MSU to Conference USA?

[uniftw]

MSU's football program runs 1.4 million in the red each year?

That's double what UNI's runs.


Tell me how UNI is worse off

[valleychamp]

Missouri State football season tickets sold: 802

[Aargh]

MSU's football program runs 1.4 million in the red each year?

Missouri State football season tickets sold: 802

Uh, you guys got any more cow herds you can sell?

You can run an athletic department on borrowed money for "a while", but eventually the bovine excrement encounters the fan. That's the wind-generating type of fan. Well, it probably includes the human variety of fan, too.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I think pathetic is a pretty harsh word. Certainly there are some issues but they certainly don't seem insurmountable. And I don't know much about the finances of other MVC schools but I'll bet they all are experiencing some challenges.

Overall I sometimes wonder about the long term viability of football at schools like MSU and other non BSC schools in general. Our football program just doesn't seem to be going anywhere despite some pretty good efforts on the part of our athletic dept. And a football program is just so expensive to run. That's a very tough decision to drop football though. If the economy worsens though I'm sure football will really be looked at hard by MSU and a lot of other schools.

As to the bolded part above, I don't think that is accurate. Yes, all state schools are in a tough situation because states don't have the money to meet their own operating budgets, let alone supply state colleges with the same amount of funding that they have supplied previously. I do think that a lot of private schools, who don't rely on state funds, are thriving right now.

I completely agree about your comments regarding football. UNI, MSU and SIU's athletic departments are all in severe economic distress right primarily because of football. At the same time, Creighton and WSU's athletic departments are in strong fiscal shape because they don't have to deal with the devastating financial straight-jacket that is FCS football.

[DoubleJayAlum]

MSU's football program runs 1.4 million in the red each year?

That's double what UNI's runs.


Tell me how UNI is worse off

I remember UNI threatening to drop to D2 last summer because of concerns over finances if the state cut funding any more. I know that one of the "resolutions" was to have UNI's FB bend over and take another game against a BCS power just to get a big check. That doesn't sound like a resolution to me, but just a temporary band-aid.

I don't understand the financial model of FCS football. Everyone acknowledges it is a huge financial drain, yet some can't just say no.

The fact that some MSU fans (especially you Casey) thought that MSU was in position to make the jump to CUSA seems to be even more of a joke after reading that article. On top of losing $1.4 million a year, the team is picked to finish last in the conference too? Who wants a last place school?

[TNMSUFAN]

I don't understand the financial model of FCS football. Everyone acknowledges it is a huge financial drain, yet some can't just say no.

Football at any level is a financial drain and in 2010 only 22 FCS teams made money i

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011 ... ams_m.html

The latest NCAA annual report on revenue and expenses shows that 22 Football Bowl Subdivision schools made money in 2009-10, eight more than the previous year, and that schools in both Division I football subdivisions have figured out how to halt a rapid increase in expenses.

The report shows an increasing financial disparity between those with lots of money and those trying to find money.

The median net surplus of the 22 moneymaking athletic departments was roughly $7.4 million, while the median net deficit for the other 98 FBS schools was $11.3 million. The gap of $18.7 million is much higher than the $15.6 million difference in last year's report.

[MoValley John]

As long as the big schools keep escallating costs, the smaller schools have to try to keep up. As you move down the food chain, there aren't enough fans to cover the rising costs. At the same time, if you drop down in classification (D-2) you lose more revenue than money you would save.

Schools like Missouri State and UNI are in between a rock and a hard place. And yes, at the end of the day, even with MSU and UNI, it's all Texas's fault.

[panther-state]

UNI's football program is in the best shape of any MVFC team. Albeit they still lose $$ but they are having the least amount of troubles I'd say. Also dropping the program to a lower level would certainly hurt UNI's program even more. They'd spend less money...but would make less proportionately to the original costs.

[unipanther99]

MSU's football program runs 1.4 million in the red each year?

That's double what UNI's runs.


Tell me how UNI is worse off

I remember UNI threatening to drop to D2 last summer because of concerns over finances if the state cut funding any more. I know that one of the "resolutions" was to have UNI's FB bend over and take another game against a BCS power just to get a big check. That doesn't sound like a resolution to me, but just a temporary band-aid.

I don't understand the financial model of FCS football. Everyone acknowledges it is a huge financial drain, yet some can't just say no.

The fact that some MSU fans (especially you Casey) thought that MSU was in position to make the jump to CUSA seems to be even more of a joke after reading that article. On top of losing $1.4 million a year, the team is picked to finish last in the conference too? Who wants a last place school?

That is not accurate. D2 was never a realistic possibility. You spend almost as much on scholarships, coaches, facilities, and travel and it would bring in far less money. In the end, the Board of Regents agreed that UNI needs a strong D-1 athletic department, even if it loses money.

Just imagine if Iowa State loses BCS status. The money UNI loses will pale in comparison to what the Cyclones will lose if they don't have the Big XII TV contract.

[Haha]

I would love for WSU to have football again but whenever I look at athletic budgets and then eventually come to the conclusion that schools like WSU will never be part of the money making football elite I understand why they don't.

How is Drakes football received by Drake fans? I wonder how an MVC where everybody played non scholly football would be received (don't get all pissed off schools with FCS scholly ball, I'm not saying you should drop down). Just wondering how an MVC where everybody played would fair from an entertainment standpoint.