[Vision2020] Re: Nice Story about Nick Holt

Tue Nov 9 17:37:24 PST 2004

Donavan,
 Perhaps you should start with an examination of the UI Dept. of Athletics
web site.  If you were to look at attendance figures you will see that Idaho
has not done that bad considering the record of Cable's teams.
Some figures on average football attendance for the UI: 

year	 home	 away	 	
2004	 16,620	 27,494	 	
2003	 12,064	 23,951	 	
2002	 10,931	 31,010	 	
2001	 16,230	 30,767	 	
2000	 16,853	 34,531	 	

Source, UI Dept. of Athletics web site	

I am sure Dr. Gier fully understands the consequences of moving the program
back 1-AA status and I am sure he understands that the consequences of this
action spread far beyond the football team.   Athletic programs provide an
avenue for students to attend college, cutting sports programs cuts
scholarship opportunities and this is especially true for women and racial
minorities.   Title 9 has been an absolute blessing to women and I feel one
of the best tools devised to remove barriers that prevented women from
attending college.  Before Title 9 women just were not seen in large numbers
on campuses anywhere in this nation, once the doors were opened for athletes
many of the remaining barriers fell as well.   Maybe in the 1950's and 60's
football was about brawn versus books, (and I know there are still abuses in
many US colleges) but now revenue from football provide an entry way for a
lot of students who may not have been classic "college material."  
What I really love about the UI program is how successful the student
athletes are in the classroom.  As a whole at the UI, student athletes
outperform the general student population in GPA's, retention rates, and
graduation rates. 
How many scholarship programs really pay for themselves?  Athletics,
especially in years when you have a good football team, pays for itself and
enriches the college experience for far more students than those who take
the field.  You invest some money by buying tickets and/or supporting the
Vandal Boosters and you get a good return.  (I have noticed that my PERSI
account has not had a positive return for a few years) Whether you like it
or not, football, basketball, volleyball, etc. is about education.  It is
about scholarships, it is also about valuable life skills such a discipline,
planning, teamwork, caring for your fellow teammate, your coaches, your
opponents.   

My problem with the whole financial scandal of the Hoover era is how
students and staff have suffered; have we seen anyone involved in that house
of cards charged with a crime?  Will the Board of Education ever take
responsibility for the mess that they ultimately created, no?  Will the
governor, no?   The Boise project has served as an excuse to plunder the U
of I.  I am very certain that the state as a whole has suffered economically
and socially because of the repercussions of that project.

Cutting football back to 1-AA status and eliminating other athletic
scholarships would be just another short sighted response to a scandal that
the Board should take responsibility for.       

Thanks,
Chris Storhok

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
[ mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
<mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com> ]On Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 2:42 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Re: Nice Story about Nick Holt

Chris Storhok writes, "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." and he
continued with,

"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."

First off, Dr. Gier was not attacking the Vandal athletics program. I think
you misunderstand what Dr. Gier was stating or you intentionally are
misrepresenting his fair-minded and concerned intentions. From my
perception, Mr. Geir cares very much about the University and has done a
great deal for it and the teachers and students. Pointing out an error is
not attacking it to prevent future harm to the University is not attacking
it.

I doubt Mr. Gier of all people would disagree that the State Legislature and
Governor are not running an effective government. However, that is only part
of the financial problems of the University. The other half of the problem
is the million of dollars lost by the University Administration dumping huge
amounts of money into programs and projects that they believed would make
more money based on uninformed decisions using flawed research.

Favoring sound financial decisions through proper research will prevent the
University from plunging deeper in financial despair. I think everyone would
like very much to pursue expansions in all areas of the University. But they
should do so not in a reckless manner that creates financial havoc.

The evidence that going to AI will improve the financial situation of UI is
shaky at best. I think if the attendance of 12,000-17,000 on average per
game is needed to make the financial projections necessary to make the
investment costs of moving to AI worth while we should absolutely not move
to AI. There is nothing to indicate that on average, 110% of the current
student population will attend every game. Moscow does not have the
population base to get to 12,000 on average.  Further, using WSU as a model
is also evidence that the person(s) doing the research has a poor
understanding of the University and the surrounding populations.

I think anyone that truly cared about the University would not want its
limited resources chasing after long-shot dreams of having a great and
profitable football team. I am all for moving to AI. But not at the expense
of rest of University. The money and the resources we have should be put
toward the original intentions of the University, education.

Take Care,

Donovan J Arnold

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