FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

Seeing UCLA and USC joining the Big Ten makes me think the addition of Nebraska Wesleyan to the IIAC wasn't such a big deal.  Just wish we could have kept the IIAC name like the Big Ten kept their name 

[Outside the Crate]

One wonders if the athletic directors and presidents in the ARC are looking at expansion.  It seems to be a huge trend for conferences in D1, and one would think some of the same concerns driving D1 might impact D3.  Or, maybe not...  The current membership would seem to be very stable; I can't see anyone bolting to another conference or changing divisions. 
     Waldorf University just announced they are moving back from for-profit to non-profit status, and that might mean they will be looking for a conference alignment allowing them less travel.  They are in the North Star Conference, which only has six football programs, and they have to travel to mid-North Dakota for a couple of their games (Mayville and Dickinson).  Waldorf is already an affiliate member of the Heart of America Conference for men's and women's wrestling.

[Pat Coleman]

D-III conferences don't generally have the push to get into big media markets and such like that, plus more travel is bad. But would a conference add someone who fits their philosophy and is already in their geographic footprint? Yeah, probably.

[doolittledog]

One wonders if the athletic directors and presidents in the ARC are looking at expansion.  It seems to be a huge trend for conferences in D1, and one would think some of the same concerns driving D1 might impact D3.  Or, maybe not...  The current membership would seem to be very stable; I can't see anyone bolting to another conference or changing divisions. 
     Waldorf University just announced they are moving back from for-profit to non-profit status, and that might mean they will be looking for a conference alignment allowing them less travel.  They are in the North Star Conference, which only has six football programs, and they have to travel to mid-North Dakota for a couple of their games (Mayville and Dickinson).  Waldorf is already an affiliate member of the Heart of America Conference for men's and women's wrestling.

You seem to have your finger on the financial pulse of schools in the area.  How does the financial outlook appear for Waldorf?  I think I remember Iowa Wesleyan not getting a conference invite a few years ago because of their financial situation at that time.  Also, around the time NWU came on board the conference commissioner mentioned NWU was a more attractive option due to already being a D3 member and NAIA schools were less so due to the long transition period they would go through.   

[Outside the Crate]

The family (company) that owns Waldorf is giving the institution's ownership to their foundation, the Waldorf Lutheran College Foundation.  The University will realign with the Evangelical Lutheran Church (same as Wartburg, Luther and Grandview). I'm told the regulatory environment for a for-profit institution is just too complex and risky for the family.  Forest City's Hanson Foundation has agreed to pay off the University's entire debt ($ 5 million) over the next three years.  I'm told they expect record enrollment on campus this fall (roughly 650) and a total enrollment of about 3,500.  One interesting tidbit is that this means their non-profit status will save them $ 400,000 a year in taxes, which ain't chicken feed.

[doolittledog]

The family (company) that owns Waldorf is giving the institution's ownership to their foundation, the Waldorf Lutheran College Foundation.  The University will realign with the Evangelical Lutheran Church (same as Wartburg, Luther and Grandview). I'm told the regulatory environment for a for-profit institution is just too complex and risky for the family.  Forest City's Hanson Foundation has agreed to pay off the University's entire debt ($ 5 million) over the next three years.  I'm told they expect record enrollment on campus this fall (roughly 650) and a total enrollment of about 3,500.  One interesting tidbit is that this means their non-profit status will save them $ 400,000 a year in taxes, which ain't chicken feed.

That sounds like a solid plan.  What happened to the Waldorf endowment from the time they became for-profit?  Without looking up past news stories, I think the Waldorf president at that time their endowment was around $18-$20 million.  Is that endowment still there or did that go away?

[Outside the Crate]

I don't know what happened to Waldorf's endowment.  It might have been used to pay debts when they were purchased and went for-profit. A previous president sold an insurance policy I was funding to ultimately create an endowed scholarship, and he did that without asking.  Frankly, I've not forgiven him for that!

[doolittledog]

5 Saturdays until ARC football is back?

[BLynn]

RV'ing in Eastern Iowa this month and drove by Coe to check out the practice. Mostly conditioning going on Monday so didn't stay long. Lots of length on the squad but didn't notice much heft. Maybe the O-line wasn't out there at the time in the mid-day heat. estimated about 70-80 players.

[doolittledog]

RV'ing in Eastern Iowa this month and drove by Coe to check out the practice. Mostly conditioning going on Monday so didn't stay long. Lots of length on the squad but didn't notice much heft. Maybe the O-line wasn't out there at the time in the mid-day heat. estimated about 70-80 players.

Hey! Make a stop in Dubuque 

[Outside the Crate]

The admission director at Wartburg told me yesterday that the football coaches expect 140 on their roster this fall, which is about the same as every recent year.

[Schipper Strong]

Central playing  Wartburg for homecoming for the third consecutive year, 2020 not withstanding. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? 

[Old Dutch]

Speaking of Wartburg, how long have they gone with mentions in the top 30 of preseason prognosticators, only to be left out this year?  Any one have a logical reasoning for their absence? 

[Pat Coleman]

After they went 7-3 last year, what's the argument for including Wartburg?

[Schipper Strong]

I hope Central can live up to their preseason ranking. Graduating the D3 POY and 4 additional All Americans will leave some huge holes, but there are some outstanding players returning and coming back from injuries. You can’t graduate that much talent and start right where you left off, but the talent returning have had a tremendous example set for them. I think they are up to the task.