WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[tniem]

Am I correct in understanding that undergrads get a bus ride, tickets, and a hotel for free?  Or did I mis-understand and only the bus ride is free?

Appears that the only thing a student would need to pay for is food.  More here: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/FanBus.html

[NW Hope Fan]

Am I correct in understanding that undergrads get a bus ride, tickets, and a hotel for free?  Or did I mis-understand and only the bus ride is free?

Appears that the only thing a student would need to pay for is food.  More here: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/FanBus.html

Dang... Nice deal for the students! SAC or some kind of Res Life equivalent, and/or the athletic office from Hope should do something similar. I bet if it were "free" lots more Hope kids would go.

[oldknight]

Am I correct in understanding that undergrads get a bus ride, tickets, and a hotel for free?  Or did I mis-understand and only the bus ride is free?

Appears that the only thing a student would need to pay for is food.  More here: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/FanBus.html

Dang... Nice deal for the students! SAC or some kind of Res Life equivalent, and/or the athletic office from Hope should do something similar. I bet if it were "free" lots more Hope kids would go.

Considering WashU's tuition (See http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/13263.aspx) it's the least the school can do.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Am I correct in understanding that undergrads get a bus ride, tickets, and a hotel for free?  Or did I mis-understand and only the bus ride is free?

Appears that the only thing a student would need to pay for is food.  More here: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/FanBus.html

Dang... Nice deal for the students! SAC or some kind of Res Life equivalent, and/or the athletic office from Hope should do something similar. I bet if it were "free" lots more Hope kids would go.

Considering WashU's tuition (See http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/13263.aspx) it's the least the school can do.

Not to mention that their endowment is probably roughly equal to that of the entire MIAA!

[sac]

Am I correct in understanding that undergrads get a bus ride, tickets, and a hotel for free?  Or did I mis-understand and only the bus ride is free?

Appears that the only thing a student would need to pay for is food.  More here: http://bearsports.wustl.edu/releases/FanBus.html

Dang... Nice deal for the students! SAC or some kind of Res Life equivalent, and/or the athletic office from Hope should do something similar. I bet if it were "free" lots more Hope kids would go.

Considering WashU's tuition (See http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/13263.aspx) it's the least the school can do.

Not to mention that their endowment is probably roughly equal to that of the entire MIAA!

More like 3 to 4 x or more, I'm not sure the entire MIAA equals $1 billion..........WashU has an endowment of $4 billion, roughly $350,000 per student..........the highest in the MIAA I believe is Albion, at $70,000 per student.

[WUPHF]

Free transportation, room, and tickets.  In my previous post, I said tickets and tickets.  Actually, students only get one set of tickets.  Students only pay for food.

They did this in the fall for Volleyball and Soccer, the two other teams that made the Final Four.  Incidentally, Hope College also had more fans at the Volleyball Final Four.  No need to mention the result of that semi-final match.

The endowment at Washington University has recovered considerably and is actually closer five billion in total, but it takes a lot to operate a world-class Medical School and Top 10 programs in almost everything else.  The University operates as several institutions and every institution has its own endowment.  The money does not necessarily trickle down.  I would not be surprised if the Hope College athletics budget was larger than ours on a per athlete basis.  Not at all.

[monsoon]

Even with folks needing to pay for them, Hope hasn't had any trouble getting rid of their tickets; and looking at the attendance numbers from last weekend, Hope had more fans at IWU than Washington had at home.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

I would not be surprised if the Hope College athletics budget was larger than ours on a per athlete basis.  Not at all.

If it weren't for Hope's massive football team it might be close. But the simple fact WashU has to fly all over for the UAA would bring it's costs well above schools that bus everywhere.

[WUPHF]

If it weren't for Hope's massive football team it might be close. But the simple fact WashU has to fly all over for the UAA would bring it's costs well above schools that bus everywhere.

The flights do add to the cost for sure, though if you look with the UAA scheduling, the basketball teams only had three round-trip flights this season.  The volleyball team only had two.  My understanding is that every other trip involved a bus.

The flights may be offset by debt payments on the DeVos Fieldhouse, unless that is paid for in full. 

Our beautiful cinder block Field House was last renovated in 1984 and the football field dates back to the 1904 Olympics, though, admittedly, we did add a turf field a few years ago.

[WUPHF]

Incidentally, if it sounded like I was bragging, let me say that I love Washington University.  I love it, but I just work here.  My alma mater was much more like Hope, where 8-15 students per course was the norm.

[gordonmann]

I would not be surprised if the Hope College athletics budget was larger than ours on a per athlete basis.  Not at all.

Federal data makes this kind of comparison possible.  From the latest available information...

Hope: $431,216 in total operating expenses for 574 athletes = $754.73

Washington U.: $962,281 in total operatig expenses for 589 athletes = $1,633.75

Washington U spent approx. $119k on men's and women's basketball each ($238,000 total).  Hope spent $18,370 on men and $53,259 on women.  The footnote says the women's team had an international trip and a domestic trip to Florida while the men didn't.

You can fool around with the data yourself if so inclined.

http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/

[almcguirejr]

I would not be surprised if the Hope College athletics budget was larger than ours on a per athlete basis.  Not at all.

Federal data makes this kind of comparison possible.  From the latest available information...

Hope: $431,216 in total operating expenses for 574 athletes = $754.73

Washington U.: $962,281 in total operatig expenses for 589 athletes = $1,633.75

Washington U spent approx. $119k on men's and women's basketball each ($238,000 total).  Hope spent $18,370 on men and $53,259 on women.  The footnote says the women's team had an international trip and a domestic trip to Florida while the men didn't.

You can fool around with the data yourself if so inclined.

http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/

You can look at   the MIAA schools here:  http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/InstList.aspx

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Tom Renner said on his daily sports update this morning that Hope received additional tickets yesterday, and was able to get tickets for everyone on the waiting list.  He also said there are a handful of tickets still available as well as space for a few more folks on the second bus.  Tom's estimate is that there will be between 800 and 900 Hope fans at IWU!!!  GO HOPE

The team is leaving today at 1:30pm from the DeVos, and there will be an official "send off", including refreshments.  I think he mentioned hot chocolate and coffee, but with the great weather we're having, something cold might be better  

[WWWRHH]

Since it was my understanding that Hope had sold out of tickets, I called IWU directly and they were able to set aside tickets at the will call window.

However, if you go this route be sure to take cash or checks with you to IWU as they are not able to accept credit or debit card payment either by phone or on site.

[Hwbb]

A "well-done" to Gordon Mann for his excellent piece on Hope on the D3Hoops front page.