FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

Former IIAC school Iowa Wesleyan is closing after 181 years. 

https://twitter.com/gazettedotcom/status/1640760933818540032?s=20

From the article... Iowa Wesleyan has established four "teach-out agreements" so students can complete their programs on time and for a comparable cost. Those agreements are with William Penn University; Upper Iowa University; University of Dubuque; and Culver-Stockton College, with others possible.

Going back 50 years, Iowa has lost,
Parsons 1973
Westmar 1997
Marycrest 2002
AIB 2016
Ashford 2016
Iowa Wesleyan 2023

[formerd3db]

Former IIAC school Iowa Wesleyan is closing after 181 years. 

https://twitter.com/gazettedotcom/status/1640760933818540032?s=20

From the article... Iowa Wesleyan has established four "teach-out agreements" so students can complete their programs on time and for a comparable cost. Those agreements are with William Penn University; Upper Iowa University; University of Dubuque; and Culver-Stockton College, with others possible.

Going back 50 years, Iowa has lost,
Parsons 1973
Westmar 1997
Marycrest 2002
AIB 2016
Ashford 2016
Iowa Wesleyan 2023

Well, that is another sad occurrence. I had often wondered how they were going to survive, given the under 1,000 enrollment they've had. Despite being small, a very fine school with much tradition and history, providing opportunities for many students from rural areas who preferred a smaller atmosphere rather than a large state or public university and in a quaint old town.

Yet, as many have said, and we all know the present economic times, this is going to continue to happen to more of these small, historic schools. I wonder which ones are going to be next? I recall a couple of years ago, people mentioned Beloit was in trouble; I wonderr about smaller schools such as Eureka, Manchester, etc., although I admittedly do not know any details about their financial situations.  Although we all know the cost of operating a college is tremendous, somehow I mistakenly thought that some of these small schools are able to manage it (alumni and corpirate donations, etc.), however, I obviously am woefully uneducated about that.

Again, a sad situation, and especially in regards to the football program and the other sports. I thought IW was in the right path to improving their football program when they returned to the NAIA (although also sad to see they left DIII). Although they had long since moved on, I would also think that Hal Mumme and the late Mike Leach would be a little sad in hearing this development.The more important aspect is that IW, like Finlandia, has made arrangements for the students to finish their education at other schools.

Lastly, there have been rumors in our MIAA that Albion is in trouble financially the past 3-4 years plus. The school is currently being investigated by the state regarding use of their Endowment Fund, among other troubles they've had at the school. As much as that school has been a rival to us (my alma mater), I hope they don't ever have to make the decision that IW, Finlandia, MacMurray, Urbana and others have had to do as has been mentioned here by fellow posters. Again, a sad sign of the times in all aspects. Who will be next?
Thanks doolittledog for sharing the news release with us.
Additional thoughts anyone?

[doolittledog]

Former IIAC school Iowa Wesleyan is closing after 181 years. 

https://twitter.com/gazettedotcom/status/1640760933818540032?s=20

From the article... Iowa Wesleyan has established four "teach-out agreements" so students can complete their programs on time and for a comparable cost. Those agreements are with William Penn University; Upper Iowa University; University of Dubuque; and Culver-Stockton College, with others possible.

Going back 50 years, Iowa has lost,
Parsons 1973
Westmar 1997
Marycrest 2002
AIB 2016
Ashford 2016
Iowa Wesleyan 2023

Well, that is another sad occurrence. I had often wondered how they were going to survive, given the under 1,000 enrollment they've had. Despite being small, a very fine school with much tradition and history, providing opportunities for many students from rural areas who preferred a smaller atmosphere rather than a large state or public university and in a quaint old town.

Yet, as many have said, and we all know the present economic times, this is going to continue to happen to more of these small, historic schools. I wonder which ones are going to be next? I recall a couple of years ago, people mentioned Beloit was in trouble; I wonderr about smaller schools such as Eureka, Manchester, etc., although I admittedly do not know any details about their financial situations.  Although we all know the cost of operating a college is tremendous, somehow I mistakenly thought that some of these small schools are able to manage it (alumni and corpirate donations, etc.), however, I obviously am woefully uneducated about that.

Again, a sad situation, and especially in regards to the football program and the other sports. I thought IW was in the right path to improving their football program when they returned to the NAIA (although also sad to see they left DIII). Although they had long since moved on, I would also think that Hal Mumme and the late Mike Leach would be a little sad in hearing this development.The more important aspect is that IW, like Finlandia, has made arrangements for the students to finish their education at other schools.

Lastly, there have been rumors in our MIAA that Albion is in trouble financially the past 3-4 years plus. The school is currently being investigated by the state regarding use of their Endowment Fund, among other troubles they've had at the school. As much as that school has been a rival to us (my alma mater), I hope they don't ever have to make the decision that IW, Finlandia, MacMurray, Urbana and others have had to do as has been mentioned here by fellow posters. Again, a sad sign of the times in all aspects. Who will be next?
Thanks doolittledog for sharing the news release with us.
Additional thoughts anyone?

2 articles I read about Iowa Wesleyan closing, and now I don't have the links, 1 noted that Graceland, Upper Iowa, and William Penn also asked for $12 million from the state in Covid funds.  Maybe we should keep an eye and those schools.  In the other article, it was from someone in higher ed, mentioned previously they thought any school with under 500 FTE would be in trouble, but they are raising that to any college under 1,000 FTE will have issues in the future.  In Iowa I think that puts Briar Cliff, Clarke, Waldorf on the list.  There might be some others that are close to that threshold. 

[BLynn]

Dolittledog, do you think that there is something to the fact that the 'schools to watch' list is almost entirely NAIA colleges? I mean in the vein that being NCAA creates more donations, better endowments etc?

[doolittledog]

Dolittledog, do you think that there is something to the fact that the 'schools to watch' list is almost entirely NAIA colleges? I mean in the vein that being NCAA creates more donations, better endowments etc?

No, I think it's just a case of those are the schools that fit the criteria of what was noted in the articles.  Sub 1,000 enrollment, low endowments and annual giving.  Briar Cliff and Clarke are former women's colleges in a large city with a bigger college, or colleges within close proximity to compete against.  Waldorf was a junior college up until 20-25 years ago.  Those would be bigger factors that athletics in NCAA or NAIA.   

As far as the schools that asked the state for $12 million in Covid funds, in that article those schools said they were not in financial difficulty.  I'm just noting those were the other schools along with Iowa Wesleyan that had gone that route recently.

[DuffMan]

I saw a blurb today that Cooper Downs is returning to SJU this year. 

[MediaGuy]

Former IIAC school Iowa Wesleyan is closing after 181 years. 

https://twitter.com/gazettedotcom/status/1640760933818540032?s=20

From the article... Iowa Wesleyan has established four "teach-out agreements" so students can complete their programs on time and for a comparable cost. Those agreements are with William Penn University; Upper Iowa University; University of Dubuque; and Culver-Stockton College, with others possible.

Going back 50 years, Iowa has lost,
Parsons 1973
Westmar 1997
Marycrest 2002
AIB 2016
Ashford 2016
Iowa Wesleyan 2023

Well, that is another sad occurrence. I had often wondered how they were going to survive, given the under 1,000 enrollment they've had. Despite being small, a very fine school with much tradition and history, providing opportunities for many students from rural areas who preferred a smaller atmosphere rather than a large state or public university and in a quaint old town.

Yet, as many have said, and we all know the present economic times, this is going to continue to happen to more of these small, historic schools. I wonder which ones are going to be next? I recall a couple of years ago, people mentioned Beloit was in trouble; I wonderr about smaller schools such as Eureka, Manchester, etc., although I admittedly do not know any details about their financial situations.  Although we all know the cost of operating a college is tremendous, somehow I mistakenly thought that some of these small schools are able to manage it (alumni and corpirate donations, etc.), however, I obviously am woefully uneducated about that.

Again, a sad situation, and especially in regards to the football program and the other sports. I thought IW was in the right path to improving their football program when they returned to the NAIA (although also sad to see they left DIII). Although they had long since moved on, I would also think that Hal Mumme and the late Mike Leach would be a little sad in hearing this development.The more important aspect is that IW, like Finlandia, has made arrangements for the students to finish their education at other schools.

Lastly, there have been rumors in our MIAA that Albion is in trouble financially the past 3-4 years plus. The school is currently being investigated by the state regarding use of their Endowment Fund, among other troubles they've had at the school. As much as that school has been a rival to us (my alma mater), I hope they don't ever have to make the decision that IW, Finlandia, MacMurray, Urbana and others have had to do as has been mentioned here by fellow posters. Again, a sad sign of the times in all aspects. Who will be next?
Thanks doolittledog for sharing the news release with us.
Additional thoughts anyone?

2 articles I read about Iowa Wesleyan closing, and now I don't have the links, 1 noted that Graceland, Upper Iowa, and William Penn also asked for $12 million from the state in Covid funds.  Maybe we should keep an eye and those schools.  In the other article, it was from someone in higher ed, mentioned previously they thought any school with under 500 FTE would be in trouble, but they are raising that to any college under 1,000 FTE will have issues in the future.  In Iowa I think that puts Briar Cliff, Clarke, Waldorf on the list.  There might be some others that are close to that threshold.

In reference to the recent failure of a few schools, I think we're just seeing the start of a 20-30 year run where we see a roughly 20-30% contraction of the higher education market for a few reasons.

1. Lower birth rates are causing lower class sizes in high schools forcing smaller high schools to consolidate, so while the the average class sizes are getting bigger, but that hides the real statistic that there are fewer total graduating seniors each year.  Also when you're at a smaller school, I would argue that the school has a higher incentive to get kids into college and would offer more resources per individual student for that purpose.
2.  The job market now and for the foreseeable future (at least in Iowa) is showing more jobs than qualified applicants, so small businesses will be lowering requirements, and students will have the ability to get a higher quality job without the traditional 4 year degree.  Also we have seen a big push for more trade/blue collar work so there is already some forces pushing for non-traditional 4 year degrees.  the fact of the matter is that in order to get a good entry level job it will be less important to have a 4 year degree and a 2 year associates, or trade degrees will be enough to get good jobs.
3.  The recent push for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has caused many colleges to hire multiple new positions that have no direct impact on the education of the students, but instead on the campus life.  This has caused the price of the degree to increase with little to no increase in the value of the degree from an education perspective.  This might be arguable from a political perspective, but I don't see how a physics degree is more valuable just because I have a more racially or sexually diverse class or teaching staff.  Political perspectives aside, this change has made the degree more expensive but no more valuable to future employers.
4.  Possibly the biggest reason is that for the generation of parents who will have 15-18 year olds in the next few years, their own degrees have proven to be not worth the expense.  I have a few examples...A friend of mine got an undergraduate degree and masters degree in Psychology and neither degree has been helpful in any way.  To advance in their field, more education and certification is required, all of which could have been done without the other degrees.  I also worked with another person who had a Tuba performance degree from UNI and the advisor sat across from them and sold them on the idea that they could make a living from a tuba performance degree from UNI...There are people with Tuba performance degrees from Juliard that don't make money from it.  So the risk/reward for getting a 4 year degree is just not worth it for more and more people.  How excited do you thing that both these people are to send their kids to school to get a non-STEM degree. 

Bottom line, colleges are going to need to streamline their degrees and offerings and slim down the number of degrees they offer to make the risk of going 200k in debt for a degree actually worth it.  Some schools will make the changes, and others who don't will have a large enough endowment/alumni base to weather the storm, but schools who are already on the edge better start cutting programs and specializing or they will be joining the list of closed schools.

[Fannosaurus Rex]

I always like it when Central puts up its schedule for the coming season. I especially like to see new names for non-conference games.  I might even make the  trip to Illinois Wesleyan.

   

[Knights88]

Superbowl is over...so it's time for the "Way to Early" predictions for next year. 

Does the ARC championship get determined when Central comes to Wartburg this year?

Is this the year Coe, Loras, or Dubuque make a title run?

Do we get 2 bids this year and if it's not Wartburg and Central, who is it?

Can new coaching turn things around in Indianola, and Storm Lake?...how many wins do they get in year 1?

Who are the sleeper picks this year?

Does NWU finally break into the top half of the conference or is it still the IIAC+?

Any interesting Non-Con games this fall?

Just curious what the consensus is.

Delayed response to your post, but I'm ready for spring football!

Yes, the Arc championship will be decided in Waverly between the Knights and Dutch. 
Coe and Dubuque should be tough and in the title hunt.

With limited at large teams, the Arc is probably a one bid league. 

I haven't checked all the Arc schedules yet, but Wartburg at Bethel should be an excellent game with
Both teams finishing top 5 last year.

Only a play or two from their first Stag Bowl, Wartburg should have another excellent team this fall.
Sounds like all 5 of their all Americans and 8 of all region players are returning.  A few key positions to fill, but Knights should be pretty good!

Updates on other teams?

[doolittledog]

Dubuque is adding men's and women's hockey for the 2023-24 season.  From the article it sounds like they are pretty much moving the Findlandia teams down to UD as well as recruiting new hockey players. 

https://udspartans.com/news/2023/4/14/mens-hockey-university-of-dubuque-to-add-mens-and-womens-hockey.aspx

[Schipper Strong]

Spenser Remick, Central College grad from the class is 2009, was an outstanding offensive lineman for the Dutch back in the day. Next week he will be one of 30 contestants from around the world who was invited to compete for the title of World's Strongest Man. Good luck Spenser!

https://athletics.central.edu/news/2023/4/18/general-information-former-central-lineman-to-worlds-strongest-man-event.aspx

[Schipper Strong]

I saw a blurb today that Cooper Downs is returning to SJU this year. 

Too much competition at Central for the starting spot.

As one of only a couple of Central fans still on this board, that blurb doesn't mean a lot to me. Personally I was a bigger fan of Brady Ketchum who was smart enough to choose Central from the start. I just hope Ketchum didn't lose his starting position because Downs made comments about transferring back. It would still leave us with at least 4 guys that are hopefully working like crazy this offseason to be starting QB.

[hazzben]

Hey Doolittledog and the rest of the ARC board... Some buddies and I are looking at doing a motorcycle trip down to Dubuque along the Mississippi through Red Wing, Winona, etc. Picking Dubuque because it's a nice scenic ride, and we can play some craps at the Diamond Jo Casino.

Question, any suggestions on restaurants or things to do down in Dubuque? Probably going in June. We did a similar guys trip to KC for a Twins/Royals game, casino, and a bunch of BBQ last summer. I realize the MLB game is out, but would love to hear some local recs on good places to eat and stuff to do in Dubuque.

[doolittledog]

Hey Doolittledog and the rest of the ARC board... Some buddies and I are looking at doing a motorcycle trip down to Dubuque along the Mississippi through Red Wing, Winona, etc. Picking Dubuque because it's a nice scenic ride, and we can play some craps at the Diamond Jo Casino.

Question, any suggestions on restaurants or things to do down in Dubuque? Probably going in June. We did a similar guys trip to KC for a Twins/Royals game, casino, and a bunch of BBQ last summer. I realize the MLB game is out, but would love to hear some local recs on good places to eat and stuff to do in Dubuque.

Casinos...
Q Casino on Schmitt Island
Diamond Jo Casino downtown

Breweries downtown-ish
7 Hills Brewing Company
Backpocket Brewing
Dimensional Brewing
Jubeck Brewing (don't think they serve food)
Stone Cliff Winery (in the old Dubuque Star Brewery) also has restaurant/drinks/sometimes live music, good view)

Restaurant/bars downtown-ish
Smokestack (live music/drinks/food)
Yardarm (live music/drinks/food)
Catfish Charlie's (drinks/food)
Gary Dophin's Iron Bar (Hawkeye's announcer owns a bar downtown)
Tony Roma's (food, strong drinks) in The Grand Harbor Resort so you can eat/drink/sleep there. 

If you want to risk jail time...
East Dubuque after midnight (Though Mulgrew's chili dogs after a night out is a tradition)

[hazzben]

Thank you Sir! +k