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DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Mon May 10, 2021 3:29 pm
by apaladin
University of Hartford is dropping from D1 to D3 to “further strengthen the academic, co-curricular and wellness experience for all students”. Lol, what the h*** does that mean? Hartford made the men’s basketball tourney this year.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Mon May 10, 2021 6:31 pm
by Furmanoid
apaladin wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 3:29 pm
University of Hartford is dropping from D1 to D3 to “further strengthen the academic, co-curricular and wellness experience for all students”. Lol, what the h*** does that mean? Hartford made the men’s basketball tourney this year.
It might mean they are broke.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Mon May 10, 2021 9:58 pm
by Affirm
apaladin wrote:
Mon May 10, 2021 3:29 pm
University of Hartford is dropping from D1 to D3 to “further strengthen the academic, co-curricular and wellness experience for all students”. Lol, what the h*** does that mean? Hartford made the men’s basketball tourney this year.
They are fortunate to be able to decide where they believe they can
be excellent, rather than trying unsuccessfully to do more than they have resources for and floundering in mediocrity. Kudos to their Board of Regents for studying, considering, and taking responsible action.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Tue May 11, 2021 6:58 am
by Furmanoid
Their endowment is only $52M: less than 1/10 of Furman’s. That’s pretty pitiful especially in such an expensive part of the country. Sounds like they are just fighting for survival. Furman only pretends to have a money problem.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Tue May 11, 2021 8:21 am
by Roundball
Good piece. It sounds like the decision was the right one for Hartford. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticu ... story.html

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Tue May 11, 2021 8:56 am
by Furmanoid
Actually it reads like the final decision is still up in the air. They can either lose a bunch of money every year or not. I bet they end up deciding to keep losing money.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Tue May 11, 2021 12:27 pm
by Affirm
Furmanoid wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 8:56 am
Actually it reads like the final decision is still up in the air. They can either lose a bunch of money every year or not. I bet they end up deciding to keep losing money.
As I read the joint statement by Board Chair Gordon and University President Woodward, it seems that the final decision IS made, and it seems like a very good decision.
“Prioritization of investments in the education and future of athletes and ALL our students.”
Their average fundraising year in athletics brings in too small a percentage of their athletics operating deficit and of their total annual athletics expenses.
Their gap between athletics fundraising and the resources necessary to support athletics operations and students is vast, equal to the entire university’s fundraising effort each year.
The statements include percentages to describe those shortfalls and gaps.
One must wonder how exactly healthy or unhealthy Furman is, in comparison.
Board and university leadership at Hartford are committed to building future structures for intercollegiate athletics that equitably and sustainably supports our students, transforming educational experiences and contributes to the bright future of the university.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Tue May 11, 2021 1:38 pm
by Furmanoid
affirm wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 12:27 pm
Furmanoid wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 8:56 am
Actually it reads like the final decision is still up in the air. They can either lose a bunch of money every year or not. I bet they end up deciding to keep losing money.
As I read the joint statement by Board Chair Gordon and University President Woodward, it seems that the final decision IS made, and it seems like a very good decision.
“Prioritization of investments in the education and future of athletes and ALL our students.”
Their average fundraising year in athletics brings in too small a percentage of their athletics operating deficit and of their total annual athletics expenses.
Their gap between athletics fundraising and the resources necessary to support athletics operations and students is vast, equal to the entire university’s fundraising effort each year.
The statements include percentages to describe those shortfalls and gaps.
One must wonder how exactly healthy or unhealthy Furman is, in comparison.
Board and university leadership at Hartford are committed to building future structures for intercollegiate athletics that equitably and sustainably supports our students, transforming educational experiences and contributes to the bright future of the university.
There is reference to an upcoming BOT meeting when both sides can have their say.

Furman’s situation is completely different from Hartford’s ( we have a half a billion dollars). But it is still sort of a mystery. If a cheap sport like baseball was costing $1M, then the remaining sports must total up to $20M or more. Furman’s student fees are listed as $380.00. If ALL of that is student activity fees and ALL of it goes to sports, that’s about $1M. The Paladin Club’s goal is about $1M. Total revenues for sports are about $4M. Even if we got $1M for whoring out the FB team to the FBS every year, that’s about $13M shy of breaking even. So the economics of our sports are pretty hard to figure out. A big chunk of the costs may be hidden in the tuition somehow, and that would be a problem because tuition is absurd and is likely depressing enrollment. So maybe there are sugar daddies dumping money into sports every year outside of the Paladin Club. Hopefully they are all vaccinated and on healthy diets.

Re: DON’T TELL ED, AFFIRM, ROUNDBALL etc.

PostPosted:Tue May 11, 2021 10:03 pm
by apaladin
Furmanoid wrote:
Tue May 11, 2021 6:58 am
Their endowment is only $52M: less than 1/10 of Furman’s. That’s pretty pitiful especially in such an expensive part of the country. Sounds like they are just fighting for survival. Furman only pretends to have a money problem.
According to one source their endowment is more than 3 tmes that at 176 million, still not Furman like but they have Furman like tuition, almost $60k.