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(08-14-2019 07:21 AM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  

(08-14-2019 06:26 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  The issue is broader than athletics. The need for brick and mortar is being reduced/going away in every industry - this includes education. Universities have built vast expanses of facilities that are not sustainable going forward. AD's are an easy target when talking about deficits... but the current/old model of higher education will be going the way of the dodo bird.

Kids who can, academically and financially, go to a real college will always do so. One can see that in the current admissions mania of parents to get their kids into the best possible college. Now that doesn't mean that there won't be losers, particularly in Ohio with its over built, redundant system and challenging demographics. But selective privates and big ten type flagships will still be going strong fifty years from now. The question for a school like UC is what decisions need to be made now to ensure that we're among the group of winners.

Bolded. UC can't take its foot off the gas pedal, but has done great work the past two decades to stake a claim as Ohio's other major public research university (and of course, OSU has nothing to worry about).

I do believe there is a looming crisis in higher education as tuition and student debt continue to escalate. High priced, non-prestige privates and mid-sized regional public universities should be concerned about survival.

Too bad the post-WWII peer pressure on parents to get every kid to college somehow stigmatized pursuing skilled trades. One has to get on a wait list for an electrician, finish carpenter or plumber (who are well compensated and turning away work) but we can find plenty with master's degrees in liberal arts working part-time in hourly rate retail jobs trying to pay off college loans.