Quote from: Ron Boerger on June 07, 2026, 08:49:41 AMUnfortunately We Are D3 won't be able to participate this year, as TBT entry fee has been jacked up to $125K (total costs last year were around $15K).  Coach Rej has more on Xitter.  They don't rule out future participation and Rej talks about how the mission continues at the link. 

Coach Rej announcing that he is going to be the head coach of Heartfire at TBT this season: https://x.com/CoachRej/status/2065034624451944452

Quote from: WUPHF on June 11, 2026, 02:31:09 PMThe future of Division III is fewer tenure-track faculty lines, faculty layoffs, and faculty lamenting the lack of communication and transparency (or tough decisions, depending on your perspective) by the administration.

Not to divert from Division 3, but is that the future for higher education generally? Is there any segment that is immune?

^^^ Thanks for those insights/explanations.

Quote from: DagarmanSpartan on June 08, 2026, 10:42:53 PM

Quote from: WUPHF on June 08, 2026, 10:20:24 PM

Quote from: MCScots2013 on June 08, 2026, 09:31:49 PMUnless I'm missing something, the administration requested NIH cuts, but Congress didn't pass them. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

Congress sets the budget and the President spends it.

Basically.

All appropriations come from Congress.

The POTUS can't pay for anything without a Congressional appropriation; see Biden's attempt to pay off people's student loans without an appropriation from Congress.  Likewise, the POTUS/Exec Branch can't unilaterally cut off any funding that Congress has already appropriated; see Trump and his attempts to cut off PBS/NPR funding.

When it comes to money and taxes, it's all about Congress.

See the part I bolded above. I might be wrong about this, but aren't congressional appropriations about what money can be spent on, but not necessarily who actually gets the money. Aren't most NIH grants (and other government grants) competitive based on responses to requests for proposals? Thus the staff at NIH and at other government agencies are the ones who award grants, right? Yet, those decisions aren't necessarily immune from politics, as sometimes already approved (but not yet paid out) grant funds can be withheld for a variety of reasons, including politically motivated ones.

I will reiterate that I am not entirely certain how all this works. Also, I suspect that not all federal government spending is subject to grants in response to RFPs. In any case, just because congress has approved a vast array of appropriations across dozens of Cabinet departments/agencies, isn't a guarantee that it's all going to be spent according to the empowering legislation.

^^^ Not that it matters -- just noting. Ferrum, which is among the 58 schools that experienced three consecutive years of losses, and was still a D3 institution in '24-'25 (the last year of the dataset), is now a D2 school. And, BTW, their men's basketball team was 16-11 this past season. Not too bad for their first year in the division.

^^^ Interesting. A year before the Spectrum deal I mentioned above, the deal I got was to get a Spectrum phone and mobile service for $5.55/month. That was the monthly cost of the phone (not the mobile service) for 3 yrs. I thought it was locked in that way. Turns out it wasn't. At the end of the year they started charging $40.00 for the mobile service. I don't recall that this was explained to me at the time, but whatever. So I canceled the mobile service and paid off the balance of the phone. Now I have a phone sitting in a box, just like you have a router in a box.

^^^Yep. Every year I have to call Spectrum to see what kind of a renewal deal I can get on my internet. This year they actually increased my speed, sent me a new modem, and lowered the price by $10/month.

Quote from: deiscanton on May 18, 2026, 10:11:34 AMI just got an email this morning from FloSports telling me that when my annual subscription is up for renewal for the 2026-27 academic year on July 2, they wanted to raise my price for next year from $107.88 for the year that I paid last July (covering the 2025-26 academic year) to $119.88 for the new year.    I decided that I could not afford that price and would rather cancel the subscription for at least a few days in July to see if I could come up with that amount.   When I first attempted to cancel, FloSports counteroffered, offering to renew my subscription for next year at a 20% discount at $86.30 for next year payable on July 2 if I stayed on.  I have agreed to that counteroffer for the time being.   Hopefully on July 2, FloSports will honor their part of the bargain and allow me to keep FloCollege for the 2026-27 year at their offer to me of $86.30 for next year. 

I got the same email yesterday informing me that the renewal price for my subscription would be $119.88. This morning I went to my Flo account, clicked on "Subscription" and hit the "Cancel" link. Immediately the 20% discount offer popped up, so I accepted it, at which point a box popped up with this message: "Thank you for staying with us! Your next payment includes a 20% discount, and you'll continue enjoying full access to all your favorite content."

I'll find out on July 15th, when my credit card gets charged, if this is what actually happens.

Thanks, deiscanton, for letting us know about this.


 

Quote from: MCScots2013 on May 22, 2026, 11:30:44 AMColleges used to teach people how to think.  Now it's what to think, with very rare exceptions.  I can love my alma mater and be thankful for my education yet still be critical.  (Isn't that the "how to think" role of my education?)

It seems to me that this statement stands in opposition to your earlier statement "If I'm running a college these days, I'm adding courses geared toward real life application in fields where people are making money.  Risk Management and Insurance, Project Management, Logistics and Supply Chain, Banking and Private Equity."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that these are pathways where you are taught what to think vs how to think.

You haven't ruined my weekend, and I hope I haven't ruined yours. I'm also not trying to crap on you. Yes, the world (especially the U.S.) is changing -- in ways that make me sad. I'm glad I'm so old that getting left behind isn't a problem for me.

^^^ I wish I could point to that kind of success in my family. I can't just yet. But my son, who has a BA in Political Science, turned to writing about a decade ago and has just completed an MFA program in Creative Writing. Simultaneously he has a novel that was released on May 5th. It's not likely to be a best seller, but it could earn him royalties beyond the advance he was paid by his publisher. This has led to him being about to start a job ghostwriting a book for a computer science professor who spent over four years leading a federal government organization.

There are so many pathways in life.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on May 21, 2026, 09:48:52 PM

Quote from: scottiedoug on May 20, 2026, 04:03:40 PMThe elimination of sociology as a major puts BW right in line with DeSantis' campaign to eliminate fields in Florida where students might learn how social forces work. And who needs to know how capitalism works?  I am glad I am not trying to run a college these days!

I'm glad we agree that Econ is a better subject to study rather than (...get ready to clutch your pearls...) Gender Studies or Dance Theory.  Those majors are major scams that do nothing but degrade the educational standards and puts people in debt while wasting four years.  If I'm running a college these days, I'm adding courses geared toward real life application in fields where people are making money.  Risk Management and Insurance, Project Management, Logistics and Supply Chain, Banking and Private Equity.  All of these can be added to curriculum and not diminish an institution's liberal arts philosophy.  Plus, more parents would be willing to spend the money to send Junior off the college if he's getting a useful education.  And, yes. I am calling out male enrollment.  5% drop (over 1 million) in enrollment since 2011.  There are two issues we can all can clearly see.  Declining birth rate and declining male enrollment.  Good luck.

See bolded sentence above. OMG. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard a statement like that. There are countless ways that people make a living in the world that aren't considered "fields where people are making money". Where would we be without our grossly underpaid public school teachers, to name just one profession?

^^^ Hmmmm. I'd love to discuss economics -- especially how it's being taught -- but I think we'd better stick to more appropriate topics on this forum.

Quote from: CNU85 on May 20, 2026, 10:50:26 AMInteresting informtion. I hope BW successfuly comes through this. Also intersting that Economics was eliminated. Hopefully they still offer some courses. I believe it is important for every student to at least be introduced to it. So does ACTA when they evaluate institutions. I know at CNU, every student has to take at least one Econ class, it might be 2.

What is ACTA? Requiring students to take one or two economics courses wasn't part of the RMC curriculum back when I attended in the 1960s. Nor was it a requirement at Fordham U in New York City where my son graduated in 2009. Is it something recent?

^^^If you divide those wins by the number of seasons coached, it looks like Bunch would have the most wins per season. I didn't make the actual calculations, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, is there something going on at Lyon? Not only did their men's hoops coach leave, I saw on Twitter/X that their women's coach has just left after one season.

^^^Thanks.