UNI's Budget Tightening Continues

[Kyle]

This thread is really becoming comical and full of typical DJA fail.

UNI Fan: Check out the good news!!! Here are two recent articles about how UNI's athletic department is doing really well in the mist of recent budget cuts.
DJA: I don't see any good news. Look at all these negative parts in the article!!! No wonder WSU and CU want to get out of the MVC!!!
UNI Fan: You only picked out all the bad parts and some of the quotes you posted aren't even in the article. And what does this have to do with CU or WSU?
DJA: RELAX! You are just getting emotional about this. Step back and look at the facts.
UNI Fan: I am looking at the facts. Here are some of the actual quotes in the article.
DJA: Those quotes are just political talk. By my calculations UNI will need to raise an extra $500K EVERY year for all eternity!!! It's really scary!!!
UNI Fan: Ummm...your math is wrong
DJA: Well, UNI will still lose A LOT of money because they don't play Iowa and ISU in the McLeod Center any more
UNI Fan: Actually, we will make more money playing them in Des Moines.
DJA: OK, what if Jacobson wants a raise!!! How will UNI pay for it?
UNI Fan: He is getting a raise. We already paid for it.
Random New Poster: Why are we bashing UNI? They have been really good lately and I'm not just talking about basketball.
DJA: I'm not bashing them!!! I'm just pointing out that UNI is headed to the abyss because of the budget cuts!!! And stop talking about football.
UNI Fan: You kind of are bashing us.
Random New Poster: I'm really not worried about UNI. They seem to be doing really well, but sorry if I offended you.

[MoValley John]

I think Kyle too DJA's post to mean that UNI would need to increase ticket revenue by $500K each year. I think he just meant maintain a $500K increase over previous levels, right? And increased donations obviously help offset that as well.

He specifically said UNI will need to increase season ticket revenue $500K every year in order to make up for a one time $500K/year funding cut.

Kyle, in regard to this post by you and your earlier response to my only other post on this subject, no, I didn't read the entire thread, not much of it at all. I didn't read the links, just a few posts leading up to where you asked DJA to respond, and later your post where you pointed out that he didn't respond. I went back as far as where you originally asked the question and then to current. My response was specifically to the $500,000, nothing else. I don't read this site very often anymore and I respond to anything even less often.

As for the $500,000, I stand by what I posted, UNI does not need to replace it. UNI can operate on whatever level of funding they choose. As long as UNI maintains the minimum number of sports required by the NCAA to compete at the D-1 level, they can overfund or underfund their programs at whatever level they choose.

My concerns with the funding levels is not specific to UNI, it is the Valley as a whole. I have been very outspoken about this when Missouri State was dealing with their audit and their subsequent selling off a cattle herd to fund athletics. I am concerned as to the levels of funding at Evansville, Indiana State, Illinois State, Bradley, Drake, SIU, Creighton and Wichita State. Everyone. Personally, I think spending on college sports is way out of whack, everywhere. Most schools spend way too much. But then again, that is the reality of college sports today, it costs to play. With that, if you are a fan of a school in the Valley, you should be concerned about the funding levels of your athletic program- and all others. Furthermore, it seems with conference realignment and everything else, spending at competing schools is going to escalate, not moderate, so regardless of your allegiance, good or bad news article, we should all be concerned when a school is fighting budget cuts.

Specifically to your post above that I quoted, you stated that it is was a "one time $500K/year funding cut." That is not one time. $500,000/year means just that, a cut in funding of $500,000 every single year. In other words, if the state gave UNI $1,000,000 every year for sports, than implemented a one time $5,000,000 cut, in year one, the funding would drop from $1,000,000 to $500,000, but in year two, funding would be reinstated to $1,000,000. In reality, UNI had a $500,000 cut every year. No, UNI does not have to make up those funds, but it wasn't a one time cut, it was permanent, year in and year out.

No, UNI does not have to make up those funds, but in my opinion, they should, and they should work to shore up any politics that are at work against UNI's athletic program. There are many people in Iowa that would just prefer that UNI didn't compete. Many people in Iowa want all of the money to go Iowa or Iowa State. The smaller schools need to be vigilant against this, and this goes for every school in the Valley, not just UNI.

[jwa123]

Red,

Of all the teams in the conference, I'd admit that I probably know the least about ISU's position. Where are you guys? I don't see a lot of investment on the hoops side, but I get the impression that you guys are more interested in football anyway. I see you guys as the most likely to make the jump up for football, but I have no idea how close you guys are to being ready to make that jump. Is that something ISU can afford to do soon or are we realistically looking several years down the road?

DJA, I'll try and answer this but most likely it will be based on limited information and a lot of conjecture on my part. The last I read and as I recall, our athletic budget is in the 16 million range which puts us a bit on the higher side of MVC schools that also play football though I suspect SIU is in this range as well. The school for perhaps the first time in it's history is putting an emphasis on football. A new stadium is going up. The school president has stated the LONG TERM GOAL is to be at the FBS level. However, before making that move he also stated that ISU will be a prominate player on the FCS level.

Making that jump to FBS may be much harder to accomplish than merely saying "we're going to FBS!" First off you can't merely just declare it and do it. To make that move, NCAA rules require a school must be invited by a FBS conference to join their conference to make that move up. The only two FBS conferences that might do that are the MAC and maybe the SunBelt but I doubt the latter. Rumor has it NIU would block ISU going into the MAC. Also, expansion in the MAC is coming in the eastern part of the country and not the midwest, thus, ISU could be screwed. The athletic budget would need to increase overall as most MAC schools spend 20 to 25 mill on their athletic programs. While there are many MAC fans in Redbird land it is also my impression that the majority of ISU fans are bball fans instead of football fans. Many would rue the day if ISU ever left the valley.

Getting back to your original question, if ISU did not play football and devoted that money to bball, we would be getting close to the WSU level of bball spending but still short of the Creighton level.

[Ali]

MVJ- well put. I think we're all concerned but don't much like the topic as it seems to perpetuate itself and appear worse then it is. If it weren't for DJAs apparent enjoyment of the topic it wouldn't be all that big of a deal. On this board at least.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I think Kyle too DJA's post to mean that UNI would need to increase ticket revenue by $500K each year. I think he just meant maintain a $500K increase over previous levels, right? And increased donations obviously help offset that as well.

He specifically said UNI will need to increase season ticket revenue $500K every year in order to make up for a one time $500K/year funding cut.

This is so silly. Panther, MVJ and everyone else knew exactly what I was saying, to wit: Raising $500K one year will only replace the $500K that was otherwise cut from the budget that year. If you want to restore your budget to the pre-cut levels, you'd have to maintain ticket cost increases until such time as the $500K is actually restored by the legislature. It is true that UNI doesn't have to do anything, but at a time when most of the biggest schools are increasing their spending, it is going to be more and more difficult to compete at those levels when you are not only not increasing spending by a lesser amount, but are going the opposite way and reducing spending.

You seem to be of the belief that it is only a one time reduction. While the actually cutting only takes place once (well, since you are so anal retentive, I better clarify that the cuts take place over three years!!!), it stays in place indefinitely. It is not a one time cut. Year four or five after the cuts take place, the money won't just miraculously reappear. It is gone until the Iowa legislature replaces it, which may be never.

As I've said repeatedly, and MVJ just said as well, the financial stability of teams in the conference is very important to other members of the conference. It relates to issues of competitiveness, sustainability and potential expansion. If teams start to get concerned about the competitiveness or sustainability/viability of the conference, they start to seriously consider other options. UNI's issues are just getting more discussion recently because you recently had to drop baseball to due to finances, and because there have news stories about the cuts (including one where potentially having to drop to D2, and thereby leave the conference, was discussed), etc.

[DoubleJayAlum]

There are many people in Iowa that would just prefer that UNI didn't compete. Many people in Iowa want all of the money to go Iowa or Iowa State. The smaller schools need to be vigilant against this, and this goes for every school in the Valley, not just UNI.

Even the faculty at UNI is said to want to see blood in the athletic department cutting. If the school's own faculty is not supporting athletics, it becomes an even harder sell to the community and could be a foreshadowing of additional cuts in the future.

[DoubleJayAlum]

UNI is certainly not the first, or last, school in this conference to drop an athletic program.

Unless I'm mistaken, UNI is the last school to drop an athletic program.

[havoc]

UNI is certainly not the first, or last, school in this conference to drop an athletic program.

Unless I'm mistaken, UNI is the last school to drop an athletic program.

How can you possible know no other MVC will ever drop an athletic program?

[DoubleJayAlum]

UNI is certainly not the first, or last, school in this conference to drop an athletic program.

Unless I'm mistaken, UNI is the last school to drop an athletic program.

How can you possible know no other MVC will ever drop an athletic program?

I don't. I just know that as we sit here today, UNI was the last to do so.

[Khan4Cats]

-(vallychamp)UNI is certainly not the first, or last, school in this conference to drop an athletic program.-

-(DJA)Unless I'm mistaken, UNI is the last school to drop an athletic program.-

-(havoc)How can you possible know no other MVC will ever drop an athletic program?-

I don't. I just know that as we sit here today, UNI was the last to do so.

Then you meant to say latest or most recent, not last in the same context in which valleychamp used it. Different words mean different things when used in different contexts.