UNI's Budget Tightening Continues

[unipanther99]

Updates to UNI's financial situation... We always hear about the bad, I thought I would share some of the good.

UNI AD: Athletics department stable, succeeding despite state funding cuts

http://thegazette.com/2012/05/08/uni-ad ... nding-cuts

“I’ve had to be very careful because our faculty wants to see pain,” Dannen said. “Your recruits, your coaches, your fans, they want to see stability. How do you show both? We’ve had very good success because of our supporters of maintaining the level by them stepping up, whether it’s ticket sales or whether it’s donating."

UNI alum, former business Dean, and author of "The Bridges of Madison County" makes a high seven figure donation to the university

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/robert ... 963f4.html

“Robert’s generous gift will have an immediate and significant impact on current and future generations of UNI students and faculty,” said UNI President Ben Allen.

[Trapped in CA]

DoubleJayAlum alum would argue that because no multi-billion dollar donation is forthcoming from Mark Zuckerberg, who once saw a Facebook news-feed story about Northern Iowa, the university is doomed.

[Aargh]

UNI has been "in the black" 4 of the past 6 years, including an excess of revenues over expenses of $1.2 mill in 2011.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2012-05-14/ncaa-college-athletics-finances-database/54955804/1

[Snaggletooth]

As for athletics... Nobody has posted Mr. Gartner's Part II:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... od|mostcom
Regents or Legislature should tell U of I, ISU to share athletic funds

Hawkeyes everywhere are up in arms over the thought of "revenue sharing."

well you link doesn't work and why should another university have to share it's revenue with another university who is less successfull? I would be up in arms about it also. If UNI can't make it on their own, then maybe they need to get out of D1 sports.

[unipanther99]

That article is from March, so that's probably why it doesn't work.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I'm confused about the rules of this forum.

I was told we weren't allowed to discuss UNI's financial situation because it causes heated reactions.

Do UNI mods not have to follow the same rules? Or is it just a matter of we are allowed to talk about any positive news about UNI finances here, but discussion of any negative news is forbidden (sorta like North Korea and China)?

As to the posted article "sharing some of the good", when an a positive spin article contains quotes like the ones below, the good looks awful hard to come by. Some examples:

“I’ve had to be very careful because our faculty wants to see pain,” Dannen said."

and

This spring, the university trimmed its athletics support $500,000 phased over three years.

and

In 2008, UNI athletics showed a $251,000 surplus, according to a document sent to the NCAA and obtained by The Gazette via the Freedom of Information Act. But an independent audit listed a $34,545 loss that year.

(It sounds like UNI used Enron accountants that year) and

But even the positive figures can be rocked by financial uncertainty, which has caused school officials to consider doomsday scenarios. Some of the discussions involved altering or even eliminating the football program.

and

“You never know what tomorrow’s going to bring but based on what we know right now, as long as we continue to raise money, as long as we continue to support the programs (begging the question, of course, whether UNi's basketball attendence is actually 'supporting' the program), we’ll continue to maintain the programs we have, the scholarship levels we have.”

A lot of "as long as" in that quote, which doesn't exactly sound the most positive.

On the positive side, at least the basketball program hasn't suffered cuts yet (although it may well have reached spending caps). As Jacobson says,

I’m hopeful we’ll be able to continue to do that (maintain the performance levels even under tight financial restraints).”

So are we Ben. So are we.

Next time someone asks why Creighton or Wichita St might be looking to jump ship, flash back to what is considered financial good news at some of the MVC schools.

[ihsi]

Next time someone asks why Creighton or Wichita St might be looking to jump ship, flash back to what is considered financial good news at some of the MVC schools.

Sorry but I could give 2 craps less about UNI's finances. They're doign better than some even with their problems. It's dog eat dog anymore. Butler didn't ask Cleveland St for permission to leave and VCU could care less about Towson.

Gotta survive and if that means CU eventually needs to leave so be it.

[uniftw]

What's amazing is the success UNI has with the budget that we do.


Imagine UNI with WSU or CU money......

You can talk about all your money, but your results aren't any better than UNI's.....

[valleychamp]

I'm confused about the rules of this forum.

I was told we weren't allowed to discuss UNI's financial situation because it causes heated reactions.

Do UNI mods not have to follow the same rules? Or is it just a matter of we are allowed to talk about any positive news about UNI finances here, but discussion of any negative news is forbidden (sorta like North Korea and China)?

Because you are a blatant troll that is constantly ignorant of facts, that's why. "Positive spin" article? What exactly is negative about that article. The entire story is about how UNI has continued to run a very successful, stable department despite the state cuts of the last 5 years, and how they are building stability.

The only spin is from you, as usual, as you cherry picked statements and took them out of their context within the article.

“I’ve had to be very careful because our faculty wants to see pain,” Dannen said."

The faculty wants to see "pain"? Nice reading comprehension, and total misrepresentation of what was said. That statement meant that some of them (faculty) have the perception that athletics aren't feeling the cuts as much as they feel that they are (despite that not being the case) because all they are seeing from the outside is the continued and ongoing success of athletics.

This spring, the university trimmed its athletics support $500,000 phased over three years.

This is not news. This has already been discussed numerous times on here (mostly by you, since its your favorite subject), and has planned for by UNI for a while. In fact, that's what the whole article is about. That UNI has planned well for this time of distress, and has set itself up for the future.

But even the positive figures can be rocked by financial uncertainty, which has caused school officials to consider doomsday scenarios. Some of the discussions involved altering or even eliminating the football program.

These football discussions took place years ago, where UNI did a feasibility study, which looked at ALL options including going non-scholly, dropping the sport, or move UP to FBS football. But, obviously, you fail to mention that in your little quote parade.

“You never know what tomorrow’s going to bring but based on what we know right now, as long as we continue to raise money, as long as we continue to support the programs (begging the question, of course, whether UNi's basketball attendence is actually 'supporting' the program), we’ll continue to maintain the programs we have, the scholarship levels we have.”

Huh? Isn't this true of ANY and EVERY school? UNI has raised a ton of money for athletics the past few years, and has great support. UNI raises a significantly larger % of its own athletic budget on its own than most schools do, including most of the MVC. "As long as" that keeps up, UNI will be in a good position.

Next time someone asks why Creighton or Wichita St might be looking to jump ship, flash back to what is considered financial good news at some of the MVC schools.

This is LOL, good. Please, tell us all about all the hardships that Creighton and Wichita have had to endure due to UNI's financial cuts from the state. In fact, both Creighton and Wichita have benefited quite significantly from UNI in the last several years. This does not affect your school one single bit and you know it.

[Kyle]

As to the posted article "sharing some of the good", when an a positive spin article contains quotes like the ones below, the good looks awful hard to come by. Some examples:

“You never know what tomorrow’s going to bring but based on what we know right now, as long as we continue to raise money, as long as we continue to support the programs (begging the question, of course, whether UNi's basketball attendence is actually 'supporting' the program), we’ll continue to maintain the programs we have, the scholarship levels we have.”

I’m hopeful we’ll be able to continue to do that (maintain the performance levels even under tight financial restraints).”

So you even know what a quote is?

The bolded sections are completely fabricated and appear nowhere in the article.

As for the legitimate quotes you referenced, anybody can cherry pick to make a point. Let's check out the parts of the article you don't want other posters to read.

In 2011, UNI’s revenue exceeded expenses by more than $1.1 million. The athletics department’s assets have grown from $3 million to $9 million, according to Dannen.

We also looked at moving up to a MAC-level (mid-major Mid-American Conference) of football.

Dannen privately raised funds to boost Ben Jacobson’s salary from $169,000 to $500,000 and allowed the program to remain unscathed through the cutbacks.

“Fortunately we have not had a negative impact in terms of the resources available to us to do what we’ve done on a yearly basis,” Jacobson said.

We’re at point now where frankly, it’s never been better,” Dannen said. “There’s nothing on the radar screen that will take that away from us.