FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[AO]

Very interesting expenses for Augsburg and I am sure the wrestling program is the reason as they are the Big Dog at Augsburg.

Last year's total expenses at Augsburg
$386,353.00    Football
$386,200.00    Ice Hockey
$350,708.00    Basketball
$330,290.00    Soccer
$261,570.00    All Track Combined
$234,550.00    Wrestling
$191,221.00    Volleyball
$171,969.00    Baseball
$148,420.00    Golf
$132,447.00    Softball
$114,798.00    Lacrosse
$94,901.00    Swimming and Diving

So Augsburg's football budget is pretty low compared to other teams in 2017 but it's still the most expensive sport at the school and they played 6 home games that season.  I certainly wouldn't blame it all on wrestling.

[jamtod]

2017 was the Target Field Tommie Johnnie game so we can toss all this hard hitting analysis out the window and find some data that won't include such a significant expense and revenue outlier.

[GoldandBlueBU]

I like that we've gotten to the it's the media's fault portion of this. Took a bit longer than usual in today's world but good to see.

Related, as I read through several weeks worth of posts and see folks ripping him, I do have to defend my guy Reusse. I think he's the best sports columnist in the country. No one covers the big sports and the rest of a state -- the high schools, small colleges, old legends -- like he does. I'm biased because I know and love the guy but there's no one else whose versatility, institutional memoryand talent allows him to be the No. 1 guy I would want to read after a World Series victory by the Twins or a Stagg victory by the Johnnies or following the death of a Vikings star from the '70s. And if routinely criticizing a Big Ten football program that has been awful to mediocre for five decades is trolling, well, you can always read Sid.

To me, it wouldn't bug me if it was criticism of the gophers football team on the basis of on the field activities, it's his doing so based on his blatantly obvious dis-taste for Fleck, and how he talks and carries himself.  Just because the guy doesn't have the personality, or use the old school methods that Reusse prefers, doesn't make him awful, or wrong for doing so.  Fleck's mannerisms aren't my cup of tea either, but they've been bad to mediocre for how long now?  Why not try something different?  If what he is selling / doing resonates with kids today, why is that so awful?

His incredibly predictable response to the wolves hiring Gersson Rosas is right along the same lines.  Just because it isn't of your day and taste, doesn't make it wrong.  He hates it, but "culture" is a real thing, and anyone who has experienced both positive and negative versions of it can attest to that.

http://www.startribune.com/timberwolves-televised-sales-pitch-buzz-words-not-the-basketball/509587172/

That being said, I love his ability to talk about all levels of sports with intelligently, and his knowledge of MN sports history, I just get tired of him being a stick in the mud a$$hole about stuff that doesn't suit his old-school preferences.

[hazzben]

The money figures are a bit misleading IMO.

Does the half of Caruso's salary that comes from "consulting" for a football booster get listed in these numbers? Definitely not.

* The arms race aspect is part of this, and has already been mentioned.
* The willingness to throw significant financial aid packages at players they want to land is part of this. Maybe those aid packages aren't out of the norm for the general student body (it's also not hard to shift those numbers around either). But that only underscores the problem. If UST is putting together vastly superior aid programs for students across the board that Hamline and Augsburg can't compete with, it makes a difference in enrollment. And when enrollment numbers are what keep you afloat, that matters.
* Where does the money for coaching staff salaries come from? Are there deep pockets helping to offset assistant salaries? Paid out of non-UST managed funds? If so these don't show up in the numbers either.

Anecdotally, a good friend of mine was an All American soccer player at the U. She was asked to be an assistant coach for Hamline this past fall. She wasn't doing it for the Starbucks caramel macchiato they paid her. But she also got an inside look at the differences between what the Hamline HC was trying to accomplish compared specifically to UST. Her words, before any of this TomToss came up, was that UST was a lot closer to what she experienced at Minnesota than to what the rest of the MIAC was doing.

Again, there's nothing wrong with UST leveraging all its resources. And I have sympathy for the schools that sit right in her shadow and are trying to compete for students & student athletes. What I don't have a lot of sympathy for are the Olaf's of the world. UST is beating them at their own game, and they don't like it.

I like that we've gotten to the it's the media's fault portion of this. Took a bit longer than usual in today's world but good to see.

For my part, I am in no way blaming the media, but I know many are. My chief complaint is the institutional refusal to let the media know what the hell is going on, which leads to rampant speculation and 97-0 finding its way into every article.

My guess is, there's no good way to spin this for the COL, so they're probably thinking they might as well say nothing.

The 'no comment' approach by most of these institutions is certainly not giving media members much to go on. But it's not as if they're asking "what's going on in the MIAC." They are pontificating about what's going and lumping all the schools together. I highly doubt Dan Barreiro reached out to MIAC institutions for comments before he declared the whole league a bunch of idiots. Reusse actually appears to have been doing all he could to get comments on the record. But that's also part of his frustration. He's directly called out Anderson for driving all of this, and then not having the guts to comment or own publicly that he's the one leading the parade.

[Mr.MIAC]

Here are my predictions for Sunday:

1. Daenerys severely damages Euron's fleet with an armored dragon and/or multiple heretofore unknown dragons
2. The Golden Company, having made a secret deal with someone on Team Daenerys, turns on Cersei
3. Cersei torches The Red Keep with wildfire, killing Jamie, Arya, and/or The Hound

[wally_wabash]

Here are my predictions for Sunday:

1. Daenerys severely damages Euron's fleet with an armored dragon and/or multiple heretofore unknown dragons
2. The Golden Company, having made a secret deal with someone on Team Daenerys, turns on Cersei
3. Cersei torches The Red Keep with wildfire, killing Jamie, Arya, and/or The Hound

I think that just magically producing more dragons after they've painstakingly and clumsily gone out of their way to take her dragons away would be lazy and make no sense.  So it's totally possible. 

[hazzben]

"So it's totally possible" Bahaha, yup!

I love that we're back to "the Game" with backstabbing and political machinations galore. Tyrion and Varys begrudgingly working against one another. Other's conspiring to put Jon Snow on the throne, while he remains unaware, in true Ned Stark fashion. Arya in the red keep reeking havoc. Jamie back in King's Landing, but who's side is he actually on (Kingslayer to Queen/Kinslayer anyone??). Sansa pulling some Little Finger moves that we don't see coming.

Chaos once again reigns in King's Landing ... and it's glorious!!!

[Mr.MIAC]

Here are my predictions for Sunday:

1. Daenerys severely damages Euron's fleet with an armored dragon and/or multiple heretofore unknown dragons
2. The Golden Company, having made a secret deal with someone on Team Daenerys, turns on Cersei
3. Cersei torches The Red Keep with wildfire, killing Jamie, Arya, and/or The Hound

I think that just magically producing more dragons after they've painstakingly and clumsily gone out of their way to take her dragons away would be lazy and make no sense.  So it's totally possible.

I hear you on the dragons. I'm thinking there's a good chance that Daenerys and/or Jon Snow will "win" this thing. If a Targaryen is victorious, they're going to need some more dragons going forward. Drogon can't do that by himself, so I can see some new ones being introduced.

[miac952]

The money figures are a bit misleading IMO.

Does the half of Caruso's salary that comes from "consulting" for a football booster get listed in these numbers? Definitely not.

* The arms race aspect is part of this, and has already been mentioned.
* The willingness to throw significant financial aid packages at players they want to land is part of this. Maybe those aid packages aren't out of the norm for the general student body (it's also not hard to shift those numbers around either). But that only underscores the problem. If UST is putting together vastly superior aid programs for students across the board that Hamline and Augsburg can't compete with, it makes a difference in enrollment. And when enrollment numbers are what keep you afloat, that matters.
* Where does the money for coaching staff salaries come from? Are there deep pockets helping to offset assistant salaries? Paid out of non-UST managed funds? If so these don't show up in the numbers either.

Anecdotally, a good friend of mine was an All American soccer player at the U. She was asked to be an assistant coach for Hamline this past fall. She wasn't doing it for the Starbucks caramel macchiato they paid her. But she also got an inside look at the differences between what the Hamline HC was trying to accomplish compared specifically to UST. Her words, before any of this TomToss came up, was that UST was a lot closer to what she experienced at Minnesota than to what the rest of the MIAC was doing.

Again, there's nothing wrong with UST leveraging all its resources. And I have sympathy for the schools that sit right in her shadow and are trying to compete for students & student athletes. What I don't have a lot of sympathy for are the Olaf's of the world. UST is beating them at their own game, and they don't like it.

I like that we've gotten to the it's the media's fault portion of this. Took a bit longer than usual in today's world but good to see.

For my part, I am in no way blaming the media, but I know many are. My chief complaint is the institutional refusal to let the media know what the hell is going on, which leads to rampant speculation and 97-0 finding its way into every article.

My guess is, there's no good way to spin this for the COL, so they're probably thinking they might as well say nothing.

The 'no comment' approach by most of these institutions is certainly not giving media members much to go on. But it's not as if they're asking "what's going on in the MIAC." They are pontificating about what's going and lumping all the schools together. I highly doubt Dan Barreiro reached out to MIAC institutions for comments before he declared the whole league a bunch of idiots. Reusse actually appears to have been doing all he could to get comments on the record. But that's also part of his frustration. He's directly called out Anderson for driving all of this, and then not having the guts to comment or own publicly that he's the one leading the parade.

Thoughtful post. As a UST backer I would absolutely agree that they are playing with a better hand than Augsburg, Hamline, Bethel.

BUT, the argument is lost when I see St Olaf being the one dragging this down the path it is. When Phil Lundeen left the U of M track program to go to St Olaf I know he got a pay raise to do it. When Mike Eaves was let go as Wisconsin's Head Hockey Coach, I know his compensation did not drop off too much. I know they paid big $ to bring in the Associated AD from the University of Maryland that oversaw Maryland's B1G transition as well. Coach Meidt's scores were fine and dandy, but when the table turned I guess not. President Anderson and Um Ya Ya have been playing the same game as UST for quite a while; they have just failed miserably at it. And, now he is kicking and screaming. If I was Auggie or Hamline's Prez I would tell Anderson to take a hike, because he is doing the same thing.

Part of me wonders if Julie Sullivan is ok with how this is playing out. It may have been her ambition to take this track from DIII to DII to DI all along. She came from San Diego after all. She hired Phil Esten. Now she can just wipe her hands clean of it, and blame it on the C.O.L when her constituents get fired up about leaving behind the history and tradition of the MIAC.

[OzJohnnie]

Here are my predictions for Sunday:

1. Daenerys severely damages Euron's fleet with an armored dragon and/or multiple heretofore unknown dragons
2. The Golden Company, having made a secret deal with someone on Team Daenerys, turns on Cersei
3. Cersei torches The Red Keep with wildfire, killing Jamie, Arya, and/or The Hound

After the utter train wreck of episode 3 I gave up on the series and went looking for leaks so I could see how it finishes without wasting my time watching.  An insider bullet pointed the last three episodes and nailed this last episode perfectly, so it's a good leak.  Your guesses are not even close.  Not stupid enough.

[OzJohnnie]

To be clear, Rev, I'm not trying to underhand insult you and say your ideas are stupid.  I'm mad at the show's writers and producers.  Creating more dragons isn't a stupid idea necessarily (although I'm sure the writers would make it so).  It's just that your ideas are nowhere near the actual finish.

[Mr.MIAC]

The money figures are a bit misleading IMO.

Does the half of Caruso's salary that comes from "consulting" for a football booster get listed in these numbers? Definitely not.

* The arms race aspect is part of this, and has already been mentioned.
* The willingness to throw significant financial aid packages at players they want to land is part of this. Maybe those aid packages aren't out of the norm for the general student body (it's also not hard to shift those numbers around either). But that only underscores the problem. If UST is putting together vastly superior aid programs for students across the board that Hamline and Augsburg can't compete with, it makes a difference in enrollment. And when enrollment numbers are what keep you afloat, that matters.
* Where does the money for coaching staff salaries come from? Are there deep pockets helping to offset assistant salaries? Paid out of non-UST managed funds? If so these don't show up in the numbers either.

Anecdotally, a good friend of mine was an All American soccer player at the U. She was asked to be an assistant coach for Hamline this past fall. She wasn't doing it for the Starbucks caramel macchiato they paid her. But she also got an inside look at the differences between what the Hamline HC was trying to accomplish compared specifically to UST. Her words, before any of this TomToss came up, was that UST was a lot closer to what she experienced at Minnesota than to what the rest of the MIAC was doing.

Again, there's nothing wrong with UST leveraging all its resources. And I have sympathy for the schools that sit right in her shadow and are trying to compete for students & student athletes. What I don't have a lot of sympathy for are the Olaf's of the world. UST is beating them at their own game, and they don't like it.

I like that we've gotten to the it's the media's fault portion of this. Took a bit longer than usual in today's world but good to see.

For my part, I am in no way blaming the media, but I know many are. My chief complaint is the institutional refusal to let the media know what the hell is going on, which leads to rampant speculation and 97-0 finding its way into every article.

My guess is, there's no good way to spin this for the COL, so they're probably thinking they might as well say nothing.

The 'no comment' approach by most of these institutions is certainly not giving media members much to go on. But it's not as if they're asking "what's going on in the MIAC." They are pontificating about what's going and lumping all the schools together. I highly doubt Dan Barreiro reached out to MIAC institutions for comments before he declared the whole league a bunch of idiots. Reusse actually appears to have been doing all he could to get comments on the record. But that's also part of his frustration. He's directly called out Anderson for driving all of this, and then not having the guts to comment or own publicly that he's the one leading the parade.

Thoughtful post. As a UST backer I would absolutely agree that they are playing with a better hand than Augsburg, Hamline, Bethel.

BUT, the argument is lost when I see St Olaf being the one dragging this down the path it is. When Phil Lundeen left the U of M track program to go to St Olaf I know he got a pay raise to do it. When Mike Eaves was let go as Wisconsin's Head Hockey Coach, I know his compensation did not drop off too much. I know they paid big $ to bring in the Associated AD from the University of Maryland that oversaw Maryland's B1G transition as well. Coach Meidt's scores were fine and dandy, but when the table turned I guess not. President Anderson and Um Ya Ya have been playing the same game as UST for quite a while; they have just failed miserably at it. And, now he is kicking and screaming. If I was Auggie or Hamline's Prez I would tell Anderson to take a hike, because he is doing the same thing.

Part of me wonders if Julie Sullivan is ok with how this is playing out. It may have been her ambition to take this track from DIII to DII to DI all along. She came from San Diego after all. She hired Phil Esten. Now she can just wipe her hands clean of it, and blame it on the C.O.L when her constituents get fired up about leaving behind the history and tradition of the MIAC.

I don't envy Anderson. It must be hard sitting at the helm of an institution that's perennially in someone else's shadow. St. Olaf has always been seen as the "safety school" in Northfield. Prioritizing athletics will only make it more difficult to shake that reputation. Now they're considered a bottom-feeder in the MIAC. New facilities have had little impact and more singing won't help. I guess Anderson's only recourse is political machinations. Tough job...

[AO]

Rachel Blount and the Star Tribune have obtained an email from Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow detailing his reason for voting to kick out the Tommies.  http://www.startribune.com/augsburg-president-reluctantly-supports-removing-st-thomas-from-miac/509752432/ 

In an exchange with an Augsburg supporter, Pribbenow wrote that several schools have threatened to leave the MIAC in recent years. He said he wants "the MIAC to remain as whole as is possible," even if it means St. Thomas must be expelled.

"My sense is that we have reached a consensus that will keep 12 schools together in the MIAC and that we will support St. Thomas's efforts to find a new conference home," Pribbenow replied to the Augsburg supporter, who wrote to express his opposition to removing St. Thomas. "I can assure you that if we had not reached this consensus, the MIAC would have imploded, leaving all of us in a far less attractive position."

[Pat Coleman]

Where we have landed ensures that the conference will survive.

[art76]

Rachel Blount and the Star Tribune have obtained an email from Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow detailing his reason for voting to kick out the Tommies.  http://www.startribune.com/augsburg-president-reluctantly-supports-removing-st-thomas-from-miac/509752432/ 

In an exchange with an Augsburg supporter, Pribbenow wrote that several schools have threatened to leave the MIAC in recent years. He said he wants "the MIAC to remain as whole as is possible," even if it means St. Thomas must be expelled.

"My sense is that we have reached a consensus that will keep 12 schools together in the MIAC and that we will support St. Thomas's efforts to find a new conference home," Pribbenow replied to the Augsburg supporter, who wrote to express his opposition to removing St. Thomas. "I can assure you that if we had not reached this consensus, the MIAC would have imploded, leaving all of us in a far less attractive position."

Thanx for the link AO. The score 97-0 is again in play - oy vey.