UNI Athletics Funding

[Kip Dynamite]

UNI's DI Status Threatened

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...tus-threatened

Northern Iowa, the program that gained prominence during the NCAA tournament due to its upset of Kansas and a daring shot by Ali Farokhmanesh, might soon run into a roadblock it cannot overcome -- a budget crunch.

That's the warning shot school president Ben Allen fired off in an interview with the Des Moines Register, going as far as to say that if money from the university's general fund is cut from athletics by much more than the approximately $200,000 proposed to be cut by 2015, UNI could lose its Division I status and even doing away with sports.

[Snaggletooth]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/15285/northern-iowas-division-i-status-threatened

correct link

[unipanther99]

I merged two threads about UNI's funding issues.

[Snaggletooth]

nm

[unipanther99]

I've moved this thread to the basketball forum. The issue involves UNI's entire athletic program obviously, but Snaggletooth's linked article does reference the basketball team.

Here's hoping we receive good news from the Board of Regents Thursday.

[unipanther99]

From the Des Moines Register tonight:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... -athletics

Sums it up pretty well.

[Aargh]

Prez Allen made what might be the most ill-advised statement by a University Prez in several decades.

Trimming ...blah, blah, blah... would mean the university would seriously consider eliminating all sports at UNI because of lost revenue related to the loss of Division I status, Allen said.

That's what athletes considering schools are going to hear and what coaches recruiting against UNI will be repeating.

I understand that it's political posturing, but that statement, particularly when picked up by ESPN, is recruiting poison. When the year in question is 2015, that's going to be a consideration for recruits starting NOW.

Throw in axing the baseball program, and it's easy to paint the picture that UNI is in the process of dropping athletics.

[unipanther99]

Perhaps, but hopefully the long term status of the program will be resolved tomorrow. If the Board decides to revisit this issue every year, it could definitely become a recruiting issue.

[unipanther99]

UNI's proposal to the Board of Regents passed unanimously this afternoon. We have work to be done in fund-raising, but this decision gives the program stability for the foreseeable future.

[valleychamp]

Prez Allen made what might be the most ill-advised statement by a University Prez in several decades.

Trimming ...blah, blah, blah... would mean the university would seriously consider eliminating all sports at UNI because of lost revenue related to the loss of Division I status, Allen said.

That's what athletes considering schools are going to hear and what coaches recruiting against UNI will be repeating.

I understand that it's political posturing, but that statement, particularly when picked up by ESPN, is recruiting poison. When the year in question is 2015, that's going to be a consideration for recruits starting NOW.

Throw in axing the baseball program, and it's easy to paint the picture that UNI is in the process of dropping athletics.

holy overreaction batman.