Future of Division III

[CNU85]

but also $76+M in "lease liabililties", the increase in which accounted for most of the increase in liabilities over the prior year.

That's because of the new and totally inane ASC 842. One of our small subsidiaries leases their manufacturing facility. ASC 842 requires a recording of over $2 million in lease liability. For a relatively small company, this destroys the balance sheet. There are no other long term liabilities on the books. We have no interest bearing debt. Just this stupid ASC 842. And you have to record a portion of that as a current liability, which messes up some of our consolidated corporate liquidity ratios. Also, look at the asset section. Some of the assets listed are related to ASC 842. Look for an ROU (Right of Use Asset). This is all leased property and not owned by the institution.


deep breaths.....back to sports.....

[Ron Boerger]

I have to remember this.  Thank you for the correction (and I believe you've commented similarly on ASC 842 in the recent past).

[Ron Boerger]

After losing nearly $6M on revenues of $82M, Meredith College laid off 6% of its workforce Tuesday "for the good of the college as a whole."  Much of the loss could be attributed to a reduction in contributions and grants in the year ending May 31, 2024, which saw $11.2M come in as compared to $15.8M the previous year.  Despite the loss, the school's balance sheet is in good shape with over $140M in its investment portfolio (and $220M in total assets) against $56.5M in liabilities, and the last five years has seen the school's net assets increase as total assets have increased from $201M to $220M while liabilities have decreased from $66.4M to $56.5M.  The school's tuition discount rate of slightly over 50% is better than most privates today. 

[IC798891]

Albright dropped swimming a year ago.  They were dominant in the MAC on the women's side in the 2000s and on the men's side in the 2010s.

Thanks for educating me!

But my central question remains: What does going "all in" on athletics mean, then?

I'm not sure trading swimming for wrestling is the athletic equivalent of dropping a low enrollment major and adding one that's in demand, though I'm guessing it's how it will be framed. Obviously, those teams will get more than the 5 athletes that were on the swim teams, but they're not even getting started on reversing a 50% enrollment decline.

[Ron Boerger]

Wilmington announced a $23 million gift, the largest in school history, from the estate of former WBB coach Jerry Scheve, who passed from pancreatic cancer earlier this year.  In addition to his work at Wilmington as coach (30 years including 2004 NCAA championship) and accounting professor, Scheve was an early investor in Apple and Microsoft who lived frugally and continued to invest wisely over his lifetime. 

For a school with a small endowment ($30M) and a better balance sheet than most similarly situated schools (~900 FTE), this gift should make a huge difference in the life of the school and those who attend and work there.

[IC798891]

Outstanding news.

This is, ultimately, what is going to save our smaller, D3 colleges. Long-term, people-centered relationships. This is someone who had a profound love of the institution, and wanted to see it thrive. As we say in the disability community: "Advocacy is planting the seeds for a tree whose shade you will never sit under"

To bring it towards the other big thread in this channel: It's what the short-term FloSports money can't do.

Also, nice roll-out of the gift announcement by the comms team, building out a landing page devoted to the impact of the gift.

[Ron Boerger]

An interesting, mostly for pay site called Perspective Data Science has all kinds of financial info about colleges, but what's free is a 9-10 year listing of private college net income and endowments, and graphs showing performance in those two areas compared to median, 25th and 75th percentiles.  They also compare against a closed set of schools which include some D3s.  You can additionally set up your own list of schools to compare against and do have to create a free account in order to play.  It's a great way to get a 30,000' view of how schools are faring financially and has been added to my bookmarks.

The comparison between two schools recently discussed, Wilmington College and Albright College, is enlightening.

Edit:  there are a couple of additional free metrics available via the pull downs in the charts: enrollment (undergrad/total FTE) and operational expenses.

[Ron Boerger]

Southwestern (TX) successfully closed their seven-year long "Thrive:  The Campaign for Southwestern University" initiative on July 23, raising $160M against a $150M goal.  Among the items funded by the campaign is a multi-sports complex, opening in Fall 2026, where football and other unspecified sports will be contested.  Funds were also raised for a new welcome center, a major renovation to the 1908 Mood-Bridwell Hall along with other facility upgrades, student life initiatives, and general academic excellence including endowed chairs and improved equipment.

[EnmoreCat]

Southwestern (TX) successfully closed their seven-year long "Thrive:  The Campaign for Southwestern University" initiative on July 23, raising $160M against a $150M goal.  Among the items funded by the campaign is a multi-sports complex, opening in Fall 2026, where football and other unspecified sports will be contested.  Funds were also raised for a new welcome center, a major renovation to the 1908 Mood-Bridwell Hall along with other facility upgrades, student life initiatives, and general academic excellence including endowed chairs and improved equipment.

Not sure if things have changed since, but I watched a soccer game there against Trinity in 2018 and on a very warm Texan day, everyone was huddled in front of the announcer's booth looking for shade.  It was brutal, so perhaps some funding might go towards some shade cloth.

[Ron Boerger]

It's unclear if they will use the new facility for soccer (or lacrosse) - certainly capable of it but they would be playing on turf rather than grass.  They covered the two small spectator stands (maybe 100-150 each) in 2022.