[Vision2020] 17,000 average!

Tue Nov 9 05:59:59 PST 2004

Mike -

Attendance at football games is not restricted to local citizens, or haven't
you checked local hotels during football weekends?

Tom Hansen
UI '96

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are
dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all
exist very nicely in the same box. 
-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Mike Weatherford
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 1:13 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] 17,000 average!

Hmmph.

  I did a (very small amount of) research, to put that number in 
perspective. I thought that 17,000 seemed a little high, based on the 
population and university enrollment, so I checked around a bit. We have an 
enrollment of around 11,444(based on the UI's own online factbook,) and 
Moscow's population is probably around 23,500 (which is higher than the 
actual figures I found, which sit at around 21-22,000, but are a few years 
old.) That puts the total pool of potential in-town attendees at something 
like 34,944. So, to meet the /average/ requirement of 17,000, we'd have to 
have something like 48.6% of the total potential attendees show up. I mean, 
the turnout we had, based on my numbers is pretty close to 25.8%, using my 
(potentially accurate) system.

  Of course, I'm just a relatively uninformed student, crunching numbers in 
my head and using the calculator built in to my computer. The fact that 
something is wrong here and that the team doesn't belong in IA should be 
painfully obvious to anyone who actually knows what's going on, right? Maybe

they know something I don't? Or maybe the UI Football program is simply 
beating its head against a wall, attempting to keep competing with its 
"rival" university dispite very real tactical and financial considerations 
that imply that doing so is a terrible idea for everyone involved. Yeah, 
maybe that's it.

  One other thing, while I'm already complaining: I've long been a fan of 
the idea that athletes should have performance based scholarships. My pal 
Griff suggested this to me, and it's a great idea. I mean, I lose my 
academic scholarships if I slip below a 3.2 gpa. I move that if a team dips 
below a similar athletic performance rating, they lose their sports 
scholarships. If profound financial anxiety helps academic performance (as 
it has arguably helped mine), it should have a similar effect on athletic 
performance. I also think that if the athletics department wants to replace 
perfectly serviceable equipment with shiny new, but unnecessary, stuff, then

it should raise the money itself. Want another glass-enclosed weight room? 
Have a bake sale. Wash cars. Sell your mopeds. It'll build character. Then 
they'll appreciate the new gear that much more. That's what my dad always 
told me, and he was right often enough that I trust him.

Part of my problem could be that it's late, or that I'm bitter. Both valid 
possibilities. But I came from a poor high school that constantly poured 
money (money that it didn't have) into it's football team. I'd hoped that I 
would escape that trend when I came to college.

A good morning to you all.
-Mike

>From: Nicholas Gier <ngier at uidaho.edu>
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: [Vision2020] 17,000 average!
>Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 14:20:41 -0800
>
>Greetings from Blue State Capital,
>
>All the publicity about UI going to IA explicitly stated that we needed to 
>average 17,000 per game, and the 9,000 last Saturday at a homecmoing game 
>simply shows that we do not have the fan or population base to be a IA 
>team.
>
>In response to an earlier post about the AFT call for a return to the Big 
>Sky, I did indeed send our piece to Steve Peterson, who said that it did 
>not contain any errors.  Steve is a former A+ student of mine and also has 
>done economic analyses for the union, but I'm a little concerned about a 
>social scientist now apparently going partisan about IA affiliation.
>
>If the UI thinks that it can make money with a IA football team, it is an 
>absurd proposition.  As we stated in our position paper, the average 
>deficit in IA programs after appropriated funds are substracted is 
>$237,000, and only about six programs actually make money.  And at the UI 
>there are all sorts of hidden costs: maintaining the Kibbie Dome, etc.  
>Even if they raise private money for a new stadium, the UI will still be 
>stuck with maintenance costs, etc.
>
>If we have to stop this madness now.
>
>Go Big Sky Vandals!
>
>Nick Gier
>
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