EWU Athletics Department Saga

[bonarae]

Surprised to not see an active thread about this. xscanx

Does this report end up seeing a BU/Northeastern/Hofstra/Pacific/Wichita State/whoever has had cut D-I football from the past 40 years type decision on the horizon for EWU? Maybe a Birmingham-Southern / UChicago type decision? Or will they cut more sports to stay in Division I? I'm afraid they're at the Division I minimum now. xbawlingx

https://www.ewu.edu/about/leadership/president/university-athletics-review/

Full Report: https://www.ewu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TPG-Final-Report_Feb2021.pdf

[Mocs123]

I had heard perhaps a year ago that they were dropping to D2, but I'm not sure if that is true or is still the case. I remember thinking that was a shame as they are a perennial Top-25 team (normally a top 10 team).

I guess they could stay D1 and move football to the Patriot League, but that sort of defeats the purpose.

[100%GRIZ]

It would be a SHAME to lose a Great Rival!

[JayJ79]

I guess they could stay D1 and move football to the Patriot League, but that sort of defeats the purpose.
do you mean Pioneer League?

[Rjones61]

About 8(?) years ago, EWU made the atrocious hire of Mary Cullinan. She had already ruined Southern Oregon University and was very anti-athletics. God knows why they thought she was a good fit.

She has run our athletics in to the ground and put the University in heaps of debt... just like she did at Southern Oregon. Our school and athletics were doing terrific under her predecessor. The change was almost immediate when she was hired. It's a damn shame.

I don't know if EWU will climb out of this hole. The fact that they invested to replace the turf on the football field is a good sign, though.

[CenMEBlackBearFan]

How sad that one individual can wreck a schools athletic program. Good luck and hope you guys survive this mess and hope you keep that turf red!!!

[Daytripper]

FCS and AGS just wouldn't be the same if we didn't have that red turf to b***h about and make fun of.

Seriously, though, I hope you guys can find a workable solution.

[clenz]

About 8(?) years ago, EWU made the atrocious hire of Mary Cullinan. She had already ruined Southern Oregon University and was very anti-athletics. God knows why they thought she was a good fit.

She has run our athletics in to the ground and put the University in heaps of debt... just like she did at Southern Oregon. Our school and athletics were doing terrific under her predecessor. The change was almost immediate when she was hired. It's a damn shame.

I don't know if EWU will climb out of this hole. The fact that they invested to replace the turf on the football field is a good sign, though.
Maybe, maybe not.

Schools like UN-O spent tens of millions renovating their football stadium to have the sport dropped a year later and then spent more to renovate it into a soccer stadium.

They had installed new turf and replaced an old 1980s high school style scoreboard with a large HD video board with nice looking brick encasement, done some stand upgrades and other facility upgrades and then like a year or two later football was cut

It then had half of the stands torn out, the newer field turf removed, stands on the remaining side renovated and a permanent soccer pitch installed
This was mid 00s from what I can tell
https://cdn.wallpapersafari.com/76/18/LZ0Gfd.jpg
This was in 2010 (team cut in 2011).
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/71/67133532-4581-11e7-b56d-17dd06d3dea6/592de85e6f777.image.jpg?crop=1755%2C987%2C0%2C96&resize=1120%2C630&order=crop%2Cresize

Then this happened real shortly after that was done

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/5d/05d6e339-9776-5aa6-9716-869867145f79/5331f59ce1147.image.jpg
https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/fetch/c_limit,h_1200,q_75,w_1200/https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/crm/omaha/unocaniglia_field0_3d9226b9-5056-a36a-096c0de30889029c.jpg

[DFW HOYA]

These kind of consultant's reports are usually written with an angle in mind (e.g., pro-football, anti-football, etc.) and this one doesn't seem to come to any conclusion, which is itself a bad sign.

EWU's problem isn't football, it's enrollment. It's going down and the trustees are largely powerless to stop it in the face of demographics and migration. Either invest in the future or call up Central Washington and ask for a place in the GNAC.

[caribbeanhen]

If you fold it up be shore to ship that 2010 trophy to Newark, Delaware

[JALMOND]

Typically, faculty members do not understand the role that college athletics play on campus, and therefore most love to be the lone dissenters. An anonymous donor recently donated $50 million dollars to Oregon State to renovate the west side stands at Reser Stadium, yet it is being held up by some faculty members there who think the donation should go towards maintaining classes that are at risk of being cut due to COVID. Too much of "what is in it for me" seems to exist among college professors these days, and they can't clearly see the bigger impact in terms of the school itself.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Typically, faculty members do not understand the role that college athletics play on campus, and therefore most love to be the lone dissenters. An anonymous donor recently donated $50 million dollars to Oregon State to renovate the west side stands at Reser Stadium, yet it is being held up by some faculty members there who think the donation should go towards maintaining classes that are at risk of being cut due to COVID. Too much of "what is in it for me" seems to exist among college professors these days, and they can't clearly see the bigger impact in terms of the school itself.

Trev Alberts (a non-faculty member and former Cornhusker and NFL football player) was the Athletics Director that canned football.

Let's try to keep the generalizations to a minimum please. I do somewhat agree with your "what is in it for me" statement though, as that sentiment goes both ways (academics and athletics).

[Anthony215]

With Central Washington already in D2 why not just drop down to Division 2, save money on scholarships and you still have competitive football with Central Washington only a short bus ride away, Western Oregon is also D2 and not too far away.

[SDFS]

Trev Alberts (a non-faculty member and former Cornhusker and NFL football player) was the Athletics Director that canned football.

Let's try to keep the generalizations to a minimum please. I do somewhat agree with your "what is in it for me" statement though, as that sentiment goes both ways (academics and athletics).

Or an Athletic Director that understood trying to move Football to DI - FCS would be politically difficult in Nebraska. Not sure the your example is comparable.

[JALMOND]

With Central Washington already in D2 why not just drop down to Division 2, save money on scholarships and you still have competitive football with Central Washington only a short bus ride away, Western Oregon is also D2 and not too far away.

GNAC football has their own problems, with both Azusa and Humboldt dropping football within the last year, Dixie State moving to DI and Simon Fraser on life support. CWU and WOU will need to take a look at where their programs will be as well.

[JALMOND]

Trev Alberts (a non-faculty member and former Cornhusker and NFL football player) was the Athletics Director that canned football.

Let's try to keep the generalizations to a minimum please. I do somewhat agree with your "what is in it for me" statement though, as that sentiment goes both ways (academics and athletics).

More of a perception than a generalization. From seeing firsthand at Portland State, as well as my own little school in Montana, any improvements made to the athletics department will solicit a response from the professors who wonder if athletics truly fit with the mission statement of the school. The impact, however, of a gameday crowd on the school and the community will usually eclipse any impact a Saturday lecture might have.

[Preferred Walk-On]

Or an Athletic Director that understood trying to move Football to DI - FCS would be politically difficult in Nebraska. Not sure the your example is comparable.

I can get on board with your statement, but there was also probably the factor of concentrating funds to other sports that might be more successful in DI (i.e., spending wisely). I was simply trying to point out that there are many factors that go into athletic decision making, just as there are many factors that go into academic decision making.

[Rjones61]

These kind of consultant's reports are usually written with an angle in mind (e.g., pro-football, anti-football, etc.) and this one doesn't seem to come to any conclusion, which is itself a bad sign.

EWU's problem isn't football, it's enrollment. It's going down and the trustees are largely powerless to stop it in the face of demographics and migration. Either invest in the future or call up Central Washington and ask for a place in the GNAC.

Enrollment is certainly part of the problem. Mary Cullinan drove down enrollment at Southern Oregon. I am still just baffled that EWU took a look at Cullinan's resume, and were like "Wow, we could use a little of that here!"

[Preferred Walk-On]

More of a perception than a generalization. From seeing firsthand at Portland State, as well as my own little school in Montana, any improvements made to the athletics department will solicit a response from the professors who wonder if athletics truly fit with the mission statement of the school. The impact, however, of a gameday crowd on the school and the community will usually eclipse any impact a Saturday lecture might have.

While I don't disagree with the sentiment, academic programs at schools matter. The majority of students at a college/university attend school for reasons other than the football team - see student section at the Fargodome for most games and after halftime. As much as I love watching football, I also acknowledge that there are some decisions made that often have a bad perception by one party or the other. Administrators ultimately have to back those decisions, but they also have to weigh the cost to academics as well as athletics. After all, most schools exist not because of their football team. That said, I also acknowledge that successful athletics programs can only help the perceived stature of a university, so there is an inherent, indirect benefit to the academic side from the athletic side. Also, I would like to know who has a class with a Saturday lecture. ;)

[JALMOND]

While I don't disagree with the sentiment, academic programs at schools matter. The majority of students at a college/university attend school for reasons other than the football team - see student section at the Fargodome for most games and after halftime. As much as I love watching football, I also acknowledge that there are some decisions made that often have a bad perception by one party or the other. Administrators ultimately have to back those decisions, but they also have to weigh the cost to academics as well as athletics. After all, most schools exist not because of their football team. That said, I also acknowledge that successful athletics programs can only help the perceived stature of a university, so there is an inherent, indirect benefit to the academic side from the athletic side. Also, I would like to know who has a class with a Saturday lecture. ;)


From reading the EWU report, it seemed to me that most students and alums support EWU's continued affiliation with FCS and the Big Sky. Those that voiced a concern were among the faculty, and those were also the ones who couldn't see how athletics fit with the "mission statement" of EWU. Oregon State was also running into the same thing with their big donation recently, as many of the faculty there were protesting it on the same grounds as EWU. But athletics does play a big part in university life. For example, many people who have no connection to Duke University cannot name the head of the prestigious medical school there, but most people know who the head of Duke's basketball team is.

[Schism55]

1. **** Trev Alberts
2. **** Trev Alberts
3. It'd be really sad if EWU was not playing FCS football.

[Sader87]

I sadly think we'll start to see a fair amount of these reports/studies etc on the feasibility of FCS football around the country moving forward. It's a costly endeavor under the best circumstances....throw in covid issues, enrollment issues, budgetary issues etc and FCS football becomes a pretty big bullseye for many to start cutting costs.

[Preferred Walk-On]

From reading the EWU report, it seemed to me that most students and alums support EWU's continued affiliation with FCS and the Big Sky. Those that voiced a concern were among the faculty, and those were also the ones who couldn't see how athletics fit with the "mission statement" of EWU. Oregon State was also running into the same thing with their big donation recently, as many of the faculty there were protesting it on the same grounds as EWU. But athletics does play a big part in university life. For example, many people who have no connection to Duke University cannot name the head of the prestigious medical school there, but most people know who the head of Duke's basketball team is.

Most of those people are also not donating money or contributing to Duke University's success. And those that are are probably contributing mostly to Duke athletics.

Name recognition is one thing, stepping up and supporting the institution is quite another. And while Duke's MBB is usually outstanding and can surely help make the decision for a student to attend there, I would venture it is a very small fraction of students that make their decision based on this. I would also venture that fraction is smaller regarding EWU's football program, but I have no evidence to support that.

I believe THAT is the reason that faculty voice concern about budgets and ultimately where allocated dollars are being spent. Private institutions, do what you want. Public institutions, state appropriated dollars matter. That said, academics do benefit from athletics in three major ways: (1) tuition and fees paid for on behalf of the student-athlete by boosters, (2) licensing fees the institution makes through recognition, and (3) donors that contribute to both athletics and academics. This third one is interesting, because I would bet that the majority of NDSU TeamMakers (my situation) do not also donate directly to academic programs. This is surely unequal everywhere, otherwise boosters would not be able to pay huge buyouts for coaches while the institution has to continually cut academic programs due to lack of funding.

[Preferred Walk-On]

I would also like to state that it is always sad when an athletic program is being cut, football or otherwise. In Grand Forks, the women's hockey program was cut not way too long ago. It was sad, and while a big deal was made due to some of the alumni of that program, it was the costliest program with minimal revenue. I can understand the decision, but it makes it no less sad.

[Preferred Walk-On]

1. **** Trev Alberts
2. **** Trev Alberts
3. It'd be really sad if EWU was not playing FCS football.
Agreed. They have been very competitive, and I for one love the red turf.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I sadly think we'll start to see a fair amount of these reports/studies etc on the feasibility of FCS football around the country moving forward. It's a costly endeavor under the best circumstances....throw in covid issues, enrollment issues, budgetary issues etc and FCS football becomes a pretty big bullseye for many to start cutting costs.

I think we're going to see entire athletic departments disband in the coming years. Athletics, both financially and socially, are becoming a headache of epic proportions.

Based on what I read about EWU, I believe football has a very good chance of getting cut.

[CopperCat]

EWU is the victim of being part of the state of Washington. While it isn't quite as bad as California, there are a number of opinions out there that are turning Washington into something that mirrors the social experiment that is California.

That mentality is bleeding over into EWU athletics. Yes, the pandemic has been financially draining for every program in FCS. But this goes far beyond that. I read the report, and it is VERY apparent that there are a number of faculty that just don't give two ****s what football does for the community surrounding EWU. There is a noticeable disconnect between Cheney businesses, students, and faculty, with the faculty/administration representing what is in my view an extreme minority (and very short-sighted) opinion. EWU belongs in FCS. They consistently recruit quality talent, and despite the small size of the stadium, the fans fill that place every weekend which is a testament to their commitment to EWU athletics. If EWU cuts football, there will be some dark times coming in Cheney that will certainly bleed over to other aspects of the university's operations, let alone the surrounding community.

[NY Crusader 2010]

EWU is the victim of being part of the state of Washington. While it isn't quite as bad as California, there are a number of opinions out there that are turning Washington into something that mirrors the social experiment that is California.

That mentality is bleeding over into EWU athletics. Yes, the pandemic has been financially draining for every program in FCS. But this goes far beyond that. I read the report, and it is VERY apparent that there are a number of faculty that just don't give two ****s what football does for the community surrounding EWU. There is a noticeable disconnect between Cheney businesses, students, and faculty, with the faculty/administration representing what is in my view an extreme minority (and very short-sighted) opinion. EWU belongs in FCS. They consistently recruit quality talent, and despite the small size of the stadium, the fans fill that place every weekend which is a testament to their commitment to EWU athletics. If EWU cuts football, there will be some dark times coming in Cheney that will certainly bleed over to other aspects of the university's operations, let alone the surrounding community.

The state of Colorado won't be far behind as far as that social experiment is concerned.

[Puddin Tane]

EWU is the victim of being part of the state of Washington. While it isn't quite as bad as California, there are a number of opinions out there that are turning Washington into something that mirrors the social experiment that is California.

That mentality is bleeding over into EWU athletics. Yes, the pandemic has been financially draining for every program in FCS. But this goes far beyond that. I read the report, and it is VERY apparent that there are a number of faculty that just don't give two ****s what football does for the community surrounding EWU. There is a noticeable disconnect between Cheney businesses, students, and faculty, with the faculty/administration representing what is in my view an extreme minority (and very short-sighted) opinion. EWU belongs in FCS. They consistently recruit quality talent, and despite the small size of the stadium, the fans fill that place every weekend which is a testament to their commitment to EWU athletics. If EWU cuts football, there will be some dark times coming in Cheney that will certainly bleed over to other aspects of the university's operations, let alone the surrounding community.

dang, EWU is the only left coast team I even try to follow in football.

Dropping football in 1989 was a terrible thing at Lamar. Sucked the life outta the whole area. Since bringing it back, our enrollment has increased, bunch of campus “beautification” projects, good things. Now, if we could only win.....

[Daytripper]

dang, EWU is the only left coast team I even try to follow in football.

Dropping football in 1989 was a terrible thing at Lamar. Sucked the life outta the whole area. Since bringing it back, our enrollment has increased, bunch of campus “beautification” projects, good things. Now, if we could only win.....

Lamar just has to find the right AD and coach. I am not really familiar with who you have in place at this time, but hopefully you will be competitive soon. My experience tells me that it all starts at the top with the president of the university. If the president cares about athletics/football, and makes it a priority, the attitude flows down hill and breeds success. The more good programs in the future WAC the better.

[MVFCBeat]

You're going to see some major changes in college athletics in the next decade I think. Legislation that puts more of the revenue from football and mbb into the players' hands will substantially effect how business is done.

In addition, I think the current generation values college athletics significantly less than previous ones. Once the baby boomers and their checks are gone, will we still be able to support the sports at the same level? Student engagement, overall, is at an all time low. They just don't care, and many are even actively anti-athletics due to the perceived advantages the athletes get or just pure dislike of the athletes. This is particularly true at small schools where athletics events aren't big-time can't-miss events. Why go to a, say, mediocre Rhode Island football game (randomly chosen team) and sit through four hours in a mediocre atmosphere when you can go to the bars with your friends?

For big sports fans like us, we choose the game because we love football. But for casual folks who do it for fun that is not a great draw. Especially with so many other options. As a UNI student in the mid-2000s I would say there were often more UNI students at Iowa games, most likely, that UNI games on any given Saturday.