FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Texas Ole]

That would suck.  Power5 schools will be picking up a lot of D3 transfers (students in general, not specifically athletes), I reckon.  At least they are making an effort at selling an atmosphere and experience still.  Not just online learning locked in a cinder block cell.  It will take a few years for fallout to work it's way through the system, but there's going to be a real issue with $60k/yr price tags for an experience that can be delivered on a laptop anywhere in the world on the student's schedule, not the teacher's.

I think the endpoint for schools is obvious and inevitable.  The question is which ones get there kicking and screaming and which ones get there under their own initiative.  There will be the opportunity for some dynamic, counter-cultural risk taking in terms of business change.  I hope the MIAC schools are on the pointy end of a successful wedge.

I think UST might be a winner with being able to keep players for an extra year for next year with athletics.  I think you are right though that a few schools have to be terrified by the changing educational landscape.

Long term I think St. Olaf, Carleton, Mac, SJU/CSB, and Gustavus are good in the long term.  Augsburg has made great strides to increase its long term.  I think Hamline may have adjusted too late to the changing education landscape.  The good news for Hamline is that they have a law school with a unique setup, but time will tell if that is enough.  With all the news surrounding St. Thomas leaving the MIAC it seemed like a few schools were already struggling.  Hamline and St. Mary's seemed to be the most willing to admit it.  It is just hard to forecast who might be able to hang on in the short term and eventually the long term. 

[SagatagSam]

That would suck.  Power5 schools will be picking up a lot of D3 transfers (students in general, not specifically athletes), I reckon.  At least they are making an effort at selling an atmosphere and experience still.  Not just online learning locked in a cinder block cell.  It will take a few years for fallout to work it's way through the system, but there's going to be a real issue with $60k/yr price tags for an experience that can be delivered on a laptop anywhere in the world on the student's schedule, not the teacher's.

I think the endpoint for schools is obvious and inevitable.  The question is which ones get there kicking and screaming and which ones get there under their own initiative.  There will be the opportunity for some dynamic, counter-cultural risk taking in terms of business change.  I hope the MIAC schools are on the pointy end of a successful wedge.

I think UST might be a winner with being able to keep players for an extra year for next year with athletics.  I think you are right though that a few schools have to be terrified by the changing educational landscape.

Long term I think St. Olaf, Carleton, Mac, SJU/CSB, and Gustavus are good in the long term.  Augsburg has made great strides to increase its long term.  I think Hamline may have adjusted too late to the changing education landscape.  The good news for Hamline is that they have a law school with a unique setup, but time will tell if that is enough.  With all the news surrounding St. Thomas leaving the MIAC it seemed like a few schools were already struggling.  Hamline and St. Mary's seemed to be the most willing to admit it.  It is just hard to forecast who might be able to hang on in the short term and eventually the long term.

I'm not so confident in the law school at Hamline. Of all the professional schools to have, I don't think there is a worse one you could pick--and I say that as a relatively recent law school graduate. The pool of law students (across the board from LSAT takers, applications, offers of admission, and enrollments) took a nose dive from 2010-2017 and has more or less remained at student counts equivalent to the number of students in U.S. law schools in the mid 1970s. All of the top schools are digging deep to offer huge scholarships to bring in the most qualified students. Even places like the U of M and Iowa (both Top 20 law schools) have slashed enrollment in order to maintain competitive average GPA/LSAT scores of its incoming classes, which are crucial metrics for highly coveted rankings like U.S. News & World Report. If memory serves me correctly, Iowa cut its enrollment by approximately 50%.

The only reason Hamline still has a law school, in my opinion, is that it combined with William Mitchell School of Law around 2017. The Minneapolis market was already grossly over saturated with law schools (4 at the time), and one or more was going to need to consolidate or close. I think the Mitchell-Hamline merger plus headcount reductions at U of M and UST have brought things back into alignment with the needs of the MSP legal market.

[repete]

This school has sent some great ones to the MIAC .. or at least Johnnie-Toms.

https://www.startribune.com/second-covid-wave-sends-chisago-lakes-sports-to-the-sidelines-again/572979192/

[Texas Ole]

That would suck.  Power5 schools will be picking up a lot of D3 transfers (students in general, not specifically athletes), I reckon.  At least they are making an effort at selling an atmosphere and experience still.  Not just online learning locked in a cinder block cell.  It will take a few years for fallout to work it's way through the system, but there's going to be a real issue with $60k/yr price tags for an experience that can be delivered on a laptop anywhere in the world on the student's schedule, not the teacher's.

I think the endpoint for schools is obvious and inevitable.  The question is which ones get there kicking and screaming and which ones get there under their own initiative.  There will be the opportunity for some dynamic, counter-cultural risk taking in terms of business change.  I hope the MIAC schools are on the pointy end of a successful wedge.

I think UST might be a winner with being able to keep players for an extra year for next year with athletics.  I think you are right though that a few schools have to be terrified by the changing educational landscape.

Long term I think St. Olaf, Carleton, Mac, SJU/CSB, and Gustavus are good in the long term.  Augsburg has made great strides to increase its long term.  I think Hamline may have adjusted too late to the changing education landscape.  The good news for Hamline is that they have a law school with a unique setup, but time will tell if that is enough.  With all the news surrounding St. Thomas leaving the MIAC it seemed like a few schools were already struggling.  Hamline and St. Mary's seemed to be the most willing to admit it.  It is just hard to forecast who might be able to hang on in the short term and eventually the long term.

I'm not so confident in the law school at Hamline. Of all the professional schools to have, I don't think there is a worse one you could pick--and I say that as a relatively recent law school graduate. The pool of law students (across the board from LSAT takers, applications, offers of admission, and enrollments) took a nose dive from 2010-2017 and has more or less remained at student counts equivalent to the number of students in U.S. law schools in the mid 1970s. All of the top schools are digging deep to offer huge scholarships to bring in the most qualified students. Even places like the U of M and Iowa (both Top 20 law schools) have slashed enrollment in order to maintain competitive average GPA/LSAT scores of its incoming classes, which are crucial metrics for highly coveted rankings like U.S. News & World Report. If memory serves me correctly, Iowa cut its enrollment by approximately 50%.

The only reason Hamline still has a law school, in my opinion, is that it combined with William Mitchell School of Law around 2017. The Minneapolis market was already grossly over saturated with law schools (4 at the time), and one or more was going to need to consolidate or close. I think the Mitchell-Hamline merger plus headcount reductions at U of M and UST have brought things back into alignment with the needs of the MSP legal market.

UST started their law program in 1999, and it has hurt William Mitchell along with Hamline.  Last I looked Mitchell-Hamline had a unique set up with the ability to do remote studies.  I think the writing was on the wall for many law schools with the number of students applying to law schools years ago.  UST is a growing university.  I think there growth is hurting some schools especially when it comes to the ability to grow.  Augsburg has their special programs that are unique.  Hamline and Bethel have to be somewhat scared about the UST growth.  Bethel might be in a little better position since there is a enough to differentiate it.  I think St. Mary's admitted they are in trouble a few months ago.

[Texas Ole]

No winter  sports for St. Olaf!  Any other schools cancelling seasons?

[art76]

Some big news out of Bethel this morning - artificial turf, provisions for a bubble covering, and a track to boot.

https://www.bethel.edu/called/athletics/

[SagatagSam]

No winter  sports for St. Olaf!  Any other schools cancelling seasons?

I would expect Carleton to be doing the same very quickly. They hate getting beat by St. Olaf in anything.

[SagatagSam]

Some big news out of Bethel this morning - artificial turf, provisions for a bubble covering, and a track to boot.

https://www.bethel.edu/called/athletics/

So, this makes Carleton the only school left in the conference with a natural grass football field--including St. Scholastica and Macalester.

[faunch]

Some big news out of Bethel this morning - artificial turf, provisions for a bubble covering, and a track to boot.

https://www.bethel.edu/called/athletics/

So, this makes Carleton the only school left in the conference with a natural grass football field--including St. Scholastica and Macalester.

SJU and GAC have the best facilities in the league right now. I drove by the GAC stadium a couple weeks ago...with U$T gone I see their football program improving. Other programs need to make improvements or get left in the wash.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Some big news out of Bethel this morning - artificial turf, provisions for a bubble covering, and a track to boot.

https://www.bethel.edu/called/athletics/

So, this makes Carleton the only school left in the conference with a natural grass football field--including St. Scholastica and Macalester.

Caveat being that Scholastica doesn't play their games on campus, but at one of the Duluth high schools, which does have artificial turf.

It's overdue for BU.  Glad to see them going in that direction - wonder when they hope to have it done?

[Pat Coleman]

No winter  sports for St. Olaf!  Any other schools cancelling seasons?

I would expect Carleton to be doing the same very quickly. They hate getting beat by St. Olaf in anything.

Carleton was the first MIAC school to announce.

[AO]

Some big news out of Bethel this morning - artificial turf, provisions for a bubble covering, and a track to boot.

https://www.bethel.edu/called/athletics/

So, this makes Carleton the only school left in the conference with a natural grass football field--including St. Scholastica and Macalester.

Caveat being that Scholastica doesn't play their games on campus, but at one of the Duluth high schools, which does have artificial turf.

It's overdue for BU.  Glad to see them going in that direction - wonder when they hope to have it done?

Scholastica does have artificial turf on their campus practice field.  At some point I assume they'll put up some bigger bleachers and play home games there as the 7 mile trek over to Denfeld has to hurt student attendance. 


As for Bethel, I'm disappointed they're putting a track around the field, but it might have been tough to find space for it anywhere else. 

[Pat Coleman]

The story is that when the nuns decided to permit football, it was with the caveat that it would not be played on campus. Who knows if that will last, though.

[SagatagSam]

The story is that when the nuns decided to permit football, it was with the caveat that it would not be played on campus. Who knows if that will last, though.

Like with a number of schools sponsored by religious orders, CSB-SJU included, the attachment to the order is becoming more symbolic rather than active as the members age and the monasteries/Abbey dies out. I think the average age of the monks at SJU and sisters at CSB has got to be in the late 70s or even early 80s. Lotta white hair at Mass these days.

As far as I know, the orders at CSB, SJU, and CSS aren't growing and aren't expected to grow anytime soon.

I'm afraid in the next 10-20 years, regular sightings of black habits around Collegeville will become a novelty rather than the staple of the experience like the first 160 or so years.

I would imagine the prohibition of on-campus football at CSS would go away in a similar time frame.

[57Johnnie]

The story is that when the nuns decided to permit football, it was with the caveat that it would not be played on campus. Who knows if that will last, though.

Like with a number of schools sponsored by religious orders, CSB-SJU included, the attachment to the order is becoming more symbolic rather than active as the members age and the monasteries/Abbey dies out. I think the average age of the monks at SJU and sisters at CSB has got to be in the late 70s or even early 80s. Lotta white hair at Mass these days.

As far as I know, the orders at CSB, SJU, and CSS aren't growing and aren't expected to grow anytime soon.

I'm afraid in the next 10-20 years, regular sightings of black habits around Collegeville will become a novelty rather than the staple of the experience like the first 160 or so years.

I would imagine the prohibition of on-campus football at CSS would go away in a similar time frame.

To illustrate the trend:
When I was a senior (it was the 20 century although some of the posters think it was the 19th) the faculty at SJU was:
58 priests, all but 1 or 2 monks
1 nun from CSB
19 laymen including John, George Durenberger and  Bill Osborne
I did not count ROTC personnel
I wonder if anyone can tell me what the present status is?