Western WA. Univ. cuts football, keeps track

[polevaultpower]

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/h ... ng_fo.html

Eileen Coughlin, vice president for Student Affairs and Academic Support Services, said that Western's 15 other intercollegiate sports will not be adversely affected and, in fact, will be better protected as the University faces significant budget cuts.

"At Western, the current degree of success in intercollegiate athletics is noteworthy given that programs are stretched very thinly. Ending the football program will allow intercollegiate athletics to meet budget reduction targets, and, most importantly, to protect the quality of the remaining intercollegiate sports.'' Coughlin said. "The recommendation for this decision emerged as a result of careful consideration of all options with a primary focus on our mission of engaged excellence in all aspects of our programs. Western is committed to excellence and in some cases in order to protect quality it means making difficult decisions to meet that commitment.''

[Daisy]

Re: Western WA. Univ. cuts football, keeps track

This sounds like a "man bites dog" headline.

[sprintblox]

Apparently their football team is a money-losing program that depends on donations more than ticket and TV revenue. Which is probably typical of most other teams that are in Division II and III, as well as the teams with losing records in Division I. Getting rid of the team must be a HUGE savings.

[Mighty Favog]

Apparently their football team is a money-losing program that depends on donations more than ticket and TV revenue. Which is probably typical of most other teams that are in Division II and III, as well as the teams with losing records in Division I. Getting rid of the team must be a HUGE savings.

Given that TV and post-season revenue is almost always split evenly among conference members, winning is of little advantage in smaller conferences. Perversely, winning can sometimes be a burden. The extra expenses involved in hosting an ESPN mid-week game caused a net loss on the night for my alma mater, and since it was part of a conference contract they got no extra money for it. Dig into Ohio U's track cuts and it seems the expense of going to a bowl game may have had something to do with it.