WKU football nears November vote

MeanGreen61 · September 29, 2006

Off the MUTS Delphi board.

WKU football nears vote on Division I-A

Could join Sun Belt by '09

By Michael Grant

mgrant@courier-journal.com

The Courier-Journal

Western Kentucky University is moving closer to a major upgrade of its football program. The university's board of regents is expected to vote Nov. 2 on elevating its Division I-AA program to I-A, the highest level of NCAA football.

If the board votes in favor, the Hilltoppers could be playing I-A football as a member of the Sun Belt Conference as soon as 2009.

Change will not come without some opposition, however.

Though results of a faculty referendum on I-A have not been released, the chairwoman of the University Senate, Michelle Hollis, an assistant professor of mathematics, said the overwhelming majority of faculty members who have spoken out are against it.

Western has been studying I-A football for more than a year. The school was approached last year by the Division 1-American Conference regarding joining its league. The Sun Belt, in which the Hilltoppers play 18 of their 20 Division I sports, also wants Western to be its ninth I-A football team.

WKU's football program now is in the Gateway Conference, and the men's soccer team is in the Missouri Valley.

Though school President Gary Ransdell has declined to go on the record supporting the change, he has called I-AA football a "financial disaster."

He also believes it's important that the university act now if its goal is Division I-A. In a memo to faculty and staff earlier this week, Ransdell noted that WKU is rare like Villanova University in that they are schools that belong to I-A football conferences for other sports but play I-AA football. Villanova is in the Big East but plays football in the Atlantic 10.

"My instincts are that when WKU and Villanova decide what each will do, then the NCAA will likely put a cap on the migration of universities from I-AA to I-A," the memo said. "This could make it impossible for institutions to make the switch in the future."

Both in the memo and in interviews with The Courier-Journal, Ransdell and athletic director Wood Selig noted the benefits of a rise to Division I-A.

Selig said Western football is losing almost $2 million a year. When the Hilltoppers won the 2002 I-AA national championship, the postseason expenses cost the program $100,000. In 1992 the school came close to dropping football.

In I-A, Selig said the program would stand a greater chance of at least breaking even.

Though Western had previously resisted Sun Belt entreaties to play football, Ransdell said, "A lot of things have changed since a year ago. The Sun Belt is a lot more viable conference now. Attendance in the conference has shown considerable improvement."

For the first time this year, Bowl Championship Series revenues will be shared among all the 11 football-playing Division I-A conferences. Western would have access to the money only as a I-A member. Ransdell also argues the move would elevate the university's profile nationally.

However, he also recognizes the added cost.

Western's annual I-AA budget is $2.36 million, which comes from ticket sales, donations, sponsorships, student fees, money allocated from the university and money from playing I-A opponents.

Western is projecting a budget of $5.33 million by the third full year of I-A football. The university would handle the increased cost through a tuition increase of $70 per student per semester, revenue from 800 club seats from the renovated L.T. Smith Stadium, the sale of media rights and signage, money from the BCS and licensed merchandise and richer payouts from playing at major-conference, I-A opponents. (WKU has discussed playing Indiana, South Florida and Virginia.)

The tuition increase would start next fall, generating $2.18 million and will come regardless of whether or not Western goes I-A.

More pluses and minuses

It's money Ransdell admits could be used for other purposes. But I-A football is intriguing.

"There is a lot of interest in this," Ransdell said. "There is a lot of energy building."

Another reason for the move would be Title IX.

Selig said Western is not in compliance with the federal mandate that schools must provide equal opportunities for men and women. In what Selig described as an unusual situation, the athletic department is spending 6 percent more proportionally in scholarships for women than men. One way to correct the imbalance would be the addition of 22 football scholarships that would bring the Hilltoppers to the I-A limit of 85.

Western also will have a facility for I-A football.

Smith Stadium is currently undergoing a $37 million renovation, which will increase capacity from 17,500 to 24,000 by March 2008. The NCAA requires I-A teams to average 15,000 per game every other season. Last year's attendance at Smith Stadium was 12,798. Selig is confident Western would be able to meet the requirement.

"We have a better opportunity to sell I-A football in our community with season tickets and corporate partners," he said. "We'll be able to recruit a higher-caliber athlete both academically and athletically. There are not many athletes that grow up saying 'I want to play I-AA football.' "

Hollis, the university senate chair, is also a former athlete, having been a sprinter for Howard University. She declined to speculate on the possible results of the referendum but said she is personally against making an immediate move to I-A.

Hollis said that the move is being made purely for athletics and not for academics.

"Our faculty for the most part feels that the athletic department will not be able to foot the bill for football," she said. "And eventually if it came down to a budgetary thing we would be the ones to lose out."

Hollis would be in favor of taking more time to study I-A football but fears that I-A at Western is already a "done deal."

"I don't understand why we have to do it right now," she said. "And Dr. Ransdell's reasoning for having to do it right now, I don't buy it."

John Hardin, an associate professor of history, is taking a wait-and-see approach. He received his undergraduate degree from Bellarmine, which doesn't have a football program. He earned his doctorate from football-rich Michigan.

"There are some of us in the faculty that believe funds could be spent in other ways," Hardin said. "And some say 'Let's do it, and see what happens. If we don't do it now, we won't be able to do it in the future.' "

Student body president Robert Watkins, who has a vote on the board of regents, said he has not made up his mind.

"There is a lot of information," he said. "This is a major move. This is something I'm trying to learn more about -- who it has worked for and who it hasn't."

It's working elsewhere

Sun Belt member Florida International is in its first year of I-A football. Athletic director Rick Mello said that thanks to $1.8 million in student fees, the football program is profitable.

Troy, I-A since 1998, says it is almost breaking even annually.

The schools have also been competitive on the field. Last week Florida International played tough at Maryland, losing 14-10. Earlier this month Troy lost at Florida State 24-17.

Mello said the Sun Belt needs Western.

"Western brings strong tradition," he said. "They're a leader. They're a strong member in all sports. And when you look at the I-A requirements, it's much easier to do it with a nine-team conference than an eight-team conference because you get four (league) home games every year. From a scheduling standpoint, it's a no-brainer."

Michael Grant can be reached at (502) 582-4069.