MBB: University Athletic Association

[Smitty Oom]

I know this is not necessarily pertinent to the current season of the UAA, but I am just curious on the logistics of this league. I played D3 basketball and just recently realized how interesting and unique this conference is to d3. Colleges are located quite far apart (spanning multiple regions), especially for a D3 league. So it looks like teams have travel partners and do weekend Friday Sunday games each weekend going from one travel partner to the other. Now for the most part do teams fly to these games? How do they fund these expenses, not just travel but lodging and food for the team is very costly. I understand these are some very prestigious colleges with high tuition but does each team do a lot of fundraising or how do they make the finances work? Also how about the players, I'm sure they fly out Thursday and get back late Sunday, which makes school very tough. Although these students are very bright I am sure it gets quite difficult missing classes. How did they get to incorporate these different schools into one conference?

Sorry for all the questions but other d3 conferences really interest me and for obvious reasons this one captures my attention the most.

[WUPHF]

Colleges are located quite far apart (spanning multiple regions), especially for a D3 league. So it looks like teams have travel partners and do weekend Friday Sunday games each weekend going from one travel partner to the other. Now for the most part do teams fly to these games? How do they fund these expenses, not just travel but lodging and food for the team is very costly. I understand these are some very prestigious colleges with high tuition but does each team do a lot of fundraising or how do they make the finances work? Also how about the players, I'm sure they fly out Thursday and get back late Sunday, which makes school very tough. Although these students are very bright I am sure it gets quite difficult missing classes. How did they get to incorporate these different schools into one conference?

The UAA has asked basketball players to write blog posts about the travel experience and periodically I think about sharing them here.  The latest edition by NYU Senior Joe Timmes was definitely worth the read: http://uaasports.info/sports/general/2016-17/timmesblog

I can add a little from the Washington University perspective, though not as an insider...

Washington University buses between St. Louis and Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, New York and Boston this season, but schools such as Emory and Rochester do involve flights to both schools and back.  In 2016-2017, that means three flights in Week 2, two flights in Week 4 and two flights in week 7.  1-3 nights in hotels for each of the four travel weekends.

In regards to the students, there are so many great stories...

If you see what it takes to get a degree in Biology, Chemistry or Engineering and then to see a guy like Ben Hoener who is a PhD student at Rice or Troy Ruths who earned his PhD from Rice and owns his own technology company...

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I know this is not necessarily pertinent to the current season of the UAA, but I am just curious on the logistics of this league. I played D3 basketball and just recently realized how interesting and unique this conference is to d3. Colleges are located quite far apart (spanning multiple regions), especially for a D3 league. So it looks like teams have travel partners and do weekend Friday Sunday games each weekend going from one travel partner to the other. Now for the most part do teams fly to these games? How do they fund these expenses, not just travel but lodging and food for the team is very costly. I understand these are some very prestigious colleges with high tuition but does each team do a lot of fundraising or how do they make the finances work? Also how about the players, I'm sure they fly out Thursday and get back late Sunday, which makes school very tough. Although these students are very bright I am sure it gets quite difficult missing classes. How did they get to incorporate these different schools into one conference?

Sorry for all the questions but other d3 conferences really interest me and for obvious reasons this one captures my attention the most.

I will start that this has been the norm in the UAA for many, many years. It actually used to be larger when Johns Hopkins (Baltimore) used to have a part-time role in the conference (UAA would love to have them back; it isn't going to happen). Thus the expenses and such have been part of the annual costs across the board in the athletic departments for a long time. I bet they barely even think about it outside of making sure they have the best prices they can get.

Yes... teams fly. The only really brutal trip is when teams have to travel to Atlanta or Rochester for Friday's games and then to Rochester or Atlanta for Sunday's games. I actually saw the WashU team at NYU a few years ago for a Friday game. They then bussed up to Boston to play Brandeis on Sunday (Chicago, in the meantime, bussed down to play NYU). WashU stayed at a hotel near Time's Square... one I think they normally stay at, but certainly isn't more fancy than a hotel any of us would stay in to save money.

Remember also, traveling in large numbers will do wonders in decreasing the rates from what you or I would pay for a single room.

I am not sure if teams do fundraising per se, but I do know of many of these schools talking about the generosity of their alums. I am sure that plays a major role in expenses. But my point about this being the norm for a long time gets to the fact that these schools have been doing this for so long that they have adjusted accordingly the budgets and expectations. And the fact these schools are larger, research-based, institutions with incredibly high-standards actually helps them. They find that being in these markets (Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Cleveland, NYC, Boston, etc.) allows them to recruit not only for athletics, but for the school and they get some of the best students in the country interested in attending. They then have alums around the country and the circle comes full circle.

Missing class time is minimum. They tend to travel when Thursday classes are over (for the most part) usually getting in the evening before a game. They may miss Friday classes, but if you think about the schedule that is just four a season in the second semester - if they have class in the first place. I have also been told that the professors at these institutions "get it" and don't give student-athletes that hard a time ... in fact they try and help them the best they can. The SAs are actually very well respected because they tend to be some of the top students in their class(es) and thus professors know they won't miss that much.

And for your last question, as I indicated before, these are all large, research-based, institutions. People talk about "like-minded" conferences and the UAA is the epitomy of that. It is also why they want Johns Hopkins (and the Baltimore/DC market) back in the fold. They are all like-minded in many, many ways and thus why this conference is not only so successful in many ways, but also so well respected.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Colleges are located quite far apart (spanning multiple regions), especially for a D3 league. So it looks like teams have travel partners and do weekend Friday Sunday games each weekend going from one travel partner to the other. Now for the most part do teams fly to these games? How do they fund these expenses, not just travel but lodging and food for the team is very costly. I understand these are some very prestigious colleges with high tuition but does each team do a lot of fundraising or how do they make the finances work? Also how about the players, I'm sure they fly out Thursday and get back late Sunday, which makes school very tough. Although these students are very bright I am sure it gets quite difficult missing classes. How did they get to incorporate these different schools into one conference?

The UAA has asked basketball players to write blog posts about the travel experience and periodically I think about sharing them here.  The latest edition by NYU Senior Joe Timmes was definitely worth the read: http://uaasports.info/sports/general/2016-17/timmesblog

I can add a little from the Washington University perspective, though not as an insider...

Washington University buses between St. Louis and Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, New York and Boston this season, but schools such as Emory and Rochester do involve flights to both schools and back.  In 2016-2017, that means three flights in Week 2, two flights in Week 4 and two flights in week 7.  1-3 nights in hotels for each of the four travel weekends.

In regards to the students, there are so many great stories...

If you see what it takes to get a degree in Biology, Chemistry or Engineering and then to see a guy like Ben Hoener who is a PhD student at Rice or Troy Ruths who earned his PhD from Rice and owns his own technology company...

Troy Ruths won two national championships and I think was the MOP of at least one of those title runs.

[Smitty Oom]

I know this is not necessarily pertinent to the current season of the UAA, but I am just curious on the logistics of this league. I played D3 basketball and just recently realized how interesting and unique this conference is to d3. Colleges are located quite far apart (spanning multiple regions), especially for a D3 league. So it looks like teams have travel partners and do weekend Friday Sunday games each weekend going from one travel partner to the other. Now for the most part do teams fly to these games? How do they fund these expenses, not just travel but lodging and food for the team is very costly. I understand these are some very prestigious colleges with high tuition but does each team do a lot of fundraising or how do they make the finances work? Also how about the players, I'm sure they fly out Thursday and get back late Sunday, which makes school very tough. Although these students are very bright I am sure it gets quite difficult missing classes. How did they get to incorporate these different schools into one conference?

Sorry for all the questions but other d3 conferences really interest me and for obvious reasons this one captures my attention the most.

I will start that this has been the norm in the UAA for many, many years. It actually used to be larger when Johns Hopkins (Baltimore) used to have a part-time role in the conference (UAA would love to have them back; it isn't going to happen). Thus the expenses and such have been part of the annual costs across the board in the athletic departments for a long time. I bet they barely even think about it outside of making sure they have the best prices they can get.

Yes... teams fly. The only really brutal trip is when teams have to travel to Atlanta or Rochester for Friday's games and then to Rochester or Atlanta for Sunday's games. I actually saw the WashU team at NYU a few years ago for a Friday game. They then bussed up to Boston to play Brandeis on Sunday (Chicago, in the meantime, bussed down to play NYU). WashU stayed at a hotel near Time's Square... one I think they normally stay at, but certainly isn't more fancy than a hotel any of us would stay in to save money.

Remember also, traveling in large numbers will do wonders in decreasing the rates from what you or I would pay for a single room.

I am not sure if teams do fundraising per se, but I do know of many of these schools talking about the generosity of their alums. I am sure that plays a major role in expenses. But my point about this being the norm for a long time gets to the fact that these schools have been doing this for so long that they have adjusted accordingly the budgets and expectations. And the fact these schools are larger, research-based, institutions with incredibly high-standards actually helps them. They find that being in these markets (Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Cleveland, NYC, Boston, etc.) allows them to recruit not only for athletics, but for the school and they get some of the best students in the country interested in attending. They then have alums around the country and the circle comes full circle.

Missing class time is minimum. They tend to travel when Thursday classes are over (for the most part) usually getting in the evening before a game. They may miss Friday classes, but if you think about the schedule that is just four a season in the second semester - if they have class in the first place. I have also been told that the professors at these institutions "get it" and don't give student-athletes that hard a time ... in fact they try and help them the best they can. The SAs are actually very well respected because they tend to be some of the top students in their class(es) and thus professors know they won't miss that much.

And for your last question, as I indicated before, these are all large, research-based, institutions. People talk about "like-minded" conferences and the UAA is the epitomy of that. It is also why they want Johns Hopkins (and the Baltimore/DC market) back in the fold. They are all like-minded in many, many ways and thus why this conference is not only so successful in many ways, but also so well respected.

Thanks for such a great response Dave and WUH, really answered a lot of my questions! I just find it so different than my d3 experience and am fascinated by it. Sounds like a very fun league for both academics and athletics. Sure sounds like they get it, especially with the players blog they post weekly.

[Smitty Oom]

I knew all of these schools were very good academically but I didn't realize that they are all ranked in the top 40 by USNews! What an accomplishment, and yes I fully understand why the UAA would want John Hopkins back. Really enjoyed reading the blurbs on each school.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

[WUPHF]

Missing class time is minimum. They tend to travel when Thursday classes are over (for the most part) usually getting in the evening before a game. They may miss Friday classes, but if you think about the schedule that is just four a season in the second semester - if they have class in the first place.

The UAA teams are often on the road before classes begin on Thursday.

Most of our departments in Arts and Sciences and Business offer classes Monday-Thursday, but if you are in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering and some others, Thursday and Friday away is tough.  They almost have to serious summer coursework.

Troy Ruths won two national championships and I think was the MOP of at least one of those title runs.

Ruths led the team to one national championship in 2008 and was awarded the Josten's Trophy, but he also led the team to 3rd place in 2007.  If you think about how the basketball teams are playing through final exams in the Fall and then have the potential to play through the end of March, definitely very tough.

[Gregory Sager]

What D-Mac didn't mention, Smitty, is that the eight UAA schools are each richer than Croesus with regard to their endowments. All eight of them have endowments of over a billion dollars, and several of them have multi-billion-dollar endowments. They don't need to hold spaghetti-dinner fundraisers or sell raffle tickets at football games in order to fund the plane and hotel fares.

Also, at least some of the schools have proctors assigned to the teams that enable the student-athletes to take tests and quizzes while on the road, when permitted by the instructors.

[WUPHF]

I just find it so different than my d3 experience and am fascinated by it. Sounds like a very fun league for both academics and athletics. Sure sounds like they get it, especially with the players blog they post weekly.

By the way, I thought about playing tennis at a local Division III and that was as close as I came.  As excited as I get about the UAA, I respect everyone who plays the college game whether their conference rivals are across town or across the country.

[WUPHF]

All eight of them have endowments of over a billion dollars, and several of them have multi-billion-dollar endowments. They don't need to hold spaghetti-dinner fundraisers or sell raffle tickets at football games in order to fund the plane and hotel fares.

Washington University has the second largest endowment in the conference (almost $7,000,000,000) but as with most UAA schools, the vast majority of the money is restricted.  It is so much easier to ask for a donor to endow a professorship then to cover travel expenses.  Even the $50 donations usually comes in with restrictions.  I know you already know that, but I am clarifying for others.

Believe it or not, the teams do low-level fundraisers.  Men's Soccer, for example, delivers mulch and compost.

The Athletic Department has traditionally run a lean operation, though that may have changed over the last few years.  The local paper cited the department budget at 6 million and said that the average for a Division III team with a football program was about 3 million.  Travel is a big part of the difference when you add in all the sports.

[Gregory Sager]

Right. I wasn't implying that the CFOs of the eight UAA schools hand their ADs blank checkbooks every year. As far as I can tell, UAA programs don't have lots of non-travel-related bells and whistles that other D3 programs lack. The wealth of each of the UAA schools simply allows them to knit together by air travel a league of like-minded institutions, in spite of the fact that it covers D1-style geographical distances.

[WUPHF]

10 minutes in to the first half at Carnegie Mellon and it may be time to call an upset alert.  Washington University cannot score to save their life.  Tartans lead 17-7.

[WUPHF]

Washington University finally finds some offense.

The Bears lead the Tartans in the half, 26-23.

[WUPHF]

Both Case Western and Brandeis lead at the half!

43-31 in the case of the Judges...
41-37 in the case of the Spartans...

This will happen eventually...

[4samuy]

Washington University finally finds some offense.

The Bears lead the Tartans in the half, 26-23.

This is an awful basketball game.