[Vision2020] 17,000 average!

[Chris Storhok]

Hi All,
Dr. Gier's attack on Vandal athletics is perhaps one of the poorest
strategies ever used to solve the funding woes of the U. of I.  The game of
athletics vs academics, engineering vs. social sciences, my program vs. your
program always ends up hurting everyone.  The membership of AFT should
examine its leadership and tactics before this proceeds further. 

The real cause of the U of I's funding problems can be traced directly to
poor government leadership within the state legislature, the governors
office, and a out of touch and very anti-public education State Board of
Education.  All of the energy wasted by AFT and other members of this list
attacking the football program should be directed to Boise.  The state
fiscal crisis is entirely artificial, created by short sighted tax cuts, tax
exemptions, and poor planning by the legislature.  The entire budget crisis
of the university and the state can be solved by raising taxes or by simply
eliminating all of the insane sales tax exemptions (Rep. Trail and Sen.
Schroeder have purposed this several times, yet have been shot down due to a
lack of pressure from citizens on other key legislatures).  Place the blame
where blame is due...on the state government.

I also find it odd that Dr. Gier and company is calling for a return to the
Big Sky since such a move will eliminate scholarships often given to
minorities and women.  Is not a major student admissions goal of the U of I
to increase diversity?  The move to I-A football also allowed for addition
of women's soccer, women's softball, men's and women's swimming.  Why is Dr.
Gier against women's sports?  It is easy to say that the crowds have not
been behind a losing football program, but what about other programs that
will be eliminated by a return to the Big Sky?  Do you have a pot of money
out there to make up for these lost scholarships?   What about the extra 15
or so football scholarship that will be lost, how do you recruit these
students?  A quick glance at the increased enrollment of minorities and
women since the football program jumped to 1A more than justifies the move.


Losing also produces a short memory, is there anyone on this list who
remembers 1998?  The Humanitarian Bowl?  How about 1999 when the Vandals
were knocked out of first place with a loss to BSU at the end of the season?
Should I mention the wins against the Cougars in 1999 and 2000?  Do you
remember how the U of I surpassed all attendance requirements during 1998,
1999, and 2000?  What about all of the full hotel rooms in Moscow during
those years? Busy restaurants? The mall filled with parents who came down to
see the Vandals play?  Or how about the long lines of traffic up Highway 95
to Coeur 'd Alene after the games were over? All of this when we were
playing IA football, go figure.   Do you remember the near empty Kibbie Dome
during 1-AA playoff games?  I know I attended several of these playoff games
and I am sure that these important games were attended by less people than
even some of the regular season games under Coach Cable.

Give Nick Holt and his staff some time, they are starting more freshman than
116 1-A football programs.   

I am really disturbed by Dr. Gier's attacks on Steve Peterson, Steve is just
stating the facts.  If his report states that the benefits of IA football
outweigh the costs, why question the man's integrity as a social scientist,
he is only doing his job.
This upcoming season when the Vandals (in all sports) again face their old
rivals of BSU, Nevada-Reno, New Mexico State, Utah State will again get
people in the gate, it will give a major boost to the Moscow economy and
will result in better recruits.  

Dr. Gier wants to stop the madness now, if he gets his way good bye valuable
students who are on campus because football pays their bill.


Go WAC Vandals,

Chris Storhok
  


 

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
[mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]On Behalf Of Nicholas Gier
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 1:21 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] 17,000 average!


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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