Cost of attendance stipends

[psyclone]

Here's a Washington Post article on the issue of athletic scholarships with a quote from Brad Edwards (among others) on how the local universities are handling it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-show-which-sports-colleges-want-to-spend-on/

 

[Washingtonian]

Brad Edwards tweeted this article from USA Today:

College athletics finance report: Non-Power 5 schools face huge money pressure

STATES' DIFFERING APPROACHES

Kirk Cox, a Republican Virginia state delegate who sponsored the new law, said there was a good deal of "angst" among Virginia public colleges when the bill was in the discussion stages. "We wanted to start bending the cost curve," Cox said.

HB 1897 takes effect on July 1, 2016, and schools will have five years to get into compliance. If not, schools can get five more years, "but then it's like double-secret probation," Selig said. "We're not acting as if the back five-year window exists. I daresay Old Dominion will be in compliance well in advance of" the original deadline in 2021.

Here is how the law will work: Schools from Power Five conferences will be able to get no more than 20% of their budgets from student fees and other university sources — that means ACC members Virginia and Virginia Tech, which are already below that threshold — while Football Championship Series schools such as James Madison and Norfolk State will be able to get no more than 70% from fees and school sources. Schools without football such as George Mason and Radford no more than 78%.

Old Dominion is Virginia's only FBS school outside of the Power Five — and the only school to have its student-fee threshold set at 55% by the new law.

"ODU was a unique case," Cox said. "Basically, we created another category for them."

 

[Walter]

And how is ODU funding the construction of a new stadium?

 

[mason89]

And how is ODU funding the construction of a new stadium?

"Profits" from the Maglev train?

http://insidebiz.com/news/virginia-still-owed-7m-after-maglev-failure

 

[psyclone]

I guess the title of this thread is misleading--it's becoming more general coverage of athletic dept economics.

So I'll add this to the discussion. At the meet & greet, Paulsen talked about a practice facility being something that would help in recruiting. I still think that's a real reach without a big-time donor footing the bill for a building that serves only a very small number of students. Especially with the looming cap on the use of student fees to underwrite college athletic programs.

Today, I read in the Post about the Wizards also trying to find a location for their practice facility:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...facility-location-chosen-by-end-of-offseason/

What about approaching them with the idea of a joint practice facility? There are any number of reasons why it wouldn't work--obviously if both the Wizards/Mystics and Mason's men's and women's basketball teams were using it, scheduling time might be more difficult than getting Patriot Center availability, especially with Leonsis' idea of having it serve a D-league team as well.

But the juxtaposition of Paulsen's comment and the Post article was too tempting not to bring up here. Maybe the more creative contributors to the boards can come up with ways that it could be made to work!

 

[Dawgs99]

I thought this exact thing psyclone when I saw that the Wiz were looking for a practice facility. Probably a long shot but it is interesting. I know having a practice facility just for mens and womens basketball is a luxury....but damn would it be a nice thing to pitch potential student athletes. Any chance some of the EagleBank money could help in this effort?

 

[psyclone]

I thought this exact thing psyclone when I saw that the Wiz were looking for a practice facility. Probably a long shot but it is interesting. I know having a practice facility just for mens and womens basketball is a luxury....but damn would it be a nice thing to pitch potential student athletes. Any chance some of the EagleBank money could help in this effort?

Dawgs, if I remember correctly, Paulsen's comments on locker room upgrade and practice facility came up in the context of a question regarding EagleBank money. Although from the Post article, the Caps hockey facility cost nearly 43 million and the EagleBank comes only to 12 million or so if they renew after 10 yrs for an additional 10 yrs.

Does any know what happens if somebody takes over Eagle Bank during the contract? Given the history of banks in this area, that seems more likely than not. Is there an escape clause?

 

[A.-Siegfried]

There is an escape clause and one of them is tied to total attendance in the building (not just Mason hoops attendance). There are other stipulations in the contract as well. I'll pull it out and look over it as far as "what if EagleBank gets bought out" clause.

 

[Five Two]

What about approaching them with the idea of a joint practice facility?

the old regime was not fond of this type of partnership. they were offered two different proposals to do a joint baseball facility with a local team in the Clark Griffith League. Both times they came up with requirements that basically made the CGL team pull the offer. Then the pro softball team in the DC area did cut a deal to help fund a softball complex on campus. After most of the complex was completed, the pro team dissolved (or went bankrupt; can't remember, but they never played on campus). So the school was stuck with the bill. That's why the chair-back seating is limited and areas near the dugouts are grass- the school didn't have the funding to complete the project. I would argue that the old regime chose the wrong team to partner with (the CGL team is still playing in Vienna on a field turf facility they helped fund with the city of Vienna) and that this type of joint partnership is ideal for a school like ours when done correctly.

 

[psyclone]

There is an escape clause and one of them is tied to total attendance in the building (not just Mason hoops attendance). There are other stipulations in the contract as well. I'll pull it out and look over it as far as "what if EagleBank gets bought out" clause.

Thanks!

 

[jmckend1]

"Profits" from the Maglev train?

http://insidebiz.com/news/virginia-still-owed-7m-after-maglev-failure

I remember watching that get built and rolling my eyes know it was just a money-pit PR stunt by OverDose U. It was as well vetted as The Tide (The Turd) that runs through Norfolk and is only used by students, who ride for free. Yet another money pit. Just venting, but the City of Norfolk will felate the ODU athletics department as it writes the check.

 

[Walter]

I predict once the P5 leaves to form their own football division then half of the G5 schools will shut down their football programs and that includes ODU.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

EagleBank can change the name if they merge with a third party or if a third party buys up EagleBank. They have to give Mason 90 days notice of the pending name change.

I'm no lawyer but it seems if EagleBank is bought up, the agreement has to be party of their deal in selling/merging the bank and if not Mason is free and clear to go out and sell the rights again.

Also interesting...if Mason decides to build a new facility after year 6 of the agreement, they will give EagleBank first crack at the naming rights of the new facility. Surprised that is in there...but maybe shows what the "grand plan" is. Or it is just legal speak to CYA.

And I was wrong before about the attendance being an escape clause. The total attendance clause is actually tied to Annual Fee Increases. (Year 6, 11 and 16)

 

[gmujim92]

I know having a practice facility just for mens and womens basketball is a luxury....but damn would it be a nice thing to pitch potential student athletes.

No offense, but this attitude is one reason why our program is where it is less than a decade after a Final Four run.

Having a dedicated practice facility can no longer be considered a luxury if our ambition is to have a program capable of consistently competing for A-10 championships and NCAA berths.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, and unless we're going to rely exclusively on finding and developing underrated kids (which is damn hard to do), we need to be able to sign kids who have offers from multiple P-5 schools. Having quality facilities is a big part of that effort.

We're not in the CAA anymore. If we expect our new coach to be successful in one of the top 7 basketball leagues in America, we have to abandon the "small time" mindset and give him the resources to do so.

 

[Dawgs99]

When you stack up all the other needs this program currently has, a basketball only building is a luxury...especially considering we already have a dedicated place for practice. I'm with you on the need for the new administration to start acting like transforming the program back in to a national player is important. So far everything AC and BE have done has moved the needle in that direction. Nobody wants a shiney new practice facility more than me, and as I mentioned in another post plans have been drawn up for one so that hurdle has already been cleared.

 

[gmujim92]

When you stack up all the other needs this program currently has, a basketball only building is a luxury...especially considering we already have a dedicated place for practice.

Your post made me curious. Now that we're rid of Hewitt, what would you say are our program's "needs," in order of importance?

Also, we actually don't have a dedicated place for the basketball program to practice.

We need something that our flagship program doesn't have to share with regular students and other athletic teams. It may seem petty and unnecessary, but it makes a difference in recruiting.

 

[Washingtonian]

Too bad the hotel on campus that got closed down is going to be turned into something else, that would have been a good spot to build a practice facility.

 

[Dawgs99]

Your post made me curious. Now that we're rid of Hewitt, what would you say are our program's "needs," in order of importance?

Also, we actually don't have a dedicated place for the basketball program to practice.

We need something that our flagship program doesn't have to share with regular students and other athletic teams. It may seem petty and unnecessary, but it makes a difference in recruiting.

I guess my point Jim is that we need to start winning games and once that happens more money will be generated for practice facilities etc. Our first need is to put a decent product on the court, I think DP and staff will do that. Next is improving basketball spending and expanding Patriot Club and season ticket holder base. I would put all 3 of these "needs" ahead of a multi million dollar practice facility. I might even put renevated locker rooms and team film/lounge areas ahead of a practice facility also, these improvements can be done in a matter of months. I know recruits want great facilities and I believe we are moving in that direction but first and foremost we need to get back to basketball respectability.

 

[Vurbel]

I guess my point Jim is that we need to start winning games and once that happens more money will be generated for practice facilities etc. Our first need is to put a decent product on the court, I think DP and staff will do that. Next is improving basketball spending and expanding Patriot Club and season ticket holder base. I would put all 3 of these "needs" ahead of a multi million dollar practice facility. I might even put renevated locker rooms and team film/lounge areas ahead of a practice facility also, these improvements can be done in a matter of months. I know recruits want great facilities and I believe we are moving in that direction but first and foremost we need to get back to basketball respectability.

It's the chicken/egg argument. Do we need to win before we get a practice facility, or do we need a practice facility in order to get the recruits to win. I know it's a luxury if we were still in the CAA, but we're with the big boys now. For better or worse, it's just the cost of doing business in today's collegiate sports landscape.

30 years ago we could play in a gym and be fine, but the norm became playing in an arena/large facility. Today the norm for competitive teams is to have a dedicated practice facility. I'm not saying we don't need other things too (locker room, program stability, etc.), but my point is we can make multiple improvements at once.

 

[Dawgs99]

We don't need a practice facility to win consistently in the A10. If you listen to most on these boards during last season we had enough talent to win significantly more than we did, so you can't really use the talent won't come without it card. We're off on a tangent here really, I want and fully support coach DP and our administrations possible effort to fund and build a beautiful new practice facility. My original point is that IMO its not a pressing need in order for a competent coach (DP) to win in this league.