FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

The Johnnie preview is up at the SCTimes. I hope that those who are interested still have a free page view or two remaining.

http://www.sctimes.com/story/sports/college/2016/09/01/new-faces-same-goals-johnnies/89542388/

[DuffMan]

What we really want to know about:  SJU Tailgating Changes

I'm going to miss this weekend's game.  The weather looks too nice, and I need to enjoy my last cabin weekend.

[USTBench]

Pretty easy to say Roberts was/is the outlier, but let's not forget he got to run behind David Simmet (another outlier), the best lineman in the country in 2015, as well as 3 other seniors. Offensive line is my biggest question mark this year. They graduated the core of their most talented group ever. They do return Will Hilbert who was an honorable mention All-American and Sean Scharlau started a few games last year, but they'll need to be a very cohesive group to move bodies around like they did last year. If they've got that, they should be in good shape to make the playoffs again. Though, not a fan of Concordia, Bethel and SJU all on the road. Oof.

FCS/D2:

This is in every comment section of every article I've ever read about UST doing anything good. Even in Fargo or the Tommie Media website. The D2 thing is really what irks me. D2 is worse for a university than D3 in every conceivable way. The atmosphere of most NSIC games is that of an abandoned tire plant yet you have the logistical nightmare of D1. Your academic credibility suffers just to be competitive, it's horrible.

IF UST was going to go D1 (or any school in the MIAC capable of making such a jump), the Pioneer League would probably be a good fit for football, similar institutional size and academic missions. Non-scholarship FCS with an AQ into the playoffs. But then you're left searching for a home for your other umpteen sports. It would be a nightmare. Having watched UND struggle with their transition because they took a wait and see approach to see if NDSU and SDSU would sink or swim, I know I wouldn't want to go it alone. I'd like to see SJU/CSB jump too if UST was seriously considering such a move. Absent that, I am more than happy with UST staying right where they are.

[sjusection105]

  D2 is worse for a university than D3 in every conceivable way. The atmosphere of most NSIC games is that of an abandoned tire plant yet you have the logistical nightmare of D1.

If any D3 program wants this,just reconsider going D2 and join the UMAC instead 

[DuffMan]

If any D3 program wants this,just reconsider going D2 and join the UMAC instead 

You can tell how serious their fans are about football by visiting the UMAC Board! 

[OzJohnnie]

4am start tomorrow. Roll on daylight savings.

[57Johnnie]

I'm ready for some JOHNNIE football 

[Mr.MIAC]

I had a little time on my hands and decided to dig deeper on the topic of St. Thomas moving up to D-I. My data are pulled from the Department of Education's databases. My dataset is limited to the most recent fiscal year available—2014/15. I pulled information on all the MIAC schools except for the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. The Department of Education's data on these schools are incomplete going back over a decade. I also pulled data on schools that St. Thomas administrators currently identify as peer institutions for benchmarking purposes. All of these schools happen to be D-I. They include: Creighton University, Gonzaga University, Loyola Marymount University, Marquette University, Saint Louis University, San Diego University, Santa Clara University, the University of Dayton, and Villanova University.

I didn't want to overly complicate this post with lots of data, so the following provides some initial findings and an overall assessment. I can send the raw data if you PM me. Here are some of the findings:

1. St. Thomas has the largest undergraduate enrollment in the MIAC. Its undergraduate population is nearly twice the size of St. Olaf's student body, which is the second largest undergraduate population in the MIAC.
2. San Diego, Santa Clara, Gonzaga, and Creighton have smaller undergraduate enrollments than St. Thomas. Marquette has the largest undergraduate population in the entire sample—it's nearly 30% larger than the group of undergraduate students at St. Thomas.
3. St. Thomas has the third largest endowment in the MIAC behind Carleton and Macalester. It's ahead of St. Olaf, which has a larger endowment than Gustavus, Concordia, Hamline, Bethel, and Augsburg combined.
4. St. Louis has the largest endowment in the entire sample. Its endowment is over twice the size of St. Thomas' endowment. Loyola, Creighton, and Gonzaga have smaller endowments than St. Thomas.
5. St. Thomas ranks fourth in the MIAC—behind Carleton, Macalester, and St. Olaf—for the number of endowment dollars it has per undergraduate student. Carleton and Macalester have nearly five times more endowment dollars per student than St. Thomas, which leads Augsburg and Bethel by roughly the same proportion.
6. Loyola, Marquette, Dayton, and Gonzaga have fewer endowment dollars per undergraduate student than St. Thomas. The other DI schools fall behind Carleton and Macalester, and ahead of St. Thomas.
7. All of the MIAC schools have larger student athlete populations than nearly all of the D-I schools. St. Thomas has the largest student athlete population in the entire sample, followed closely by Gustavus, St. Olaf, and Concordia.
8. All of the MIAC schools have a larger proportion of student athletes amongst their undergraduate populations than the D-I schools. Amongst the MIAC schools, St. Thomas has the lowest proportion of student athletes amongst its undergraduate population. Undergraduate students at Concordia and Gustavus are twice as likely to be student athletes as undergraduate students at St. Thomas.
9. All of the D-I schools spend far more—at least five times more—on athletics than any of the MIAC schools. St. Thomas ranks third in the MIAC, behind Augsburg and Gustavus, for total dollars spent on athletics.
10. All of the D-I schools spend far more—at least three times more—per undergraduate student on athletics than any of the MIAC schools. St. Thomas ranks last in the MIAC for the number of dollars spent on athletics per undergraduate student.
11. St. Thomas ranks in the middle of the MIAC for the number of dollars spent on athletics per student athlete. Augsburg, Macalester, Hamline, and Gustavus spend more per student athlete than St. Thomas.

Overall Assessment: St. Thomas has an undergraduate enrollment more akin to its D-I peers than its MIAC competitors, which indicates it has the size to go D-I. St. Thomas has a larger endowment than most of its MIAC competitors and many of its D-I peers, but this alone doesn't warrant a move to D-I. Examples like Carleton, Macalester, and (conversely) Gonzaga show that large endowments don't necessarily correlate with D-I athletics. St. Thomas has a large population of student athletes, but having lots of athletes doesn't fit the profile of its D-I peers, which all have small student athlete populations. Like their D-I peers, the average St. Thomas undergraduate is far less likely to be a student athlete than undergraduates at other MIAC schools. So there's no correlation between an athletic student population and having D-I sports. Having D-I sports requires a major expenditure, but St. Thomas isn't even outspending all of its MIAC competitors on athletics now. Other MIAC schools currently spend more. Some spend a far larger proportion of their endowments on athletics than St. Thomas. Considering the expenditures being made by its D-I peers, St. Thomas would have to dramatically increase its athletic budget to go D-I, which seems highly unlikely in the near-term. In short, undergraduate enrollment is the only factor that suggests St. Thomas might be a better fit for D-I and that doesn't make for a very compelling case.

[jamtod]

9. All of the D-I schools spend far more—at least five times more—on athletics than any of the MIAC schools. St. Thomas ranks third in the MIAC, behind Augsburg and Gustavus, for total dollars spent on athletics.
10. All of the D-I schools spend far more—at least three times more—per undergraduate student on athletics than any of the MIAC schools. St. Thomas ranks last in the MIAC for the number of dollars spent on athletics per undergraduate student.
11. St. Thomas ranks in the middle of the MIAC for the number of dollars spent on athletics per student athlete. Augsburg, Macalester, Hamline, and Gustavus spend more per student athlete than St. Thomas.

I have a number of questions on this research, but I'll focus on just this one. How is the athletic spending calculated? Does it incorporate only operational spending or are capital expenses (ie building athletic facilities that would not be directly expensed on a financial statement, as such) factored in? Depending on how that is handled would color my interpretation.

[OzJohnnie]

The SC Times Tommie preview:

http://www.sctimes.com/story/sports/football/johnnie-football/2016/09/02/sju-blog-miac-previews-st-thomas/89768798/

[OzJohnnie]

Game day!  Finally!!!

As an added bonus here's a cable tv add starring Chris Hemsworth. Very typical and dry Australian humor.

https://youtu.be/YFnM_vzsw1k

[BDB]

OMG. Breaking Jacob Wetterling news.

http://kstp.com/index.shtml

[stanbob]

OMG. Breaking Jacob Wetterling news.

http://kstp.com/news/jacob-wetterling-danny-heinrich-unidentified-remains-patty-wetterling-investigation/4253499/?cat=1

Certainly not the ending anyone wanted, but hopefully the closure will help the family.

[57Johnnie]

106th opening day for SJU and my 63rd
Hope to have my regular seat.  Should be about 72 with a few clouds here in western Colorado.
Some fresh snow in the San Juan's. Great day for football.
Go JOHNNIES!   

[Mr.MIAC]

9. All of the D-I schools spend far more—at least five times more—on athletics than any of the MIAC schools. St. Thomas ranks third in the MIAC, behind Augsburg and Gustavus, for total dollars spent on athletics.
10. All of the D-I schools spend far more—at least three times more—per undergraduate student on athletics than any of the MIAC schools. St. Thomas ranks last in the MIAC for the number of dollars spent on athletics per undergraduate student.
11. St. Thomas ranks in the middle of the MIAC for the number of dollars spent on athletics per student athlete. Augsburg, Macalester, Hamline, and Gustavus spend more per student athlete than St. Thomas.

I have a number of questions on this research, but I'll focus on just this one. How is the athletic spending calculated? Does it incorporate only operational spending or are capital expenses (ie building athletic facilities that would not be directly expensed on a financial statement, as such) factored in? Depending on how that is handled would color my interpretation.

Here's how the DoE defines athletic "expenses" when gathering data from the schools: 

All expenses attributable to intercollegiate athletic activities. This includes appearance guarantees and options, athletically related student aid, contract services, equipment, fundraising activities, operating expenses, promotional activities, recruiting expenses, salaries and benefits, supplies, travel, and any other expenses attributable to intercollegiate athletic activities.

I'm not sure how multi-use athletic facilities would be reported exactly. I'm assuming that at least some portion of athletic building/infrastructure expenses are reported since these projects are meant to support intercollegiate athletic activities. That being said, athletic buildings are also used by the wider community for recreation so maybe not all expenses are reported. The breakdown is unclear to me and my sense is that schools have some discretion in how some of these things are categorized.