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University of New Orleans, a member of the Sunbelt Conference, is facing severe budget problems. They are currently in a grace period because of hurricane Katrina, but will soon have to consider whether to drop to D2.
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That would be too bad. There was a time when both UNO and Tulane had very solid programs down there. Tim Floyd had success at UNO. And I recall UNO whoopin up pretty good on a Stan Albeck team way back when. -
I know we're talking about an individual team here (UNO), but I've wondered all year long about the long term viability of some of the lower eschelon D1 conferences. Conf.'s like the Northeast, Southern, Southland, and SWAC might be getting some revenue benefit from being D1, but there certainly aren't any long term prospects of those programs having sustained success. they struggle to attract even 3 star recruits their direction. Even mid-majors like BU struggle against the BCS programs with regard to recruiting.Comment
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The Sun Belt has benefited on the football side of things because of the addition of the two Florida schools FIU and FAU. A number of it's members are new to FBS football the last 10 years or in the coming years (Troy, MTSU; WKU, South Alabama).
A long-standing member, North Texas won or shared 4 consecutive football titles, yet found themselves on the NCAA's attendance watch list.
A requirement for FBS football is you must meet certain minimum attendance requirements. You must average 15,000 per game per season over any 3 year period to remain in FBS. There are ways to get around that by meeting other attendance marks. But most schools if they are getting close to falling under that will run promotions like free tickets or food to students to keep from not meeting the minimum.
Along with North Texas, Louisiana-Monroe fell under the watch for a short time.
The WAC has had several members put under watch as well, including New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.
In recent years a few MAC schools have also fallen under this watch, including Toledo and Ball State.
And that's in part what forces schools to focus on football, even when they may not want to spend all their money there. I've been saying it for years--football is in the process of destroying college sports.
And it's a smart move for upstarts like FGCU and A&M-Corpus Christi to make the move, because they are marketing gold.Comment
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Things are looking bleaker at UNO. The Athletic Director has reportedly sent out a letter to all other Division I schools granting them permission to contact their student athletes in 9 different sports--
For the record, here are the basketbll players on their roster--
One of their players, Darian McKinstry, was recruited by Bradley out of Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago. He failed to qualify academically and attended junior college in California before transferring to UNO.
He was UNO's 3rd leading scorer this past season at 10.0 ppg, and their leader in assists and steals. He would have been their leading returning scorer next season if they do have a basketball team. In previous cases like this, the NCAA has granted waivers for student-athletes who transfer, so they do not have to sit out a year after they transfer.
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here's an article about how students at UNO and elsewhere are rebelling at being assessed higher "athletic fees"...
and students being charged fees for an athletic department they do not want to support...
But what I find interesting is that if athletic departments are self-sufficient (as we have so often heard the claims),
then why are they all seemingly in financial trouble and trying to drain funds from those who are just there trying to get an education?
They cite one midmajor athletic dept. being $2.3 million in the hole.
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