Love to see it. Keep raising the bar and become among the best in D3 athletics (and academics)

Quote from: jmcozenlaw on June 29, 2023, 07:46:32 AM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on June 25, 2023, 09:45:12 PM

Quote from: jmcozenlaw on June 25, 2023, 02:45:21 PM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on June 24, 2023, 08:30:51 PM
This Cabrini news is wild - I wonder if we'll see more mergers and buyouts in the future?

Does this mean past Cabrini alum are now part of the Villanova alumni database?

We ain't seen nothing yet!! While some of the obvious issues have been taken care of over the last few years, there is a lot more to come. Some smaller schools are proactively reaching out to larger schools with close proximity or with shared values (religion). Also, larger schools are doing their own due diligence and making phone calls to smaller schools.

St. Joseph's swallowing up Philadelphia Pharmacy and Sciences made too much sense for St. Joe's........as does this move by Villanova. Some of the schools in trouble would surprise you and I'm not just talking about D3 schools. A bunch of D2's are in trouble and some smaller D1's (LaSalle to name a local one) are as well.

7-10 years out.........we might see 400-500 less traditional colleges and universities. Southern New Hampshire perfected the model. Build a massive online University and then plow some of the profits back into the traditional University. They have a stud baseball team, an improving hoops team and word is that they are seriously looking at football.

Grand Canyon copied the SNHU model to a great degree. Now, look at how many "legit" brick and mortar colleges and universities are offering the online model. Arizona State is growing like a weed as is Purdue.

For anybody who thinks things have been crazy up to this point.........this has been child's play and we are in the top of the first inning, with maybe an out, maybe two. Things are going to get ugly over the next several years.

The Alumni Development/Alumni Relations/Fundraising departments are going to be banging on the doors like never before........and we are going to see a level of "professional fundraiser" the likes of which most colleges and universities have never employed.

I'm just hoping Johns Hopkins can stick it out until Bloomberg opens up his checkbook again!

I wonder how my University of Scranton will fare - perhaps they merge with Lackawanna College + Marywood down the line and create a super school in the Electric City. They seem to be doing well financially, but who really knows? Maybe Lafayette College - Scranton or Lehigh University - Scranton could be in our future given their endowments that are north of a billion 

Scranton should be in great shape.

Great school = Successful Alums

Successful Alums = $$$$$$$

Catholic Values of Giving of $$$$$$ = Great Shape

We're not talking Ivy, NESCAC and others types of giving..........but we can't talk about great schools and not giving back to the school that gave us our start.

Again, not Bloomberg and Hopkins type of giving, but there are many successful Scranton alums who need to dig even deeper, if they are able, as the numbers look daunting for many schools in the years to come.

It's like shedding tears during a St. Jude's Children's Hospital commercial (the most recent one is touching like I've never seen).........but not picking up the phone and giving.

Talk is great, feelings and emotions are beautiful, but without action it means nothing.

Agreed. I would like to see Scranton get a little more creative and strategic with their fundraising programs, but the more we give - the better. Especially now that my loans are paid off! I do wonder if they would acquire Marywood and Lackawanna College down the line in order to grow their footprint and gain some real estate in order to grow the university.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on June 28, 2023, 05:22:20 PM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on June 28, 2023, 04:29:28 PM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on June 28, 2023, 09:52:19 AM
Not only is it possible, we are pretty sure it will happen.

Someone I talked to in the process of Dave and I breaking the Cabrini story said there were a dozen similar conversations going on across the country, most involving a large school and a D-III school.

Have you heard anything about Scranton? I feel like they are in a good spot but also have value.

With a $275M endowment (as of a year ago) they would not appear to be in any financial difficulty.

Yeah, they are most likely OK - I do wonder if they would look to acquire some of the smaller local schools in order to grow their local footprint and increase enrollment. There are significant operating costs that come with that, however. 

Quote from: Pat Coleman on June 28, 2023, 09:52:19 AM
Not only is it possible, we are pretty sure it will happen.

Someone I talked to in the process of Dave and I breaking the Cabrini story said there were a dozen similar conversations going on across the country, most involving a large school and a D-III school.

Have you heard anything about Scranton? I feel like they are in a good spot but also have value.

Quote from: jmcozenlaw on June 25, 2023, 02:45:21 PM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on June 24, 2023, 08:30:51 PM
This Cabrini news is wild - I wonder if we'll see more mergers and buyouts in the future?

Does this mean past Cabrini alum are now part of the Villanova alumni database?

We ain't seen nothing yet!! While some of the obvious issues have been taken care of over the last few years, there is a lot more to come. Some smaller schools are proactively reaching out to larger schools with close proximity or with shared values (religion). Also, larger schools are doing their own due diligence and making phone calls to smaller schools.

St. Joseph's swallowing up Philadelphia Pharmacy and Sciences made too much sense for St. Joe's........as does this move by Villanova. Some of the schools in trouble would surprise you and I'm not just talking about D3 schools. A bunch of D2's are in trouble and some smaller D1's (LaSalle to name a local one) are as well.

7-10 years out.........we might see 400-500 less traditional colleges and universities. Southern New Hampshire perfected the model. Build a massive online University and then plow some of the profits back into the traditional University. They have a stud baseball team, an improving hoops team and word is that they are seriously looking at football.

Grand Canyon copied the SNHU model to a great degree. Now, look at how many "legit" brick and mortar colleges and universities are offering the online model. Arizona State is growing like a weed as is Purdue.

For anybody who thinks things have been crazy up to this point.........this has been child's play and we are in the top of the first inning, with maybe an out, maybe two. Things are going to get ugly over the next several years.

The Alumni Development/Alumni Relations/Fundraising departments are going to be banging on the doors like never before........and we are going to see a level of "professional fundraiser" the likes of which most colleges and universities have never employed.

I'm just hoping Johns Hopkins can stick it out until Bloomberg opens up his checkbook again!

I wonder how my University of Scranton will fare - perhaps they merge with Lackawanna College + Marywood down the line and create a super school in the Electric City. They seem to be doing well financially, but who really knows? Maybe Lafayette College - Scranton or Lehigh University - Scranton could be in our future given their endowments that are north of a billion 

I'm so curious about these mergers / acquisitions - can a public school absorb or merge with a private school and vice versa? What typically happens to the athletic dept. and alumni in these situations (esp. if it is between two D3 schools)?

I do wonder if we will continue to see more of this as enrollment continues to declines for private universities - could some of the major state schools purchase them enhance their local footprint and in other situations - convert more distant institutions into satellite schools? 

This Cabrini news is wild - I wonder if we'll see more mergers and buyouts in the future?

Does this mean past Cabrini alum are now part of the Villanova alumni database?

Love to see that success! Hopefully they can continue climbing and become a Top 10 D3 program across the board!

I'm all for adding bowling and hockey too.

Very hopeful that we see Wilkes and Scranton re-ignite a strong rivalry.

Unrelated to basketball - recently got to see Scranton's baseball fields - those are beautiful. Hopefully it leads to even more success for the program.

Congrats to The U on winning the Landmark Conference Presidents Cup after a RECORD-SETTING eight championships:

https://athletics.scranton.edu/general/2022-23/releases/20230525mke62h

(still think they should explore going D1, give the city a sports team to get behind)

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 16, 2023, 03:00:30 PM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on May 16, 2023, 11:42:07 AM

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 16, 2023, 10:00:39 AM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on May 16, 2023, 09:36:31 AM

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 16, 2023, 08:52:31 AM
I agree 100%. I see the disappointment on baseball. But given where the program has gone in just the last 20 years, what a welcomed change.

The women's lax team was a 10-9 team (a tough schedule), who should be happy simply playing in an NCAA game.

D1 should never be an option for the school, and the conversation as to it happening is silly, and based on nothing. Not even speculation.

I don't think it is silly considering there is very little else going on and it comes from a place of just wanting the university to continue to get more attention and respect - however, if given the choice - I much prefer the U get recognized for their ambition and success academically rather than athletically.

If you truly mean your point on recognition over athletics, then you are likely recognizing DIII is the proper fit.

Both would help. I do want to see more ambition from the university on the marketing, branding, outreach and academics side - but athletics can do a lot of that too, if managed properly.

I truly don't mean to be the guy to argue every point you make, and I guess by saying that, I am, but where do you feel the university is failing in any of your points?  The enrollment goes up in every class. They are not hurting for kids. How many students apply, and don't get in? Kids come from all over the NE, when years ago it felt like mainly local kids, LI, North Jersey, and JOP. I am just not sure the university is going to spend money on something that they already do, and ultimately takes care of itself.

Hey the point of discussion boards is to discuss, I have no issue with it! I would not say the University is failing, per se, and perhaps it is because I live in a different region where colleges are treated a bit differently - but I have not witnessed the school make any major headway in gaining serious recognition of any programs outside of nursing and accounting. The alumni engagement has been a little weak - but it was their latest strategic plan that kind of disappointed me:

https://news.scranton.edu/articles/2020/12/news-strategicplan-2020-25.shtml

I saw a mass of buzzwords with little concrete direction that got me excited about the direction of the school - it really felt like the dyd not have a major direction based on that. Everything on that list is valuable and important - but they are not goals for strategic growth and advancement of the school.

My thought is that competing at a D1 level would at least help further market the school, attract more diverse students and engage the current students and alumni more. Let's not forget that all but one other Jesuit university competes below the D1 level, too. There's a reason for that.

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 16, 2023, 10:00:39 AM

Quote from: NJRoyal137 on May 16, 2023, 09:36:31 AM

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 16, 2023, 08:52:31 AM
I agree 100%. I see the disappointment on baseball. But given where the program has gone in just the last 20 years, what a welcomed change.

The women's lax team was a 10-9 team (a tough schedule), who should be happy simply playing in an NCAA game.

D1 should never be an option for the school, and the conversation as to it happening is silly, and based on nothing. Not even speculation.

I don't think it is silly considering there is very little else going on and it comes from a place of just wanting the university to continue to get more attention and respect - however, if given the choice - I much prefer the U get recognized for their ambition and success academically rather than athletically.

If you truly mean your point on recognition over athletics, then you are likely recognizing DIII is the proper fit.

Both would help. I do want to see more ambition from the university on the marketing, branding, outreach and academics side - but athletics can do a lot of that too, if managed properly.

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 16, 2023, 08:52:31 AM
I agree 100%. I see the disappointment on baseball. But given where the program has gone in just the last 20 years, what a welcomed change.

The women's lax team was a 10-9 team (a tough schedule), who should be happy simply playing in an NCAA game.

D1 should never be an option for the school, and the conversation as to it happening is silly, and based on nothing. Not even speculation.

I don't think it is silly considering there is very little else going on and it comes from a place of just wanting the university to continue to get more attention and respect - however, if given the choice - I much prefer the U get recognized for their ambition and success academically rather than athletically.

Quote from: saratoga on May 14, 2023, 09:34:28 PM

Great Day:

Fully agree about wanting to grow the recognition but considering the weekend the Royals just had, they'll be in D-3 for quite some time.

*Lady Royal Softball crushed in the Landmark first round.
Two bad years in a row.

*Men's LAX really crushed in a first round NCAA game.
Getting better but still a light-year away from the big sticks of D3.

*Women's LAX, first round losers.

*Baseball blows 2 games today to lose Landmark championship & any shot at an at-large bid.
One trip to the NCAA tournament in the last 20 years pretty much sums that up.

It kills me to see the baseball team struggle the way they do with all the school has to offer inclusive of one of the nicest ballparks in all of college baseball.

Beyond women's basketball & women's soccer, none of their other sports are quite ready for prime time.

Hopefully, one day that may change.

I hear you - but I think it is less about competitiveness - they do pretty well in most sports - and more about the ability to recruit better talent regionally and benefit from more visibility on ESPN, regional news, etc. Sports is the front doorstep for many universities - and as the school works to grow a sports communication program, having D1 athletics will only help students that are associated with the Aquinas, 99.5 - not to mention the PT program. My hope is that it would engage the student body a bit more and get them to sporting events. 

Quote from: Great Day to be a Royal on May 12, 2023, 03:31:12 PM
I would speculate, and based on nothing at all, that no one in the athletic dept is in any interest of going D1. I would assume the same from the university itself.

Oh yeah, most likely they have no interest in it - I just want the university to show some more ambition to grow their name, recognition, reputation and brand in any form.