FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[DuffMan]

Old Auggie:  I see that Augsburg will soon field a women's wrestling team!

Augsburg To Add Women's Wrestling for 2019-2020

[jamtod]

Ill be curious to see, if a cap is agreed to, how it might impact St Kate's. If you double there number to account for males they are near UST levels. Do the President's give them an exception? I am sure growing is critical to them, given their current financial issues.

I had previously inquired about this and Pat suggested a possible answer (maybe indirectly). A significant portion of St Kate's undergrad enrollment is part-time, who would not be eligible to compete in MIAC athletics (except on an exception basis: see Jackson Erdmann). With that part-time enrollment excluded, they are under 2500 and a cap could be put in place that impacted UST but not St Kate's.

[jamtod]

So, what's the number to call to join the meeting?

Asking for a friend.

I told a Tommie customer of mine yesterday, no matter the outcome of the vote, the MIAC is fractured. I'd pay a lot of money to be a fly on the wall for this one.

I don't know what's going to happen with this situation.  That being said, I could see UST agreeing to some sort of undergraduate enrollment cap to keep them in the MIAC near-term. It's in their interests to do so. UST is gradually raising its admission standards, with the long-term aim of maintaining a 30+ median ACT for incoming classes. A smaller enrollment will help them reach these goals. They're trying to keep all undergraduates on campus; three new dorms are being built and the administration recently announced that all freshman and sophomores will be required to live on campus. A smaller enrollment will help them house a larger proportion of the student body on campus. The obvious drawback is the loss of tuition dollars coming from the larger enrollment, but such a shift could help fuel ongoing and future fundraising efforts, making UST less dependent on tuition income.

All things considered, UST's undegraduate enrollment hasn't really grown significantly since the early 2000s. It was around 5500 when I was there and now is just over 6000. It's odd that this discussion is so centered on enrollment and growth when most of UST's growth and changing vision pertains to graduate programs, with students that are not eligible for MIAC athletics anyway.

[USTBench]

So, what's the number to call to join the meeting?

Asking for a friend.

I told a Tommie customer of mine yesterday, no matter the outcome of the vote, the MIAC is fractured. I'd pay a lot of money to be a fly on the wall for this one.

I don't know what's going to happen with this situation.  That being said, I could see UST agreeing to some sort of undergraduate enrollment cap to keep them in the MIAC near-term. It's in their interests to do so. UST is gradually raising its admission standards, with the long-term aim of maintaining a 30+ median ACT for incoming classes. A smaller enrollment will help them reach these goals. They're trying to keep all undergraduates on campus; three new dorms are being built and the administration recently announced that all freshman and sophomores will be required to live on campus. A smaller enrollment will help them house a larger proportion of the student body on campus. The obvious drawback is the loss of tuition dollars coming from the larger enrollment, but such a shift could help fuel ongoing and future fundraising efforts, making UST less dependent on tuition income.

All things considered, UST's undegraduate enrollment hasn't really grown significantly since the early 2000s. It was around 5500 when I was there and now is just over 6000. It's odd that this discussion is so centered on enrollment and growth when most of UST's growth and changing vision pertains to graduate programs, with students that are not eligible for MIAC athletics anyway.

It's all they can hang their hat on in terms of a reason (no matter how absurd) to amend the bylaws to boot UST. UST has adhered to every rule the MIAC has so now they have to change the rules.

[OldAuggie]

Old Auggie:  I see that Augsburg will soon field a women's wrestling team!

Augsburg To Add Women's Wrestling for 2019-2020

Yes! I caught that shortly after they announced it yesterday on social media at 3 pm. Exciting times for MN women's wrestling!

[Gregory Sager]

Also, to Gregory Sager's point, I would suspect that in 10 years an entirely homogeneous liberal arts college will be a thing of the past. Just to survive the education bubble, schools are going to have to rapidly adapt or die. UST, with its many flaws, and undefined direction, at least recognizes this fact, as do most of the metro area schools you've mentioned.

That's stating the obvious about the current climate of American higher learning, although I will add that schools that have both deep pockets and sterling academic reputations (including Macalester, some of the MWC schools, all of the NESCAC schools, etc.) will survive the coming storm as private liberal arts colleges just fine without having to add grad programs, because their endowments and their selectivity provide the necessary cushions. My own alma mater (North Park) realized the need to adapt or die twenty years ago and started adding grad programs in the two areas in which it has achieved the most success on the undergrad level (nursing and education), plus, since the MBA market is oversaturated, found a niche within graduate business administration that is both underserved and fits well with the school's mission as an urban Christian school (non-profit management) by starting a grad-school-within-a-grad-school that fits that niche, the Axelson Center for Non-Profit Management.

Adapt or die is definitely the name of the game for liberal arts colleges that aren't cut from the same cloth as Carleton and Macalester, especially if they're tuition-dependent. But it's still going to be possible to maintain the liberal arts college core at the center of the institution if the people who run things are strategic and forward-thinking about it, which is why I don't think that it's necessary that the MIAC modify its bylaws.

[AO]

So, what's the number to call to join the meeting?

Asking for a friend.

I told a Tommie customer of mine yesterday, no matter the outcome of the vote, the MIAC is fractured. I'd pay a lot of money to be a fly on the wall for this one.

I don't know what's going to happen with this situation.  That being said, I could see UST agreeing to some sort of undergraduate enrollment cap to keep them in the MIAC near-term. It's in their interests to do so. UST is gradually raising its admission standards, with the long-term aim of maintaining a 30+ median ACT for incoming classes. A smaller enrollment will help them reach these goals.

Only 25% of current UST students scored a 26 or higher.  I can't find stats for the students who scored above 30, so I'll just assume if you want to get the median above 30, you'd have to kick out at least 85% of the current student body.  I have a hard time believing that's a real goal, but if the Tommies really want to make that a requirement, Olaf and Carleton would definitely sign on.

[faunch]

Any thoughts on if there will be a press release or information leaked about the meeting by the end of the day? And if there is a presser will it be full version of the event or a redacted version? 

[TheChucker]

So, what's the number to call to join the meeting?

Asking for a friend.

I told a Tommie customer of mine yesterday, no matter the outcome of the vote, the MIAC is fractured. I'd pay a lot of money to be a fly on the wall for this one.

I don't know what's going to happen with this situation.  That being said, I could see UST agreeing to some sort of undergraduate enrollment cap to keep them in the MIAC near-term. It's in their interests to do so. UST is gradually raising its admission standards, with the long-term aim of maintaining a 30+ median ACT for incoming classes. A smaller enrollment will help them reach these goals.

Only 25% of current UST students scored a 26 or higher.  I can't find stats for the students who scored above 30, so I'll just assume if you want to get the median above 30, you'd have to kick out at least 85% of the current student body.  I have a hard time believing that's a real goal, but if the Tommies really want to make that a requirement, Olaf and Carleton would definitely sign on.

The 2019 US News college rankings has the UST freshman ACT 25th-75th percentile at 24-29 with a median of 27. So, 25% of the entering class is now above 29. It's been going up.

[AO]

Whatever info Reusse is being fed sounds like bad news for the Tommies (if they really wanted to stay in the MIAC)

Level of pomposity, underhandedness & paranoia by MIAC schools as they prepare to boot St. Thomas is astounding. Or maybe it's just higher education in 2019 thinking it can get away w/ any decision & not be accountable. 
    These gutless weasels apparently are going to do this w/ secret vote. Head coaches are being warned not to express opinion that might contradict their anti-Tommie president. I'm sending back my Mike Augustin Award for promoting these frauds.

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Reusse/status/1118939714172727299

Update:
Reusse confirms that Gustavus, Concordia, St. Olaf, St. Kate's, Augsburg and Saint Mary's are all voting to toss the Toms.

[OzJohnnie]

Also, that second article mentioned that Mac left for football in 2001.  This whole UST event caused me to read the bylaws and it turns out that Mac is perfectly able to both not play MIAC football and to play it in another conference.  Members have a minimum sports per season requirement and they are free to pick the sports from a list endorsed by the MIAC.  There's no rule saying you must play football.  There's also no rule that says you can't play sports in other conferences or independently (lucky for Auggie wrestling).

ARTICLE V. PARTICIPATION

3. A member institution offering a varsity sport in which the Conference offers a championship must participate in the MIAC regular season schedule and Conference championship, where applicable in each sport. [Note: The Macalester College football program has been grandfathered and is thereby exempt from this Section C (3)].

I believe that's a post 2001 change.  So Mac was kosher when they did the football move.

[USTBench]

Whatever info Reusse is being fed sounds like bad news for the Tommies (if they really wanted to stay in the MIAC)

Level of pomposity, underhandedness & paranoia by MIAC schools as they prepare to boot St. Thomas is astounding. Or maybe it's just higher education in 2019 thinking it can get away w/ any decision & not be accountable. 
    These gutless weasels apparently are going to do this w/ secret vote. Head coaches are being warned not to express opinion that might contradict their anti-Tommie president. I'm sending back my Mike Augustin Award for promoting these frauds.

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Reusse/status/1118939714172727299

Hell yeah, Reusse!

[OzJohnnie]

Old Auggie:  I see that Augsburg will soon field a women's wrestling team!

Augsburg To Add Women's Wrestling for 2019-2020

[OzJohnnie]

Reusse just gave a thumbs down to St Kates and St Marys... If they are out then UST id gonski.  Unbelievable.  The MIAC is signing it's own death warrant.

[AO]

Reusse just gave a thumbs down to St Kates and St Marys... If they are out then UST id gonski.  Unbelievable.  The MIAC is signing it's own death warrant.

So they could get to 9 votes to kick without Bethel if they get Carleton, Hamline and Macalester.