MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[realist]

Thanks for those links Pat.  Have to admit, since I don't have a horse in the race, I seldom go to the football page.
It is definitely a very complex issue, and reading about how it has gone for others adding football lets one know what to expect.  Calvin is at the point it needs to rework several of it's sport's fields so now is a logical time to consider football again.  The fact most of the larger Christian Schools in W. MI. (a major feeder source for Calvin students) now field football teams also is a driving factor.  Almost every Calvin fan knows a kid or two that opted to go to Hope or another school to continue playing football. 
I recall several of the other times Calvin explored football, and rightly or wrongly, the final outcome hinged on how adding football would change the dynamics of campus life.  Obviously the cons have historically outweighed the pros, and not sure at this point what the odds of adding football may be.  My guess would be less than 50-50, but the tie breaker may be getting a deep pocket to cover the start up costs.

[Pat Coleman]

Thanks for those links Pat.  Have to admit, since I don't have a horse in the race, I seldom go to the football page.

That's OK -- very understandable.

[Stinger]

Nice article about Fern Persons, a Kalamazoo native and K'31 grad. She played Barbara Hersey's mother in Hoosiers and was the mother in law in Field of Dreams. I had no idea we had an alumna with such prestigious filmography. http://tinyurl.com/5sywck9

[ziggy]

I recall several of the other times Calvin explored football, and rightly or wrongly, the final outcome hinged on how adding football would change the dynamics of campus life.  Obviously the cons have historically outweighed the pros, and not sure at this point what the odds of adding football may be.  My guess would be less than 50-50, but the tie breaker may be getting a deep pocket to cover the start up costs.

This is where the Christian "feeder" schools plays a big role. It isn't just that "they have one so we should too", it is important because it helps answer the question of campus dynamic. In the past, the question of where these football players would come from was probably answered with a shrug of the shoulders. Now, we can say a good number of them will come from schools that already "send" a number of students to Calvin. Removing the uncertainty of where these students will come from should alleviate the concern over a drastic change in campus life.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

For those of you fortunate enough to have a Calvin diploma as part of your pedigree, check out the latest edition of Spark (I received mine in the mail yesterday).  Among other things, it contains a 3 page summary of the football discussion (really just a 30,000 foot overview compared with the FAQ on the website, but there is a nice artist's rendering about proposed athletic facilities).  In the class notes, there is a small writeup on Brent Schuster's basketball adventures in Italy, and some props given to the Snyder brothers for the Forever Faithful (to maroon and gold) blog.  Looks like Ziggy and KS have the PR machine humming--even got in a mention of the Detroit Tigers and Lions blogs too!  Well done guys.

[KnightSlappy]

For those of you fortunate enough to have a Calvin diploma as part of your pedigree, check out the latest edition of Spark (I received mine in the mail yesterday).  Among other things, it contains a 3 page summary of the football discussion (really just a 30,000 foot overview compared with the FAQ on the website, but there is a nice artist's rendering about proposed athletic facilities).  In the class notes, there is a small writeup on Brent Schuster's basketball adventures in Italy, and some props given to the Snyder brothers for the Forever Faithful (to maroon and gold) blog.  Looks like Ziggy and KS have the PR machine humming--even got in a mention of the Detroit Tigers and Lions blogs too!  Well done guys.

One small update to the Spark note about ziggy and I and our blogging endeavors -- Motor City Bengals is out of the picture for us now -- for your outside reading pleasure, you can visit SideLionReport.com (Lions content, editor: ziggy) and DetroitJockCity.com (Detroit/state of Michigan content, editor: yours truly).

/<shameless plug disguised as a reply>

[ziggy]

For those of you fortunate enough to have a Calvin diploma as part of your pedigree, check out the latest edition of Spark (I received mine in the mail yesterday).  Among other things, it contains a 3 page summary of the football discussion (really just a 30,000 foot overview compared with the FAQ on the website, but there is a nice artist's rendering about proposed athletic facilities).  In the class notes, there is a small writeup on Brent Schuster's basketball adventures in Italy, and some props given to the Snyder brothers for the Forever Faithful (to maroon and gold) blog.  Looks like Ziggy and KS have the PR machine humming--even got in a mention of the Detroit Tigers and Lions blogs too!  Well done guys.

If there is a PR machine, which it now seems there is, I was previously unaware of it. My guess is that the alumni office has noticed a recent uptick in the last decade of Sparks going out to Snyder addresses and are giving a shoutout to increase the likelihood of receiving that voluntary contribution in return.

I kid, except for the part about not knowing FF/SLR/MCB would be mentioned. It is possible baby bro was holding out on me but I doubt that.

[Civic Minded]

One month!!!!!   

[northb]

Here is a link to the GR press story about the football study at Calvin

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2011/09/why_calvin_college_may_invest.html

[ziggy]

Here is a link to the GR press story about the football study at Calvin

http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2011/09/why_calvin_college_may_invest.html

It was interesting to read the Title IX discussion included in the FAQ at calvin.edu/football. It looks like Adrian wasn't as concerned with their athletic expansion over the past few years: http://www.lenconnect.com/news/x1194960964/Adrian-College-government-reach-agreement-in-gender-equity-case

[Knight2Day]

The addition of lacrosse might sink the dreams of football at Calvin, at least a quick turnaround into a program.

[Pat Coleman]

The addition of lacrosse might sink the dreams of football at Calvin, at least a quick turnaround into a program.

Why is that? There's actually some athletic crossover between the two sports.

[Knight2Day]

The addition of lacrosse might sink the dreams of football at Calvin, at least a quick turnaround into a program.

Why is that? There's actually some athletic crossover between the two sports.

Because you not only have an issue with Title IX, but you also have the issues with Calvin Faculty who would raise hell if another sport is added during this time of economic struggle. There are faculty who already have a problem with the addition of lacrosse, let alone adding football on top of that which will command more attention and the addition of outside coaches. Unless the alumni give overwhelming support, I see the football dream dying off.

[KnightSlappy]

The addition of lacrosse might sink the dreams of football at Calvin, at least a quick turnaround into a program.

Why is that? There's actually some athletic crossover between the two sports.

Because you not only have an issue with Title IX, but you also have the issues with Calvin Faculty who would raise hell if another sport is added during this time of economic struggle. There are faculty who already have a problem with the addition of lacrosse, let alone adding football on top of that which will command more attention and the addition of outside coaches. Unless the alumni give overwhelming support, I see the football dream dying off.

LAX will be for men and women, so there should not be any Title IX issues there.

[Gregory Sager]

With regard to the addition of football being a bad move in an economic downturn, it should be noted that football is considered to be a revenue enhancer, for a couple of reasons. One is that, more than other sports, students are more likely to view football as a signature aspect of collegiate life and to view schools that have football more favorably, all other things being equal, than not. Second, football helps even out the female:male ratio; even at Calvin, a school that features engineering majors (i.e., traditionally more male-oriented academic offerings that most of its peer schools do not have), the ratio according to Petersons is currently 54:46. More importantly, football adds a lot of warm bodies to the enrollment tally -- and, for an enrollment-driven school such as Calvin that's been struggling with declining enrollment figures over the past few years, that's important.

If donors are willing to take on the start-up costs for football related to infrastructure -- a big "if" -- football would probably be an economic plus for Calvin, not an economic minus.