For local hoops fans who might want a shot at being an extra in a movie about basketball: https://www.slu.edu/news/announcements/2026/august/the-streak-filming-at-slu.php

^^^ Fascinating. So it sounds like a football player can just get accepted into a college (not necessarily the one he previously attended and played for) in one day without going through an application process, submitting a transcript, or anything. It really has nothing to do with education. Guess we gotta take the "collegiate" out of the NCAA. Maybe the National Corporate Athletic Association. This will eventually filter down to D3 if 5 for 5 happens because some D3 guys get invited to NFL training camps.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on August 19, 2026, 11:07:29 PMIn cycling news today, NAIA's Milligan University in upper East TN had a tragic vehicle crash today with 2 sophomores passing as a result. Last I heard was 2 others treated and released and 4 more in ICU. Keep all involved in your prayers.

Sorry to hear that. And people think football is dangerous.

Quote from: jknezek on August 15, 2026, 04:18:29 PMYes. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea to have 25 others. The whole industry would be able to focus a lot more on education, and a lot less on survival, if there were 10 others. How many jobs require a college education that shouldn't, but only do because they can to weed down the applicant pool because there are so many college degrees being granted? I know my company posts for admin assistants all the time and want college degrees...

We sold the country on college as the path to a better life. It's not necessarily wrong, but it's getting less right all the time. And things like having 100 first years on a football team to balance the university books is part of the reason why.

This is not new. I remember discussing this with my brother-in-law 50 years ago when his first born was still in kindergarten. At that time neither of us was convinced that sending a kid to college versus some kind of more tailored trade or "professional" training would be the best thing to do in the future. Of course his kid did go to college (but stopped one semester short of graduating). My son graduated from college as well (plus two grad degrees -- definitely right for him) as did all of his other cousins. Still, your point is valid, especially today when the survival of so many colleges/universities is in doubt, which wasn't the case 50 years ago.

Quote from: WUPHF on August 13, 2026, 02:37:39 PM

Quote from: ziggy on August 13, 2026, 10:01:58 AMInteresting read focusing on the real estate side of recent closures in higher education: https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/shuttered-colleges-selling-only-asset-113009535.html

Very interesting.

If I had an extra $12 million, I would buy the Northland College campus, though I am not sure what I would do with it.

Well, Randolph-Macon is also in a city called Ashland, so you could reopen it as Randolph-Macon North.

Speaking of colleges selling land, Webster is hoping to be able to sell the land they bought from Eden Seminary on which sits Eden's former Luhr Library that Webster turned into the home of the chess team. I understand Webster wants to tear down the building to make the property easier to sell. I'm quite curious as to where Webster's land ownership ends and Eden's begins, since there is hardly a natural distinction in place. Maybe the sidewalk in front of the building? I also saw that getting permission from Webster Groves to tear the building down is facing opposition.

The ODAC has three D3football.com pre-season All-Americans:

2nd Team
Wesley Howenstein W&L OT
Myles Bridges RMC OT

3rd Team
Parks Cromwell H-SC CB

I saw on the "Transfers" board that Liam Joyce, who just graduated from RMC, is playing a grad year at Mount Saint Mary's. https://mountathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

He was injured and did not play his sophomore year, thus the eligibility. 

Quote from: IC798891 on August 09, 2026, 10:14:16 AMJust to clarify, I was an adjunct for 7 years. I wasn't trying to bash them, just going off my own experience/observations that they tended to be used for the introductory level courses, not the upper level courses -- which tended to go to the professors with tenure

I didn't sense any antipathy or animosity towards adjuncts in anything you or WUPFH said. The professor my son liked so much taught courses at all levels. My son took every course he could from the guy.

Having said that, I think colleges and universities are better institutions with regular, full-time faculty and minimal use of adjuncts.

Quote from: WUPHF on August 08, 2026, 10:56:52 PM

Quote from: IC798891 on August 08, 2026, 12:48:48 PMHuh! Man, you learn something new everyday. I would have thought the exact opposite, but to your point, and in fairness to me, I was assuming that the courses were reflective of being part of advanced degree pursuit, not merely low-rigor cash grabs. If they're the latter, that makes sense that they could hand them to adjuncts.

Fair, and also nothing against the adjuncts, many are smart, capable and dedicated to student learning.

My son's best and favorite professor at Fordham was an adjunct. The guy basically taught the same course load as a full-time faculty member. He hated the year-to-year uncertainty of being an adjunct. I'm not sure why he couldn't get a regular faculty position. 

^^^It's basically a very condensed version of the WSJ article. The NY Post journalist appears to have read the WSJ article and written a shorter version. Questionable journalistic standards at work there.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on August 04, 2026, 04:12:47 PMTrinity has "paused" implementation of the new branding and has returned to the former branding while they figure out how to extricate the school from this disaster.  Wheeeeeeee!

Wow! Really? Fascinating.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on August 04, 2026, 04:45:41 AMUnfortunately, the article is paywalled, but the conclusions quoted are correct; if you're spending restricted dollars on something other than the donor's directed intent, you're not only dishonoring the contract made with the donor but spending money that isn't yours to spend and have, in almost all cases, no hope of recovering.  And it tells a terrible story to anyone that hasn't yet made a restricted commitment or wants to make an additional one.

You're basically opening up schools to multiple lawsuits for breaking those contract and hoping to live off the goodwill of those who made the restricted donations in the first place. 

You can sign up for a free WSJ account with an email address. That's how I was able to access it.

Re honoring the intent of donors to endowments, I know someone who made an endowed gift to an institution in support of the athletic department. A couple of years ago, when the institution was in financial trouble, he was asked to release them from that restriction. He said "no". My comment to him was: "No institution, no athletic department." As it turns out, the institution used a lot of restricted endowment money anyway to help with its financial issues. Things seem to have turned around a bit for that school, thankfully, but I don't know what has become of my friend's endowment funds.

This from the WSJ is not exclusive to D3, but relevant nonetheless: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/colleges-restricted-endowments-financial-trouble-247c7d3c?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawTeWSdwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXRJdmN6VjVNbGR0V1ExTVRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeGndJM8tHEniOKS9ymecyBA1CyRjB4GS5rBTrw33CcOi6e3Q6BRFfV9c6PsI_aem_pFhYHuiu9V05mJEKU-6V_Q

"Nearly 200 private colleges borrowed from restricted endowments in 2025, up from 131 in 2021, according to estimates from Perspective Data Science, a higher-education financial consultant. Schools used most of the money for everyday expenses, said Matthew Hendricks, the company's founder.

'This is going to be a huge problem as small colleges close,' said Joanne Florino, a fellow at Philanthropy Roundtable, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of philanthropists. 'A lot of living donors are finding out the money they donated is not being used for what they gave it for.'"

And further in the article: "More than 440 colleges are at risk of closing or merging in the next decade, according to a forecast by the Huron Consulting Group, which advises schools on operations and mergers."

Then: "Using restricted donor funds to cover day-to-day expenses is tantamount to putting a going-out-of-business sign on campus, so it is little discussed outside college boardrooms."

Even further on Baldwin-Wallace and Averett are mentioned.

Does anyone know if any of these schools (Trinity, Maryville, Sewanee) used consulting firms when going through their rebranding process?

Quote from: ziggy on July 28, 2026, 11:25:27 AMAs someone who let Amazon Prime lapse, I can confirm that the new FloSports channel is indeed available for free. Within Prime Video (accessible through the Prime Video app or website) is a set of free channels that don't require any sort of membership or subscription to be able to stream - like their version of Pluto TV, for those who are familiar with that platform.

Thanks. I have only ever accessed Prime via Roku when we were piggybacking on my son's account until he ditched his membership. I've located the FloSports channel on the Prime Video website. In the process I also noticed a separate FloRacing channel.