MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gregory Sager]

I think a lot of campuses will open, because a lot of them will never open again if they don't.  Obviously that depends on how the hospitalization curve is moving, but I do think the rate of increase in most places this week has been lower than expected.  Maybe that ends up extending our social distancing restrictions rather than shortening them?  That's also a possibility, too.

Agreed!

I fall far short of your knowledge regarding Colleges and Universities...I was curious about your reference to Fallwell Junior and Liberty University... can you explain?

Liberty was already controversial and good click bait before the Coronavirus thanks in part to a stories of how the University handles financial matters.  The claim is that Fall well has used the University to enrich his family and friends.

The latest controversy was that Liberty told students that they must return to campus after Spring Break and complete classes online.  Liberty is well known for online degree programs and could have moved to online learning much easier than most institutions.  I am not sure of the latest, but they were not going to offer refunds for housing costs but would instead offer a credit for on-campus housing in the Fall.

The real source of controversy concerning Falwell, which ties in to the others that you mentioned, is his despotic and highly vindictive management style. The fear he breeds on campus and in the school's boardroom is why he's able to get away with stuff like skimming the school's money for his pleasure jaunts in Miami. If you're Liberty faculty or staff, you either toe the Falwell line, or out you go. One of the profs at Liberty, who had already accepted a new faculty appointment at Houston Baptist University for 2020-21 and was therefore impervious to anything that Falwell and his minions could do to her, posted a series of anonymous Facebook quotes from LU staff and faculty when Falwell announced that the dorms and classrooms would remain open, and that any Liberty employee who stayed away would have the missing days taken out of their allotment of annual sick days and/or vacation time. The quotes were heart-wrenching. The fear that those people expressed about going back to work on campus in the midst of a pandemic, and the opposing fear of losing their jobs, was palpable.

[AndOne]

  The following is a quote from Ryan Scott, D3hoops.com writer, over in the CCIW room today, 3/27/20

"D3 athletic depts don't rely on NCAA money like the big boys,  although closing campuses early is sure to create budget pressure of its own."

It plays to my "in the back of my head" concern.... how will the low enrollment SLIAC schools survive this pandemic... probably half or more of our schools were already in very bad financial shape, can they recover from this situation....

very scary

It comes quickly:

https://wlds.com/news/macmurray-college-to-close/

As has been mentioned above, the real killer seems to be a combination of low and continued declining enrollment coupled with a smaller endowment. MacMurray was listed as having an enrollment of 534 with a problematic endowment. I'm not sure about endowment figures, but with enrollments of 386, 522, 713 respectively, it would appear Iowa Wesleyan, Blackburn, and Eureka are also in or very near the danger zone as far as near future sustainability is concerned. Numbers wise Principia, with 545 students, would seem to be in the same boat, but apparently has a more substantial life preserver in the form of a very healthy endowment. 

I've long and offen wondered how IWU has managed to keep afloat in the face of declining enrollment for what seems like forever. Even my best friend's son-in-law, a former IWU golfer who I see periodically, is rather amazed that the institution has remained viable for this long.
In light of the above figures, likely pared with less than stellar endowments, might we well see further closures in the not too distant future?

[Gregory Sager]

As has been mentioned above, the real killer seems to be a combination of low and continued declining enrollment coupled with a smaller endowment. MacMurray was listed as having an enrollment of 534 with a problematic endowment. I'm not sure about endowment figures, but with enrollments of 386, 522, 713 respectively, it would appear Iowa Wesleyan, Blackburn, and Eureka are also in or very near the danger zone as far as near future sustainability is concerned. Numbers wise Principia, with 545 students, would seem to be in the same boat, but apparently has a more substantial life preserver in the form of a very healthy endowment. 

That's putting it mildly. Principia's endowment, as of last year, was $707.2 million.

[doolittledog]

From datausa, which appear to be 2017 figures, I found

Blackburn $22.1 million endowment
Eureka $20.3 million endowment
Iowa Wesleyan $17.2 million endowment

[WUPHF]

As has been mentioned above, the real killer seems to be a combination of low and continued declining enrollment coupled with a smaller endowment. MacMurray was listed as having an enrollment of 534 with a problematic endowment. I'

College and university closures are complicated.

You can run a college with very few students, but many institutions that are struggling utilized the build (and borrow) or die strategy during the good old days of enrollment management.  The problem is the debt.

I think Blackburn is in it for the long haul largely because they have had a much more conservative approach to administering the institution.

I would be more concerned about an institution such as Monmouth, which has a much larger endowment, but chose the build buildings, then fill the classrooms approach.  I am not saying Monmouth is at risk (they may have be quite stable), but they are down from a high water mark of 1,238 to 914.

Also, remember, the endowment is not a bank account.  I work with an endowment that requires our office to host programs related to the United Nations.  If my institution can no longer host programs for any reason whatsoever (closure, bankruptcy included), the money cannot be used for any other purpose and must be transferred to another college or university.  MacMurray certainly had to return funds to donors.

I've long and offen wondered how IWU has managed to keep afloat in the face of declining enrollment for what seems like forever. Even my best friend's son-in-law, a former IWU golfer who I see periodically, is rather amazed that the institution has remained viable for this long.
In light of the above figures, likely pared with less than stellar endowments, might we well see further closures in the not too distant future?

Iowa Wesleyan has downsized a few times over the last decade but is open today largely due to a loan from the Department of Agriculture.

As to your question, is that rhetorical, because that is what we have been saying here since before the MacMurray announcement: more closures are coming.

[Pat Coleman]

Iowa Wesleyan also retooled its programs a couple of years ago to trim majors and focus on business.

[WUPHF]

That is what I meant by downsized because that is mostly what happened, but to be fair to Iowa Wesleyan, they did add online bachelor and master degrees.

[y_jack_lok]

Sports Illustrated article on why sports are unlikely to return soon. Granted this is focused on pro sports, but most of the issues apply to sports at any level.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/04/10/sports-arent-coming-back-soon?fbclid=IwAR0_XGbPRbR1lVF-4vFGvzOWwGvSLGi8leT7VBQesBWiRA6beJwGQTLH8HI

[Greek Tragedy]

Hoping we have any kind of sports in November when basketball season starts, is there any idea of the preseason standings for the SLIAC?

[y_jack_lok]

Hoping we have any kind of sports in November when basketball season starts, is there any idea of the preseason standings for the SLIAC?

I won't speculate until hope becomes reality.

[Greek Tragedy]

Hoping we have any kind of sports in November when basketball season starts, is there any idea of the preseason standings for the SLIAC?

I won't speculate until hope becomes reality.

That's no fun. 

[y_jack_lok]

Hoping we have any kind of sports in November when basketball season starts, is there any idea of the preseason standings for the SLIAC?

I won't speculate until hope becomes reality.

That's no fun. 

You are right and I apologize for that. A question for you: Is it possible to run a fantasy league without real games?

[Greek Tragedy]

Hoping we have any kind of sports in November when basketball season starts, is there any idea of the preseason standings for the SLIAC?

I won't speculate until hope becomes reality.

That's no fun. 

You are right and I apologize for that. A question for you: Is it possible to run a fantasy league without real games?

No apologies necessary...and no. But it's still fun drafting.

[hopefan]

I have some extremely good news regarding the SLIAC, but have had to keep it 100% confidential... until Monday afternoon....look for a post then...

In the mean time, a Happy Easter to all...STAY SAFE, STAY HEALTHY.....

[WUPHF]

I was curious about MacMurray and so I looked at the federal tax filings and everything looked good until 2017.  They lost $2.5 million in 2017 and $2.5 million more in 2018.  They actually looked pretty good on paper despite the losses, except for the discount rate.  MacMurray had the lowest average annual cost of any institution in the SLIAC.

MacMurray would have had some stimulus money coming in had they waited.

By the way, here are the allotments from the federal emergency stimulus funding with the first number going directly to the University and the second going to students.

Webster...........3,517,011....1,758,529
Spalding..........1,155,755....577,878
Fontbonne........986,867......493,434
Greenville.........957,351......478,676
Blackburn.........913,064......456,532
Westminster......768,643......384,322
Iowa Wesleyan..699,323......349,660
MacMurray........677,655......338,828
Eureka.............624,909......312,455