(09-16-2020 08:56 AM)Zorch Wrote:  

(09-16-2020 08:03 AM)irisheyes0008 Wrote:  This author of the article has family ties to the swimming program and this is just another hit piece. There were several missteps by athletics and from the school administration on the way to cutting sports. These sports are a black hole when it comes to the university/athletics budget. Swimming as a powerhouse in the CAA...they swim against 5 other schools..that is like being the best at sharpening pencils..not that impressive actually but good on them for their run...also this money they are "raising"...it's called a pledge to donate-there is no money in hand. Volleyball has been a 1 million dollar black hole for many years...all the information is out there if you search for it instead of trying to get people to gather with pitchforks and lanterns. Up until WM cut gymnastics there were not many D1 schools our size that fielded a team that wasn't a club level sport.

Many large athletic programs; Minnesota, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, ECU, ect.., have had to make cuts-what makes any of us think we were exempt. The bigger issue is why are professors making so much money compared to the rest of the staff and administrators all across the campus. Bloated professor salaries are the real problem but that is not sexy to talk about.

I don't see that article as a "hit job" (I think that your post is more of a hit job than the article is). Here is the full extent of what she writes about W&M -- hardly a "hit job"; there is far worse said every day on Twitter:

"The current direction universities are taking in focusing on the exploitation of amateur athletes is leading schools like William & Mary away from the successful integration of athletics and academics. By cutting seven Olympic sports that have championship records, including nationally ranked athletes, Olympic trials qualifiers, and sizable endowments (resulting in minimal cost to the College), William & Mary exemplifies the move towards prioritizing commercialization and the detrimental shift away from de Coubertin’s powerful and balanced model of athletic and academic integration." ..."Sadly, the College of William & Mary is just one of many examples of a university placing the educational/athletic model on the sacrificial stone."

Moreover, her final paragraph is spot on, especially where she notes the lack of creativity and innovation:

"The current educational/athletics model is broken and the overall well-being and mental health of students is the price that is being paid. Though universities identify mental health as paramount, colleges and their athletic departments are making decisions to the detriment of the mental health of current and future student-athletes. These decisions, demonstrated by the cutting of non-revenue sports, demonstrate a lack of creativity, innovation, and – worse yet – will to protect the overall health and well-being of young people and the academic/athletic balance of the de Coubertin's Olympic model."

I thought that there were several good points, well worth reading. As for professor's salaries, I don't know anything about that ...but I doubt that any of them make more than the $255K that Huge makes.

Here are some more facts. I'll just leave this here....again the information is out there, just go look for it. I'd be knocking on the administration's doors across campus if you want some more truthiness...what do they have to say??

https://data.richmond.com/salaries/2018/...lliam-mary