses, which are only going to increase. In addition, if we did have a game on T.V. the kick would be 9:00 or 10:00, and probably in the middle of the week. Finally, some of us do like to be able to drive to road games. Albuquerque is closest MWC school to UNT, so you can forget about that.One reason we didn't want to play in the New Mexico Bowl is that our Athletic Administration figured no one would go. That, plus players having a better time in New Orleans.