(09-23-2020 09:33 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Fisk sounds like a dumpster fire. How do schools like this stay in operation?

They have a huge art collection donated to them by Georgia O'Keefe that they sell off piecemeal when they need money.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/ed.../87632786/

https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/...tion-ends/

Guess they have blown thru that $30 million, considering their accreditation was in jeopardy for financial reasons just a few years later, for the second time in less than 10 years.


They are now on their 5th president since 2012.

Supposedly they broke ground last year on their first building in 30 years. Its a career center placement office, so not exactly anything major. Saw the groundbreaking announcement, but since then crickets. They were also planning a big new housing complex in 2014 that was promptly cancelled.

It was only 12 years ago that things got so bad they dropped athletics entirely, so they really are all over the place.

(09-23-2020 09:33 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Fisk sounds like a dumpster fire. How do schools like this stay in operation?

Fisk, like most HBCUs, struggles financially. And as a private HBCU that's doubly difficult. They've been in and out of financial difficulty for decades.

Like most HBCUs, they have learned to live with this state of affairs, and always seem to manage to get by.

(09-23-2020 09:38 AM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 09:33 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Fisk sounds like a dumpster fire. How do schools like this stay in operation?

They have a huge art collection donated to them by Georgia O'Keefe that they sell off piecemeal when they need money.

Just a nit - it's not a huge art collection, it numbers less than 100 pieces, but it is a very valuable collection as it contains many paintings by modern Masters. There are several paintings in that collection that would likely draw north of $50 million each at auction.

I think the 100 is just the pieces O'Keefe donated. Their museum website says they have over 4,000 pieces including Picasso and Cezanne. I doubt what they claim are all accounted for, but that's what they claim.

https://www.fiskuniversitygalleries.org/new-page

(09-23-2020 09:33 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Fisk sounds like a dumpster fire. How do schools like this stay in operation?

Fisk actually has a great academic reputation. They are the only NAIA member that's also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. If I were a smart guy looking to attend an HCBU and didn't care about athletics, I would strongly consider Fisk. Although I would probably choose Xavier LA instead.

Assuming they have their finances straightened out and solid leadership in place at this time, I would say their odds of actually getting into D2 is better than, say, Allen University. Because athletic prowess has nothing to do with the D2 membership process. Why they would WANT to be in D2 is a completely different question, unless they are now willing to spend a whole lot more money.

And they've recently revamped their web site. While perusing it, I discovered they are building an actual athletics web site for the first time (doesn't appear ready yet) at http://www.fiskathletics.com/index.php . So they are starting to spend at least a LITTLE money on their program. Previously they've never even had an actual SID, and they now list one in their staff directory, so things are looking up for them athletically.

(09-23-2020 09:03 AM)nhoward14 Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:52 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:04 AM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 06:56 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Speaking of Fisk, Division II?

http://www.collegiateconsulting.com/news...tion-study

Well, since they are totally, utterly, and hopelessly irrelevant in every way as an NAIA school and have a long and well established history of financial and accreditation problems, I’d say D2 is the place for them. Or anywhere but the NAIA as far as many are concerned.

Folks, seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Their 3 years of accreditation probation was just lifted THIS MONTH! 19 days ago.

https://www.fisk.edu/university-news-and...us-lifted/

And it was only 3 weeks ago they fired their president after he was accused of—-well, just read lol.

https://hbcudigest.substack.com/p/fisk-p...fair-drugs

It’s been a busy month at Fisk.

These types of schools that the large schools who care for the academics and integrity of D2. If D2 leaders approve them? Watch a flood of applications to join D1.

As always David, not going to happen

Both Tarleton State and West Texas A&M spoke about these issues. West Texas A&M's AD already name dropped a lot of schools that are not happy with D2 accepting schools like Allen who is in the same boat as Fisk was, and schools who shut down after joining D2 like Concordia-Portland and Notre Dame in California. It makes D2 looks unstable. D2 already lost a bunch similar minded schools to D1 like North Alabama, UC-San Diego, Dixie State, Bellarmine, Merrimack, Tarleton State, Grand Canyon, California Baptist and so forth. We are already hearing rumblings from West Texas A&M, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana, Indianapolis and others want to make a move.

(09-23-2020 08:02 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 09:03 AM)nhoward14 Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:52 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:04 AM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 06:56 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Speaking of Fisk, Division II?

http://www.collegiateconsulting.com/news...tion-study

Well, since they are totally, utterly, and hopelessly irrelevant in every way as an NAIA school and have a long and well established history of financial and accreditation problems, I’d say D2 is the place for them. Or anywhere but the NAIA as far as many are concerned.

Folks, seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Their 3 years of accreditation probation was just lifted THIS MONTH! 19 days ago.

https://www.fisk.edu/university-news-and...us-lifted/

And it was only 3 weeks ago they fired their president after he was accused of—-well, just read lol.

https://hbcudigest.substack.com/p/fisk-p...fair-drugs

It’s been a busy month at Fisk.

These types of schools that the large schools who care for the academics and integrity of D2. If D2 leaders approve them? Watch a flood of applications to join D1.

As always David, not going to happen

Both Tarleton State and West Texas A&M spoke about these issues. West Texas A&M's AD already name dropped a lot of schools that are not happy with D2 accepting schools like Allen who is in the same boat as Fisk was, and schools who shut down after joining D2 like Concordia-Portland and Notre Dame in California. It makes D2 looks unstable. D2 already lost a bunch similar minded schools to D1 like North Alabama, UC-San Diego, Dixie State, Bellarmine, Merrimack, Tarleton State, Grand Canyon, California Baptist and so forth. We are already hearing rumblings from West Texas A&M, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana, Indianapolis and others want to make a move.

You've been "hearing rumblings" that the last 4 schools would leave for years. West Texas, maybe, but other than that not gonna happen.

(09-23-2020 08:02 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 09:03 AM)nhoward14 Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:52 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:04 AM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 06:56 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Speaking of Fisk, Division II?

http://www.collegiateconsulting.com/news...tion-study

Well, since they are totally, utterly, and hopelessly irrelevant in every way as an NAIA school and have a long and well established history of financial and accreditation problems, I’d say D2 is the place for them. Or anywhere but the NAIA as far as many are concerned.

Folks, seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Their 3 years of accreditation probation was just lifted THIS MONTH! 19 days ago.

https://www.fisk.edu/university-news-and...us-lifted/

And it was only 3 weeks ago they fired their president after he was accused of—-well, just read lol.

https://hbcudigest.substack.com/p/fisk-p...fair-drugs

It’s been a busy month at Fisk.

These types of schools that the large schools who care for the academics and integrity of D2. If D2 leaders approve them? Watch a flood of applications to join D1.

As always David, not going to happen

Both Tarleton State and West Texas A&M spoke about these issues. West Texas A&M's AD already name dropped a lot of schools that are not happy with D2 accepting schools like Allen who is in the same boat as Fisk was, and schools who shut down after joining D2 like Concordia-Portland and Notre Dame in California. It makes D2 looks unstable. D2 already lost a bunch similar minded schools to D1 like North Alabama, UC-San Diego, Dixie State, Bellarmine, Merrimack, Tarleton State, Grand Canyon, California Baptist and so forth. We are already hearing rumblings from West Texas A&M, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana, Indianapolis and others want to make a move.

More delusional ramblings from an uninformed clueless hack.

Fisk has their leadership straightened out and their finances in place every few years, until the next crisis hits. And the next one will always hit.

The fact that they have no SID or functioning athletics website pretty much says it all.

(09-23-2020 10:44 PM)AZcats Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:02 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 09:03 AM)nhoward14 Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:52 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 08:04 AM)Todor Wrote:  Well, since they are totally, utterly, and hopelessly irrelevant in every way as an NAIA school and have a long and well established history of financial and accreditation problems, I’d say D2 is the place for them. Or anywhere but the NAIA as far as many are concerned.

Folks, seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Their 3 years of accreditation probation was just lifted THIS MONTH! 19 days ago.

https://www.fisk.edu/university-news-and...us-lifted/

And it was only 3 weeks ago they fired their president after he was accused of—-well, just read lol.

https://hbcudigest.substack.com/p/fisk-p...fair-drugs

It’s been a busy month at Fisk.

These types of schools that the large schools who care for the academics and integrity of D2. If D2 leaders approve them? Watch a flood of applications to join D1.

As always David, not going to happen

Both Tarleton State and West Texas A&M spoke about these issues. West Texas A&M's AD already name dropped a lot of schools that are not happy with D2 accepting schools like Allen who is in the same boat as Fisk was, and schools who shut down after joining D2 like Concordia-Portland and Notre Dame in California. It makes D2 looks unstable. D2 already lost a bunch similar minded schools to D1 like North Alabama, UC-San Diego, Dixie State, Bellarmine, Merrimack, Tarleton State, Grand Canyon, California Baptist and so forth. We are already hearing rumblings from West Texas A&M, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana, Indianapolis and others want to make a move.

More delusional ramblings from an uninformed clueless hack.

Good I hope they DO move to D1

Community Christian College Added To NJCAA Site


They are provisional right now.

Looks like I am going be correct AZcats will have egg on his face.

Finlandia's football team is leaving the MIAA for the UMAC: https://umacathletics.com/news/2020/9/30...eason.aspx

Louisiana College officially accepted as an NAIA member, joins the Red River and Sooner athletic conferences.

https://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/Cli...ac-sac.htm

(09-19-2020 01:12 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 12:31 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 09:55 AM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 06:46 AM)Todor Wrote:  Will Louisiana College be going to the GCAC? RRAC is possible too, but GCAC is their old stomping grounds I think.

Sometime after Louisiana College left the NAIA there was a major realignment between the GCAC and the SSAC, that resulted in the GCAC becoming an HBCU conference. So the current GCAC isn't the old GCAC. So I think Louisiana College will go to the SSAC.

I forgot LC has football and the GCAC doesn't. But nearly every player not from LA is from Texas. Football is often the biggest consideration. But the SSAC is a lot of travel, and few schools within 3-4 hours.

Football isn't a consideration because their only choice is the Sooner Conference. The SSAC is a better "like school" alignment in every other way. In the NAIA, the primary conference selection factors are geographical footprint and playing similar schools. The RRAC has too many state and HBCU schools to be "similar" to Louisiana College. But I am already hearing talk of a potential OOC rivalry with LSU-Alexandria, who didn't have athletics. Not even sure they were offering Bachelors Degrees at the time.

Apparently Louisiana College is rejecting the Baptist connection "fit" they have with the SSAC schools, doesn't want to be aligned with "like schools" even if they are more alike in every other way and favor "too many state schools and HBCUs".

Anyone with a map knew the SSAC made zero sense.

(10-05-2020 05:50 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 01:12 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 12:31 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 09:55 AM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 06:46 AM)Todor Wrote:  Will Louisiana College be going to the GCAC? RRAC is possible too, but GCAC is their old stomping grounds I think.

Sometime after Louisiana College left the NAIA there was a major realignment between the GCAC and the SSAC, that resulted in the GCAC becoming an HBCU conference. So the current GCAC isn't the old GCAC. So I think Louisiana College will go to the SSAC.

I forgot LC has football and the GCAC doesn't. But nearly every player not from LA is from Texas. Football is often the biggest consideration. But the SSAC is a lot of travel, and few schools within 3-4 hours.

Football isn't a consideration because their only choice is the Sooner Conference. The SSAC is a better "like school" alignment in every other way. In the NAIA, the primary conference selection factors are geographical footprint and playing similar schools. The RRAC has too many state and HBCU schools to be "similar" to Louisiana College. But I am already hearing talk of a potential OOC rivalry with LSU-Alexandria, who didn't have athletics. Not even sure they were offering Bachelors Degrees at the time.

Apparently Louisiana College is rejecting the Baptist connection "fit" they have with the SSAC schools, doesn't want to be aligned with "like schools" even if they are more alike in every other way and favor "too many state schools and HBCUs".

Anyone with a map knew the SSAC made zero sense.

It apparently wasn't their first choice. See their comments here:

https://lacollege.edu/louisiana-college-...admission/

effective July 2022, Elms College (Chicopee, Mass. - D3 no football) moving from New England Collegiate Conference to Great Northeast Athletic Conference. They'll be the 14th member of the GNAC while the NECC will only have 6 schools and is in danger of going out of business.

https://thegnac.prestosports.com/general...100502g71v

(10-05-2020 06:43 PM)HatterFan Wrote:  effective July 2022, Elms College (Chicopee, Mass. - D3 no football) moving from New England Collegiate Conference to Great Northeast Athletic Conference. They'll be the 14th member of the GNAC while the NECC will only have 6 schools and is in danger of going out of business.

https://thegnac.prestosports.com/general...100502g71v

Maybe they should merge with the Capital Athletic Conference or simply add Pratt, Mary Washington, Christopher Newport, and Salisbury.

(10-05-2020 06:07 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(10-05-2020 05:50 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 01:12 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 12:31 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(09-19-2020 09:55 AM)teamvsn Wrote:  Sometime after Louisiana College left the NAIA there was a major realignment between the GCAC and the SSAC, that resulted in the GCAC becoming an HBCU conference. So the current GCAC isn't the old GCAC. So I think Louisiana College will go to the SSAC.

I forgot LC has football and the GCAC doesn't. But nearly every player not from LA is from Texas. Football is often the biggest consideration. But the SSAC is a lot of travel, and few schools within 3-4 hours.

Football isn't a consideration because their only choice is the Sooner Conference. The SSAC is a better "like school" alignment in every other way. In the NAIA, the primary conference selection factors are geographical footprint and playing similar schools. The RRAC has too many state and HBCU schools to be "similar" to Louisiana College. But I am already hearing talk of a potential OOC rivalry with LSU-Alexandria, who didn't have athletics. Not even sure they were offering Bachelors Degrees at the time.

Apparently Louisiana College is rejecting the Baptist connection "fit" they have with the SSAC schools, doesn't want to be aligned with "like schools" even if they are more alike in every other way and favor "too many state schools and HBCUs".

Anyone with a map knew the SSAC made zero sense.

It apparently wasn't their first choice. See their comments here:

https://lacollege.edu/louisiana-college-...admission/

I didn't have that article when you were making making the "prediction" of which they would join lol. Bravo for you "finding" and posting it now.

But anyone knew joining a conference that stretches around 1000 miles makes no sense. Its either the distance or their sketchy reputation that got them their reject notice. Either way, they are where they belong and where I predicted, despite not knowing that they had publicly stated their intent. Baptist or not, this school has more in common with Jarvis Christian, Paul Quinn and Wiley than William Carey.

Living in Nashville and sometimes reporting (and I use the term loosely) on Fisk as a member of the local media ... the university recently dismissed its then-president, Kevin Rome, due to a scandal. Not good.

On a positive note, in August 2019 HCA Healthcare and Fisk announced the creation of the HCA Healthcare Scholars program, which is designed to help high-achieving students considering a career in the health care industry. HCA (which is based in Nashville and billed as the nation's largest owner of hospitals and clinics) has committed $1 million over the next four years to fund the initiative, which will create scholarships, internship opportunities and programming enhancing students’ knowledge of health care and the career opportunities it provides.

In October 2018, Fisk announced a $1.5 million gift from the Cal Turner Family Foundation, money that, in part, was to have endowed a chair in the university’s school of business.

The Fisk campus is very nice, with large shade trees and some beautiful older buildings. It is located adjacent to Meharry Medical College, with the two HBCUs forming a rather respectable (in terms of acreage, number of buildings, academic prestige, etc.) one-two academic punch.

In late 2017, Fisk officials announced that Fisk University Galleries would be among several museums to receive a portion of a $6 million grant to develop a two-year undergraduate museum leadership development certificate program. The money aids in work at Fisk University Galleries, which includes the Carl Van Vechten Gallery and the Aaron Douglas Gallery. I have visited the two and must say (and I no nothing about art) ... strong. From what I'm told, the museum (it's smallish but clearly worth seeing if you like visual art) has some semi-masterpieces.

In the late 1960s, my father and I attended on the Fisk campus a basketball game between FU and Christian Brothers University of Memphis. I always root for the Bulldogs.

As to the long-term health of the university ... hard to say. Lots of power brokers in the city want FU to do well. I would like to see the enrollment hit 1,000. It is typically between 700 and 800 and strongly female.