[Vision2020] 17,000 average!

[Mark Solomon]

Moscow's population numbers INCLUDE the university population.

Mark

At 1:13 AM -0800 11/9/04, Mike Weatherford wrote:
>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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>
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