FB: American Rivers Conference

[Klompen]

And they will be obtaining the Lutheran Church in the next year or so. 

So where will Wartburg fans go to tailgate before Dutch/Knight football games?  It seems our friends at the church have been a little more tolerant regarding consumption of adult beverages on their lawn than have the powers to be at Central College.

I'm sure you will be welcome at their new location when it is finished.  It is out towards Vermeer Manufacturing, you can follow your nose there.  It is right across from a highly productive pig farm.      Don't know how they could have missed that before buying the land, but I guess there is a sucker born every day, and the good folks from Peace Lutheran really got suckered.  Word has it they tried to get out of the land purchase when they got a "whiff" of their error.  

[DutchFan2004]

Coe's Bean Counters probably see it differently -- If I remember correctly (and I may not) I thought Coe had one of the smallest endowments of all Iowa private colleges.  (I'm a little busy today to look it up, but this is a research project that has Doolittle written all over it.)

Endowment values as reported by the 2007 Voluntary Support of Education survey by the Council for Aid to Education:
Grinnell College $1,718,313,000
Buena Vista University $155,564,000
Luther College $113,807,000
Central College $82,138,000
Simpson College $81,647,000
Coe College $80,469,000
Cornell College $77,623,000
University of Dubuque $73,000,000
Wartburg College $48,404,000
Loras College $30,074,000

It will be interesting to see what the YE 2008 numbers are...I'd bet a lot of them will be down 20% or more.

I agree with the 20% at least.  I think they will be lucky if it is only that much. 

[Outside the Crate]

The conversation about college finances is interesting, and a couple comments seem appropriate.  All IAICU colleges are tuition dependent; that is, tuition is the primary and driving force in institutional finance.  The only private Iowa college where that is not the case is Grinnell.

There are a couple other factors that make understanding the complete picture quite a bit more complex.  Most important, how able is the institution to consistently achieve its enrollment objectives?  Second, is the institution able to attract the quality of student they want to build excellent programs and maintain high retention and graduation rates?
Third, is the institution able to grow enrollment at least modestly and with some consistency?  Fourth, a number of institutions organize adult degree programs as cash cows.  BV and Simpson are most notable in this regard in the IAICU.  Fifth, how effective is the institution in managing expenditures (such things as average compensation)?

[Klompen]

If Central College obtains the Lutheran church next to campus, they will probably have to obtain the services of an Indian medicine man and a Roman Catholic exorcist to clear the area of evil spirits. 

I have no doubt.  

[Charlie Kohawk]

Since we already have endowment info...from the Council for Aid to Education, here is each schools giving over the last two years...should be interesting to see giving levels for 2008 with what is going on with the economy right now...

2006
#1 Coe - 24,365,844 (Coe's champion benefactor K. Raymond Clark died)
#6 Wartburg - 5,724,727
#7 Cornell - 5,511,896
#8 Loras - 5,131,748

2007
#4 Coe - 8,429,822
#5 Cornell - 7,789,761
#6 Loras - 6,914,801
#7 Wartburg - 5,877,387

Interesting. Loras and Wartburg are at the bottom of the endowment list and near the bottom in giving. I'm no financial expert, but it would seem the only option is that they be overly tuition dependent. These are scary times to be lacking in two of three crucial pieces of the puzzle. I can't imagine what pressure the admission offices at those two schools are under. One small class and the whole house of cards might tumble.

Though all college endowments will suffer from the economy -- though hopefully not to the degree of my 201K  -- endowment growth is the main piece of Coe's $80 million capital campaign. Expansion and renovation of the science hall is also on the table. Meanwhile, Coe has embarked on a campus expansion project and has acquired 2/3 of the properties adjacent to campus in less than three years. FieldTurf was installed at Clark Field in 2007 (though the results were less than satisfactory in 2008  ) and Eby Fieldhouse has been transformed in recent years, including a new gym floor and bleachers, a first-rate weight room and improvements to the natatorium (look it up Cornell fans), etc. Wrestling room remodeling is probably complete now, but I haven't ventured over to look. A new administrative building was completed just a few years ago and Stuart Hall was totally renovated, including the addition of new classrooms. Coe worked cooperatively with the city to renovate Daniels Park baseball field into the first-rate home of the Kohawks. Then came the flood. I'd say Coe has more than held it's own in keeping up with the Joneses, and I probably forgot to mention some things (like the construction of four student apartment buildings).

[Purple Heys]

Seems to me that today or tomorrow is the day all conference is posted. 

We usually found out on the Monday after the season from the coaches. I'm sure players know by now. Maybe PH could throw us a bone.

Truthfully, I know nothing, I have been told nothing...I just got back from a day trip to Vegas for bid-ness and I checked the IIAC site.

[Purple Heys]

"...and improvements to the natatorium (look it up Cornell fans), etc. "

What...did they put fizzies in the pool again?   

[sportsknight]

Just double-checking the forecast for Saturday.  When WH picks me up in Cedar Falls early that morning, it will be a balmy 20 degrees with a wind chill down to 8.  When we get to Stevens Point, we'll be looking at a temp of 18 degrees with a similar wind chill.  Game time temp looks to be around the freezing point.

Heys, you'd be way out of your league.  

[Purple Heys]

Just double-checking the forecast for Saturday.  When WH picks me up in Cedar Falls early that morning, it will be a balmy 20 degrees with a wind chill down to 8.  When we get to Stevens Point, we'll be looking at a temp of 18 degrees with a similar wind chill.  Game time temp looks to be around the freezing point.

Heys, you'd be way out of your league.  

Now just a cotton-pickin' minute!...we typically endure temps well below 0 out here.   Of course our Temperature scale is bit different.

We use the Califahrenheit scale with 0 degrees roughly equal to what you people call 60 degrees F.

8)

[TheOne89.1]

Just double-checking the forecast for Saturday.  When WH picks me up in Cedar Falls early that morning, it will be a balmy 20 degrees with a wind chill down to 8.  When we get to Stevens Point, we'll be looking at a temp of 18 degrees with a similar wind chill.  Game time temp looks to be around the freezing point.

Heys, you'd be way out of your league.  

On the plus side, won't need ice to keep the beverages cold.

[Purple Heys]

Just double-checking the forecast for Saturday.  When WH picks me up in Cedar Falls early that morning, it will be a balmy 20 degrees with a wind chill down to 8.  When we get to Stevens Point, we'll be looking at a temp of 18 degrees with a similar wind chill.  Game time temp looks to be around the freezing point.

Heys, you'd be way out of your league.  

Now just a cotton-pickin' minute!...we typically endure temps well below 0 out here.   Of course our Temperature scale is bit different.

We use the Califahrenheit scale with 0 degrees roughly equal to what you people call 60 degrees F.

8)

BTW we don't get the concept of "wind-chill" out here.  If it's that frickin' cold we say F-it and stay inside.   

[edolee]

Regarding endowments...

A lot of Wartburg's endowment weakness (and it used to be worse) comes from it's historical mission... educating teachers and pastors.  While this mission has been broadened over the last few decades, the people that are dying now  that went to Wartburg way back when generally participated in professions that may have been good for the soul, but perhaps not so good for the wallet.

Wartburg has recently done quite well in putting people into medical school and the hard sciences... I suspect you will see a subtantial shift in the endowment profile when these people (my generation +/- and later) start to croak ;-)

Ed

[Alfredeneumann]

WCF Courier article on Wartburg football pre-play-off

http://wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/11/20/sports/local/10777999.txt

"Wartburg believes that "urgent" mentality can carry over to Saturday's first-round Division III playoff game at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

"I think it's going to help us, knowing the last five weeks we've been almost in a playoff atmosphere every game," tight end Ryan Hoerner said. "There was no margin for error."

[Walston Hoover]

Good Morning to everyone. 2 days away from Football again.

[doolittledog]

I get the feeling WH is ready for some football.

Strangely enough I am as well.  And no Hawkeye game will conflict with my listening to the Wartburg game.