Future of Division III

[Gregory Sager]

I mean, if somebody wanted to buy the campus of the University of Chicago, it'd probably make a great location for a football stadium complex...

It would certainly allow the Bears to finally put some geographical accuracy behind their nickname "Monsters of the Midway", which they inherited in the early '40s after the U of C dropped football completely and thus had no further use for the moniker. Truth is, the Bears have never played their home games anywhere near a location called "Midway", whether it's the Midway Plaisance near the southern border of the U of C's campus (which is the reason why Amos Alonzo Stagg's Maroons gridders were dubbed with that nickname in the first place) or Midway Airport in the southwestern corner of Chicago (which was named after the Battle of Midway in World War 2).

It's a great nickname, and in particular it's associated closely with the legendary defense of the 1985 Chicago Bears that won Super Bowl XX. But it's always been an awkward fit for an NFL franchise that's played its games first on the north side at Wrigley Field and then on the downtown lakefront at Soldier Field. 

[Patrick Coleman]

Nationally, there may be an enrollment cliff of some kind, and there may be schools affected by it.

Oh, honestly, I wasn't aware that you were even admitting this much.

Never fear, I did not say Case would be affected.

[Patrick Coleman]

Regarding overall research funding at CWRU, not just NIH, it grew from $467 million in FY 22 to $643 million in FY 24.

Of course, the data isn't relevant to this discussion, because funding cuts didn't start until the current administration took over in Washington in 2025.

[MCScots2013]

Unless I'm missing something, the administration requested NIH cuts, but Congress didn't pass them. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

[WUPHF]

Unless 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.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Uhhhh......Pat.

2024 is the last time NSF updated its table.

There is no more recent data.

https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingbysource&ds=herd

Maybe in 2026 or perhaps 2027 there will be more up to date data.

Until then 2024 is the best data available.

As for a demographic cliff, I believe I said before that only small, weak schools will be impacted.

My six alma maters haven't really seen any impact.

[Patrick Coleman]

Uhhhh......Pat.

2024 is the last time NSF updated its table.

There is no more recent data.

https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingbysource&ds=herd

Maybe in 2026 or perhaps 2027 there will be more up to date data.

Until then 2024 is the best data available.

Yes -- it simply isn't relevant to a discussion of cuts in 2025 and 2026, though, is it? My point being -- bringing 2024 data to a discussion of something happening in 2025 and 2026 isn't informative.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Unless 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.

[DagarmanSpartan]

As for 2025 research, there was a modest reduction in CWRU's research budget.

It went from $624 in 2024 to $596 million in 2025.

https://case.edu/financialplanning/sites/default/files/2025-09/Key%20Facts%20and%20Assumptions.pdf

But again, without a table showing comparative standing, I can't say there was a huge impact.

Any federal cuts would likely affect everyone else as well, and might well leave CWRU's comparative position unchanged.

Regarding NIH specifically, CWRU got $170 million in 2025.

https://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=&fy=2025&state=OH&ic=&fm=&orgid=&distr=&rfa=&om=n&pid=&view=statedetail

Again......CWRU's medical school lives on NIH grants.

CWRU ranked in the top 30 in 2025 for total medical research.

https://brimr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SchoolOfMedicine_2025.xlsx

In the end, knowing this stuff isn't about sitting in on budget meetings.

It's simply a matter of doing the right Google searches.

It's all public record and available on open internet sources.