FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Regarding the athlete/non-athlete financial aid comparisons (to protect D3 from athletic scholarships): unless the NCAA enforcement is much more 'deep-dive' than I would expect, this would be an easy violation to cover up.  Got a 'sure-fire AA QB' recruit you're drooling over - give him a full-ride 'academic' scholarship, then shave a small amount off of your 60-70 least important recruits' financial aid.  I assume that the basic comparison is athlete average vs. student body average, so there goes any discrepancy.  Since he would be fairly useless unless he has at least adequate runners, receivers and line protection, it is not QUITE that simple, but judicious juggling of financial aid packages should be able to cover up a lot of shenanigans.  In other sports, shenanigans should be even easier to cover up.

Please note, I am NOT accusing UST (or anyone else) of doing this, but the protections against 'athletic' scholarships seem rather porous to me.

Why would the coaches of those other student-athletes be on board with this tactic?

[5 Words or Less]

... scholarships get audited by the NCAA against the non athlete student body every year ...

Forward by Lori Loughlin

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Chucker - the scholarships get audited by the NCAA against the non athlete student body every year. This has been brought up baselessly on here a few times already.

Also, note UST Football's rise came long before any facilities. Caruso had them in the NCAA quarters long before the facility developments were a reality. At that time they had rusting weights in a hot box of a weight room that small high schools would ridicule today. They won a national championship in hockey playing in a horse barn at the fairgrounds. They dominated track and field while in one of the saddest indoor facilities in the conference. Baseball won a national title while having to move 7 man blocking sleds into foul territory before games started, leaving huge ruts in the outfield; also the location for hammer and shot put by the way. You really test your mettle as a center fielder shagging fly balls while dodging hammer throws from the throwers.

Meanwhile, St Olaf has had some of the best facilities in the MIAC for some time. The gigantic fieldhouse with a 2nd deck, the $10 million ice arena, and the separate football training facilities. Yet, they are the ringleader of this mess. Let's not forget they had a football program rolling up huge scores on teams in the last decade, while building a recruiting pipeline from Dade and Broward counties, leading to skepticism from the rest of the conference. Note, this was all under President Anderson's watch by the way. The other schools didn't decide to cut and run.

UST has never won a hockey national title in either gender.  Baseball won 2 national titles but I fear you're exaggerating greatly regarding the multi-sport use of the ballfield. Sorry

[Gregory Sager]

These schools just might need to realign with more like-minded schools; extra travel be damned.

If you're an elite academic school, or if you aspire to be one, then "extra travel be damned" just doesn't cut it. Extra travel means more time spent off campus and more missed classes, which defeats the whole purpose in terms of academics.

[TheChucker]

These schools just might need to realign with more like-minded schools; extra travel be damned.

If you're an elite academic school, or if you aspire to be one, then "extra travel be damned" just doesn't cut it. Extra travel means more time spent off campus and more missed classes, which defeats the whole purpose in terms of academics.

When the choice is:

A) getting routinely monkey stomped 3 or 4 times a year by teams within an hour (home and away), or

B) traveling a little farther away 2 or 3 times a year (half the games are home) in a competitive league of more similar institutions,

"B" might be appealing (hypothetically, if it's of any interest to those schools involved)

I don't think 2 or 3 trips a year that are two or three hours farther would kill anyone's academics. Schools across the nation, and very good ones at that, do it all the time. Look at maps of the Patriot League and UAA. I doubt a handful of trips impact MIT and UofChicago et al.

[GoldandBlueBU]

These schools just might need to realign with more like-minded schools; extra travel be damned.

If you're an elite academic school, or if you aspire to be one, then "extra travel be damned" just doesn't cut it. Extra travel means more time spent off campus and more missed classes, which defeats the whole purpose in terms of academics.

When the choice is:

A) getting routinely monkey stomped 3 or 4 times a year by teams within an hour (home and away), or

B) traveling a little farther away 2 or 3 times a year (half the games are home) in a competitive league of more similar institutions,

"B" might be appealing (hypothetically, if it's of any interest to those schools involved)

I don't think 2 or 3 trips a year that are two or three hours farther would kill anyone's academics. Schools across the nation, and very good ones at that, do it all the time. Look at maps of the Patriot League and UAA. I doubt a handful of trips impact MIT and UofChicago et al.

2 or 3 away games a year?  That's going to make for an extremely brief basketball / hockey / baseball / tennis / volleyball / I'm sure I'm missing others - season.

[jamtod]

These schools just might need to realign with more like-minded schools; extra travel be damned.

If you're an elite academic school, or if you aspire to be one, then "extra travel be damned" just doesn't cut it. Extra travel means more time spent off campus and more missed classes, which defeats the whole purpose in terms of academics.

When the choice is:

A) getting routinely monkey stomped 3 or 4 times a year by teams within an hour (home and away), or

B) traveling a little farther away 2 or 3 times a year (half the games are home) in a competitive league of more similar institutions,

"B" might be appealing (hypothetically, if it's of any interest to those schools involved)

I don't think 2 or 3 trips a year that are two or three hours farther would kill anyone's academics. Schools across the nation, and very good ones at that, do it all the time. Look at maps of the Patriot League and UAA. I doubt a handful of trips impact MIT and UofChicago et al.

There was discussion previously about the SAA and the travel required there. But that's comparing apples to oranges because there isn't really another option (a short busride to a monkeystomp). And as GoldandBlueBU noted, this doesn't just apply to football (the Mac option is off the table) but every student athlete and every other sport.
If it was just football and there were 2 or 3 partner schools (say Mac, Olaf, and Carleton all jumped ship to the Midwest) then maybe it's viable in terms of "extra travel be damned" but otherwise it really seems like spiting your face to get back at your hand.

[miac952]

Chucker - the scholarships get audited by the NCAA against the non athlete student body every year. This has been brought up baselessly on here a few times already.

Also, note UST Football's rise came long before any facilities. Caruso had them in the NCAA quarters long before the facility developments were a reality. At that time they had rusting weights in a hot box of a weight room that small high schools would ridicule today. They won a national championship in hockey playing in a horse barn at the fairgrounds. They dominated track and field while in one of the saddest indoor facilities in the conference. Baseball won a national title while having to move 7 man blocking sleds into foul territory before games started, leaving huge ruts in the outfield; also the location for hammer and shot put by the way. You really test your mettle as a center fielder shagging fly balls while dodging hammer throws from the throwers.

Meanwhile, St Olaf has had some of the best facilities in the MIAC for some time. The gigantic fieldhouse with a 2nd deck, the $10 million ice arena, and the separate football training facilities. Yet, they are the ringleader of this mess. Let's not forget they had a football program rolling up huge scores on teams in the last decade, while building a recruiting pipeline from Dade and Broward counties, leading to skepticism from the rest of the conference. Note, this was all under President Anderson's watch by the way. The other schools didn't decide to cut and run.

UST has never won a hockey national title in either gender.  Baseball won 2 national titles but I fear you're exaggerating greatly regarding the multi-sport use of the ballfield. Sorry

2000 hockey was runner-up, that was what I was thinking of.

Take a quick look at google maps. You'll find javelin and hammer throw setups in the outfield of the baseball complex. Up until a few years ago they also had the 7 man sleds up there too. During fall baseball practice those often had to be moved by the baseball team before practice. https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9454705,-93.1913691,180m/data=!3m1!1e3

[Gregory Sager]

These schools just might need to realign with more like-minded schools; extra travel be damned.

If you're an elite academic school, or if you aspire to be one, then "extra travel be damned" just doesn't cut it. Extra travel means more time spent off campus and more missed classes, which defeats the whole purpose in terms of academics.

When the choice is:

A) getting routinely monkey stomped 3 or 4 times a year by teams within an hour (home and away), or

B) traveling a little farther away 2 or 3 times a year (half the games are home) in a competitive league of more similar institutions,

"B" might be appealing (hypothetically, if it's of any interest to those schools involved)

Perspective, Chucker. You're only talking about one sport. Aside from a tiny minority of schools that you can count on the fingers of one hand, D3 athletic departments don't revolve around their football programs the way that they do in D1. I strongly doubt that any MIAC school is going to change its conference affiliation just because it annually gets monkey-stomped in football by SJU, Bethel, and UST -- not when there's a dozen and a half to two dozen other sports in question, and not when travel issues play such a large role in D3 athletics decision-making. Remember, a big part of the D3 ethos is to encourage keeping student-athletes close to campus by reinforcing local competition. That's why D3 national playoffs, tournaments, and meets are regionally structured. And, aside from the time-spent-off-campus issue, there's also the added costs of all of those longer busrides in terms of transportation, overnight lodging, etc.

Besides, that's only three football games a year. The lower half of the league is competitive within itself in this sport.

I don't think 2 or 3 trips a year that are two or three hours farther would kill anyone's academics.

We're not talking about "two or three trips a year that are two or three hours farther" if we're talking about Carleton, Macalester, and St. Olaf joining the MWC. I addressed this here two weeks ago:

It sounds like the MIAC as we know it is done one way or the other. Either UST is voted out or several schools are taking their balls and going home. (we've got posters with sources from schools on both side of the aisle that agree the stage is set for some sort of shake up).

If UST is out, this seems like a pretty clean process for the MIAC (UST options are more complicated). MAC returns as a FB participant, the league continues forward.

The bigger question ... if UST survives the vote, now what happens with the disgruntled MIAC schools??

People have thrown out the MWC as this panacea landing spot for all these schools. They would be a fit for Carleton, MAC (already playing football here), and St. Olaf. But do we know the MWC is looking to add two more schools for football and 3 more schools for all sports?

I think that you're asking the wrong question. The proper question is: Do Carleton, Macalester, and St. Olaf each honestly contemplate a move to the MWC?

Look at these travel distances:

1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Beloit, WI (Beloit)	4 hrs, 40 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Mount Vernon, IA (Cornell)	4 hrs, 25 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Grinnell, IA (Grinnell)	4 hrs, 10 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Jacksonville, IL (Illinois C.)	7 hrs, 50 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Galesburg, IL (Knox)	6 hrs, 10 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Lake Forest, IL (Lake Forest)	5 hrs, 50 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Appleton, WI (Lawrence)	4 hrs, 15 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Monmouth, IL (Monmouth)	6 hrs, 10 mins
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN to Ripon, WI (Ripon)	4 hrs, 10 mins
Northfield, MN to Beloit, WI (Beloit)	4 hrs, 40 mins
Northfield, MN to Mount Vernon, IA (Cornell)	4 hrs
Northfield, MN to Grinnell, IA (Grinnell)	3 hrs, 40 mins
Northfield, MN to Jacksonville, IL (Illinois C.)	7 hrs, 20 mins
Northfield, MN to Galesburg, IL (Knox)	5 hrs, 40 mins
Northfield, MN to Lake Forest, IL (Lake Forest)	5 hrs, 50 mins
Northfield, MN to Appleton, WI (Lawrence)	4 hrs, 40 mins
Northfield, MN to Monmouth, IL (Monmouth)	5 hrs, 40 mins
Northfield, MN to Ripon, WI (Ripon)	4 hrs, 10 mins

Unless you're in the ASC or the SCAC, those distances are absurd.

(And, yes, I know that Macalester is an associate member of the MWC for football. But that's only one sport, and it's a sport that plays a comparatively small schedule, and then only on weekends.)

The dirty little secret of the MWC is that it's a league of elite small liberal-arts colleges that undermines its academic bona-fides to some degree by requiring intraconference travel that takes a big gouge out of campus presence and class time for its student-athletes. I can't imagine that the respective braintrusts of Carleton, Macalester, and St. Olaf would want any part of those ridiculous travel times for their student-athletes, ancient history within the MWC notwithstanding.

The other alternative is for the bottom-dwellers (including Augsburg and Hamline) to move to the ARC. That would mean longer trips for everyone in every sport, but it would be far less severe in that regard than joining the MWC. Thing is, I haven't heard of the ARC being interested in adding five more schools to the fold; they're still getting used to the fact that everybody's got a really long trip in every sport now, thanks to adding Nebraska Wesleyan.

But, as I said, I can't imagine football driving schools out of this league because of three monkey-stomps per year. As I said the other day, the tail doesn't wag the dog in D3 the way that it does in D1. And the more academically-oriented MIAC schools undoubtedly place a premium upon the value of having local competition in order to avoid missed class time and missed time off campus for their student-athletes.

Schools across the nation, and very good ones at that, do it all the time. Look at maps of the Patriot League and UAA. I doubt a handful of trips impact MIT and UofChicago et al.

The Patriot League is D1, and is therefore irrelevant to this conversation.

MIT is in the NEWMAC in most sports. The farthest NEWMAC opponent for MIT is Coast Guard, which is a trip of only an hour and 45 minutes.

The University of Chicago is in the UAA, the only conference in D3 that uses air travel. And the UAA is an exception in almost every way, because it consists of eight of the most elite universities in the United States. The league uses travel partners, so in each sport that plays a double round-robin (which is most of them in terms of the UAA, a non-football league) there are three flight trips per season. Using the U of C as an example, if you're a Maroons student-athlete you bus to games against your archrival Wash U., and you fly over the course of a weekend to Boston/New York (Brandeis and NYU) and to Pittsburgh/Cleveland (Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve), busing in between the travel-partner destinations over the course of that weekend. The only double-flight trip you have is Rochester/Atlanta (Rochester and Emory).

But those three flight trips per season are not like any road trips that other D3 schools take. A strict study-table regimen is kept up by the traveling teams (and the faculties carefully monitor the academic performance of UAA teams, just to make sure that this plan isn't going awry), and faculty proctors accompany the teams on those trips so that the student-athletes can take monitored tests and quizzes in their hotel rooms. You won't find the sort of post-adolescent hijinks and fun adventures on those trips that student-athletes at other schools are fond of committing (and then recalling in this post-collegiate lives).

[TheChucker]

The Patriot League is D1, and is therefore irrelevant to this conversation.

MIT is in the NEWMAC in most sports.

My apologies on the Patriot League vs. NEWMAC reference. That's what I get for quickly clicking on links at work.

Point of this whole thing, if these schools are seriously considering the drastic measure of booting out a founding member, then things have gotten pretty bad. I'm sure they've considered some sort of realignment as plan B/C even if options are limited. The schools already travel to Moorhead and Winona in conference play (those schools travel all the time), so any incremental travel from realignment would be on top of that.

[TheChucker]

Maybe it's been discussed already on the hundreds of posts before this...

Maybe the Plan B of the whole thing would be to change the bylaws back to allowing schools to opt out of the conference in a limited number of sports like Mac did for football. That might mean football could drop to less than 7 teams which could jeopardize the auto bid, but the NCAA never takes more than two teams from the MIAC anyhow (which sucks).

[hazzben]

Thinking out loud ...

I wonder how much of this MIAC brouhaha  is a symptom of "helicopter parenting" and "victimhood culture" that is all the rage today. Student's today grew up in the age of mom and dad always arms length away, ready to swoop in and solve every dispute or slight or boo-boo. Students didn't learn how to self-adjudicate with their peers, instead they run to a 3rd party authority or administration at the drop of a hat to solve the problem. Add in a little glorification of the victim and you've got a recipe ripe for let's kick UST out via the administrators versus let's get a little tougher and figure out how to win and stand on our own two feet. I realize this fight was brought about by the Presidents, but they're the helicopter parents (demographically speaking) who raised/created the kids now in school. Makes sense that the parenting reflexes are also reflected in the institutions these men and women now lead.

In many ways athletics is the ultimate meritocracy - the cream rises to the top. While academia has increasingly become the land of victimhood, where heterodox ideas are no longer debated (and defeated if found lacking), but preemptively banned for being scary and dangerous and having the potential to hurt feelings. The playground is where you are forced to get better, to practice, to improve, in a word, to compete. Academia (I realize this is a broad generalization) has increasingly become the place where equality is the greatest good. We must root out all microaggressions, flatten all perceived advantages, level every playing field, etc. The problem is this doesn't prepare students for graduation and the dog eat dog world that awaits them.

Cards on the table, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder is whispering in my memory.

UST & Caruso & 97-0 are the ultimate microaggressions. They must be adjudicated, pulled down to a level of equality. Rather than getting beat by the better kid on the neighborhood basketball court, going home and practicing, to return months later with a more competitive game, many (leaders) in the MIAC are complaining to the Neighborhood Watch that UST shouldn't be allowed to play on that court any more. Why? Because they built a really nice basketball hoop on the driveway of their 4,000 sq ft home (complain the parents living in 4,500 sq ft homes with pools in the back yards). Overly simplified, I know. But I think there are broader cultural trends at play in this.

The point was made a few days ago about the different categories that lead to advantages in athletics. Without looking, prestige, funding, financial aid, facilities, culture, etc. What's ignored is that Bethel blows up this argument. One of the smallest endowments in the MIAC. Comparatively some of the least inspiring facilities (cue people complaining about the grass field). Limited financial aid packages, against her peers. An athletic budget $1.5 million less than Augsburg! Coach J is the X-factor. Except that they've now found a similar X-Factor for baseball, basketball, track, etc. Hat's off to Bethel's coaching staffs, who've found a way to win in spite of significant "disadvantages" and less institutional/budgetary support. The difference is the Athletic Department got creative about its value prop to prospective student athletes. If Bethel has found a way to thrive in the MIAC, there's no school in the league that can't do likewise. But first you've got to actually value competition and be motivated to shoot some hoops in the driveway before you return to the playground.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

Thinking out loud ...

I wonder how much of this MIAC brouhaha  is a symptom of "helicopter parenting" and "victimhood culture" that is all the rage today. Student's today grew up in the age of mom and dad always arms length away, ready to swoop in and solve every dispute or slight or boo-boo. Students didn't learn how to self-adjudicate with their peers, instead they run to a 3rd party authority or administration at the drop of a hat to solve the problem. Add in a little glorification of the victim and you've got a recipe ripe for let's kick UST out via the administrators versus let's get a little tougher and figure out how to win and stand on our own two feet. I realize this fight was brought about by the Presidents, but they're the helicopter parents (demographically speaking) who raised/created the kids now in school. Makes sense that the parenting reflexes are also reflected in the institutions these men and women now lead.

In many ways athletics is the ultimate meritocracy - the cream rises to the top. While academia has increasingly become the land of victimhood, where heterodox ideas are no longer debated (and defeated if found lacking), but preemptively banned for being scary and dangerous and having the potential to hurt feelings. The playground is where you are forced to get better, to practice, to improve, in a word, to compete. Academia (I realize this is a broad generalization) has increasingly become the place where equality is the greatest good. We must root out all microaggressions, flatten all perceived advantages, level every playing field, etc. The problem is this doesn't prepare students for graduation and the dog eat dog world that awaits them.

Cards on the table, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder is whispering in my memory.

UST & Caruso & 97-0 are the ultimate microaggressions. They must be adjudicated, pulled down to a level of equality. Rather than getting beat by the better kid on the neighborhood basketball court, going home and practicing, to return months later with a more competitive game, many (leaders) in the MIAC are complaining to the Neighborhood Watch that UST shouldn't be allowed to play on that court any more. Why? Because they built a really nice basketball hoop on the driveway of their 4,000 sq ft home (complain the parents living in 4,500 sq ft homes with pools in the back yards). Overly simplified, I know. But I think there are broader cultural trends at play in this.

The point was made a few days ago about the different categories that lead to advantages in athletics. Without looking, prestige, funding, financial aid, facilities, culture, etc. What's ignored is that Bethel blows up this argument. One of the smallest endowments in the MIAC. Comparatively some of the least inspiring facilities (cue people complaining about the grass field). Limited financial aid packages, against her peers. An athletic budget $1.5 million less than Augsburg! Coach J is the X-factor. Except that they've now found a similar X-Factor for baseball, basketball, track, etc. Hat's off to Bethel's coaching staffs, who've found a way to win in spite of significant "disadvantages" and less institutional/budgetary support. The difference is the Athletic Department got creative about its value prop to prospective student athletes. If Bethel has found a way to thrive in the MIAC, there's no school in the league that can't do likewise. But first you've got to actually value competition and be motivated to shoot some hoops in the driveway before you return to the playground.

Perhaps the most well thought out comment on this topic I've read anywhere This should be required reading for anyone attending, discussing and ultimately voting any meetings regarding the "disparity" in athletics (glaring at Olaf's Anderson and a few others)

[TheChucker]

Thinking out loud ...

I wonder how much of this MIAC brouhaha  is a symptom of "helicopter parenting" and "victimhood culture" that is all the rage today. Student's today grew up in the age of mom and dad always arms length away, ready to swoop in and solve every dispute or slight or boo-boo. Students didn't learn how to self-adjudicate with their peers, instead they run to a 3rd party authority or administration at the drop of a hat to solve the problem. Add in a little glorification of the victim and you've got a recipe ripe for let's kick UST out via the administrators versus let's get a little tougher and figure out how to win and stand on our own two feet. I realize this fight was brought about by the Presidents, but they're the helicopter parents (demographically speaking) who raised/created the kids now in school. Makes sense that the parenting reflexes are also reflected in the institutions these men and women now lead.

In many ways athletics is the ultimate meritocracy - the cream rises to the top. While academia has increasingly become the land of victimhood, where heterodox ideas are no longer debated (and defeated if found lacking), but preemptively banned for being scary and dangerous and having the potential to hurt feelings. The playground is where you are forced to get better, to practice, to improve, in a word, to compete. Academia (I realize this is a broad generalization) has increasingly become the place where equality is the greatest good. We must root out all microaggressions, flatten all perceived advantages, level every playing field, etc. The problem is this doesn't prepare students for graduation and the dog eat dog world that awaits them.

Cards on the table, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder is whispering in my memory.

UST & Caruso & 97-0 are the ultimate microaggressions. They must be adjudicated, pulled down to a level of equality. Rather than getting beat by the better kid on the neighborhood basketball court, going home and practicing, to return months later with a more competitive game, many (leaders) in the MIAC are complaining to the Neighborhood Watch that UST shouldn't be allowed to play on that court any more. Why? Because they built a really nice basketball hoop on the driveway of their 4,000 sq ft home (complain the parents living in 4,500 sq ft homes with pools in the back yards). Overly simplified, I know. But I think there are broader cultural trends at play in this.

The point was made a few days ago about the different categories that lead to advantages in athletics. Without looking, prestige, funding, financial aid, facilities, culture, etc. What's ignored is that Bethel blows up this argument. One of the smallest endowments in the MIAC. Comparatively some of the least inspiring facilities (cue people complaining about the grass field). Limited financial aid packages, against her peers. An athletic budget $1.5 million less than Augsburg! Coach J is the X-factor. Except that they've now found a similar X-Factor for baseball, basketball, track, etc. Hat's off to Bethel's coaching staffs, who've found a way to win in spite of significant "disadvantages" and less institutional/budgetary support. The difference is the Athletic Department got creative about its value prop to prospective student athletes. If Bethel has found a way to thrive in the MIAC, there's no school in the league that can't do likewise. But first you've got to actually value competition and be motivated to shoot some hoops in the driveway before you return to the playground.

I applaud Bethel for how well they've done and I hope they keep it up. They (and St. Thomas) could be a model for other schools that have been stagnant and eroding. Bethel seems like a completely different school from when I first visited in the 1980s. They have some built in advantages like location, but so do many others that haven't been as successful. I'm guessing it probably doesn't hurt Bethel that it has ties to Eagle Brook Church which has been exploding for a couple decades.

I'll quibble with the "uninspired" facilities quote. I think Bethel was one of the first in the MIAC to build a "fieldhouse" type facility in the 1980s with a full 200 meter track. I remember competing there back in the day and being really impressed (because their football field was terrible back then). The football stadium, baseball and softball fields, tennis etc. are all very nice now and could probably expand if needed. They secured ice in Schwan's for hockey. Basketball is the only mediocre Bethel facility that I can think of.   

[JCUStreaks70]

Thinking out loud ...

I wonder how much of this MIAC brouhaha  is a symptom of "helicopter parenting" and "victimhood culture" that is all the rage today. Student's today grew up in the age of mom and dad always arms length away, ready to swoop in and solve every dispute or slight or boo-boo. Students didn't learn how to self-adjudicate with their peers, instead they run to a 3rd party authority or administration at the drop of a hat to solve the problem. Add in a little glorification of the victim and you've got a recipe ripe for let's kick UST out via the administrators versus let's get a little tougher and figure out how to win and stand on our own two feet. I realize this fight was brought about by the Presidents, but they're the helicopter parents (demographically speaking) who raised/created the kids now in school. Makes sense that the parenting reflexes are also reflected in the institutions these men and women now lead.

In many ways athletics is the ultimate meritocracy - the cream rises to the top. While academia has increasingly become the land of victimhood, where heterodox ideas are no longer debated (and defeated if found lacking), but preemptively banned for being scary and dangerous and having the potential to hurt feelings. The playground is where you are forced to get better, to practice, to improve, in a word, to compete. Academia (I realize this is a broad generalization) has increasingly become the place where equality is the greatest good. We must root out all microaggressions, flatten all perceived advantages, level every playing field, etc. The problem is this doesn't prepare students for graduation and the dog eat dog world that awaits them.

Cards on the table, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder is whispering in my memory.

UST & Caruso & 97-0 are the ultimate microaggressions. They must be adjudicated, pulled down to a level of equality. Rather than getting beat by the better kid on the neighborhood basketball court, going home and practicing, to return months later with a more competitive game, many (leaders) in the MIAC are complaining to the Neighborhood Watch that UST shouldn't be allowed to play on that court any more. Why? Because they built a really nice basketball hoop on the driveway of their 4,000 sq ft home (complain the parents living in 4,500 sq ft homes with pools in the back yards). Overly simplified, I know. But I think there are broader cultural trends at play in this.

The point was made a few days ago about the different categories that lead to advantages in athletics. Without looking, prestige, funding, financial aid, facilities, culture, etc. What's ignored is that Bethel blows up this argument. One of the smallest endowments in the MIAC. Comparatively some of the least inspiring facilities (cue people complaining about the grass field). Limited financial aid packages, against her peers. An athletic budget $1.5 million less than Augsburg! Coach J is the X-factor. Except that they've now found a similar X-Factor for baseball, basketball, track, etc. Hat's off to Bethel's coaching staffs, who've found a way to win in spite of significant "disadvantages" and less institutional/budgetary support. The difference is the Athletic Department got creative about its value prop to prospective student athletes. If Bethel has found a way to thrive in the MIAC, there's no school in the league that can't do likewise. But first you've got to actually value competition and be motivated to shoot some hoops in the driveway before you return to the playground.

Perhaps the most well thought out comment on this topic I've read anywhere This should be required reading for anyone attending, discussing and ultimately voting any meetings regarding the "disparity" in athletics (glaring at Olaf's Anderson and a few others)

Completely agree.. It's the same reason why these "Super-Teams" are being formed in sports (here's looking at you NBA) now. Everyone wants to be popular and win, but very few are willing to put in the time it takes to win... Not completely related, but felt the need to vent.