An uncomfortable topic...

[ragtimejoe1]

The problem at Wyoming is that we fans tend to look for state $$$ and student fees to help upgrade athletics--even when we don't fill venues anymore, whether required by Title IX or not.

It is definitely a chicken and egg thing. We haven't had success in the modern era of college football, so it is difficult to predict what attendance would be if we had a really good football program.

For bball, when Mac had some good runs in early 00, WYO was among the tops in the nation for attendance. In 2002, we ranked in the top 40 with an average just over 10K.

I think with successful programs, we could easily average over 9K in bball and around 25K in football. On the upper end, we might even hit 11K in bball and nearly 30K in football. Sustained success with some level of national attention has to happen first however.

I think if revenue sports were separated from Title IX and could run on their own merit, it would help schools like WYO.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

I'm going to defend the minor sports. Frankly, if we can't afford non revenue producing sports, we should just get rid of the entire athletic dept. and make every sport a club sport.

I'm in no way suggesting that we abolish minor sports. I'm just advocating that non-revenue sports go on one budget sheet and are managed separately from revenue sports. If the University decides to take funds from revenue sports and put in non-revenue, they still can. The difference is that they don't have to.

I think WYO would continue to fund several non-revenue sports but I don't think that non-revenue sports need full cost of attendance for example. Separating them allows for easier management, IMO.

Regardless, it would never happen, but that is about the only way I can think of to get football and bball off of State funds as much as possible. With that said, perhaps some of the football and/or bball revenue counts state funds so perhaps they aren't truly profitable either. I haven't seen a full budget break down, so who knows.

 

[WyoBrandX]

With apologies to the amazing athletes who partake in those, and I mean that sincerely, I sort of agree with the concept that why do we need them if we can't afford them at our small Universities? The State could deem them very important and continue to fund them but it gives the option.

I don't know. Maybe I'm being an insensitive jerk, but I don't mean it that way.

Interesting point. After reading it, I actually wondered, why do we have any sports at all?

Football - risk of head injuries - and much knew info in this area
Basketball - all the damn leg and knee injuries

I donno - I'm not trying to be a jerk either. Sports add value - just in a different way than academics. Most students will go on and get a job after college. Most student-athletes will too. Very few student athletes will turn pro.

 

[WyoExpat]

I think that varsity college sports are about marketing, a shared student experience on campus, and alumni engagement. As far as the institution is concerned, they are a means to an end and not an end unto themselves.

If you think about it, even football at Alabama and basketball at Kentucky have to meet a higher standard to maintain the same level of engagement that other sports at other schools can meet at lower levels of achievement. Still, the goal is arguably still just maintaining student and alumni engagement.

 

[joshvanklomp]

I was reading an article about Josh Doctson and something stuck out.

As the semester progressed, he vented to friends and family. He wanted to go home. Coaches sensed something was amiss. They had seen it before; with the Wyoming campus tucked away in a remote location, Sage says he felt like he had to re-recruit several of the Cowboys' players every season during his time in Laramie. So, it came as more of a disappointment than a surprise when Doctson informed the staff after the loss to Temple that he wouldn't return.

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/03/31/nfl-draft-2016-josh-doctson-tcu-wyoming

 

[LKGates]

Utah State fan here. Speaking as an outsider who has a great deal of affection for Wyoming athletics, yes. I think if you get university president that understands that athletics is the front porch of the university, not the most important part of the house, but the most visible part, an athletic director with vision energy and focus, and a head coach that is willing to tough it out through two or three bad building years, then yes, you can have success. That's what happened at Utah State. Now, our "success" hasn't translated into a MWC championship, but just not being in the SI Bottom Ten was a major improvement. And we have had a WAC championship, a MWC division championship, and five straight bowl games, with three wins. I'm as happy as a CSU sheep with a fresh bag of weed.

I'm afraid neither of us is going to compete for a national championship. Even if you could pull of the necessary degree of improvement, the P5 would NEVER let it happen. But I do think Wyoming (and Utah State) can manage a MWC championship every two or three years, and an access bowl every four or five years. And that's not bad.

Go Pokes! Go AGGIES!