Future of Division III

[maripp2002]

Does wrestling bring in that many tuition-paying students beyond the costs of the program?

It's one of the cheapest overall costs-wise, as wrestling does not need intense setup. It usually runs with 1-3 (paid) coaches, and for men's wrestling at least, there are 10 weight classes, that you could ideally be 3-4 guys deep in. Women's would be similar, and if you're offering that as well, you could use all the same equipment and even coaches.

So while it's not a cash cow, it should almost always, bring in far more than it costs. Depending on your overall tuition payment per student, you're looking at a decent chunk of change.

[smedindy]

Caught up with this board, finally. The financial issues are affecting smaller public schools as well if tax revenues don't meet expectations. It takes some bold management to deal with the financial issues head on, and a smart president would try to grow or start a program that other colleges have ended in the hopes of tuition dollars and fundraising.

The biggest headache is dealing with the DEI and international student issues. Colleges can't hide from them, because a few outspoken alumni can cause big trouble by going to their favored outlets.

BTW - Simon Fraser is 'exploring' departing the NCAA to rejoin their instituions in Canada. I don't think this will have an effect on D3, per se, except some SFU recruits may be ripe for picking for some D3 schools.

[WUPHF]

The job of college President these days is almost 100% fundraising - they hire specialists to do the academic and organizational stuff - not a world that seems super exciting to me!

[/quote]

The same is true at many medium and large institutions as well.

A past provost at Washington University used to introduce himself with a line about how no one knows what a provost does, then he offer a long list of job duties that included practically everything at the university other than fundraising, government affairs, endowment management and maybe a few others areas.