Look at this article about MSU’s budget problems and its fierce defense of an unpopular, financially killing sports program. Read the comments top administrators there make about keeping football going. Textbook provincialism… or why Missouri State will always be Missouri State.
Board of Governors Chair Elizabeth Bradbury said athletics help to make the school a destination-place locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
“When you look at being that kind of a university, typically you are looking at schools that have good, strong athletic programs,” Bradbury said.
“Student-athletes are some of our best ambassadors,” Bradbury added.
MSU ain’t any sort of destination place.
A commenter on the article lists a bunch of schools that have dropped football, and notes that most of them are better schools than MSU. Another commenter makes the obvious point that athletes – especially football players – tend to be the worst ambassadors.
The vp for student affairs makes the pro-football case yet more astutely:
“If we didn’t have football, what would happen to our band program? If band isn’t as vibrant … those musicians also are involved in orchestra, ensembles and all that goes with that.”
A commenter responds:
Those football players are just a support group for the band! I will send this statement to the National Academy of Sciences to prove that football is very important to the academic pursuit of musicianship.
Then there’s the university’s president:
Asked if athletics teams could be on the chopping block in the future, Cofer said, “I don’t answer hypothetical questions.”
You can see why Cofer’s skittish about answering future-oriented questions. MSU’s last president was way bullish on the money the new basketball stadium would make.
The [recent state] audit … pointed out that JQH Arena operated at a loss in its first two years and, according to the current budget, is projected to operate at a loss for 2010-11, as well.
As a result, operating transfers from the athletic fund were needed to cover losses.
Cofer said he’s working on a plan for improving finances for JQH.
Yessiree Bob we’ve got that plan in the works fer sure.
October 24th, 2010 at 12:36PM
If one looks at the majors at Missouri State University, one will find music education (high school band director), sports medicine, coaching, physical education, and sports administration. All of those programs used the athletics program for support and learning opportunities.
How does one learn to be a high school band director without being in a college marching band? The schools listed as dropping football such as Iona, Boston University, and Northeastern do not train high school band directors or trainers.
October 24th, 2010 at 12:40PM
superdestroyer: I can think of many ways you could learn to be a band director without being at a college with a marching band. For starters, you could apprentice at a local high school.
Also: You could maintain the other majors you mention without having a big time, too-expensive sports program. You don’t need basketball and football programs to maintain those majors.
October 24th, 2010 at 1:38PM
The idea that you can ONLY get a job by majoring in a very specific field is one of the biggest mistakes any undergraduate can make. One of the greatest sports agents in the world, Mark McCormack didn’t major in sports administration. He majored in French. The greatest football coach in the history of college football majored in English Literature at Brown. As long as you get the science credits needed for med school, you don’t need to major in sports medicine. Being a band director can easily be done by majoring in music education and using volunteer and other opportunities to work with high school bands in the area.
None of those majors are essential to a university or to a student who wants to pursue those careers.
October 24th, 2010 at 1:48PM
Not having a Marching Band puts the music education majors at a huge disadvantage if everyone else applying to be an assistant band director has been in a marching band. Not having a football team puts any physical trainers at a huge disadvantage when everyone else has already been a trainer for a football team. How can someone plan on being a high school football coach while attending a school without a football team?
Northeastern and Boston University do not train high school coaches, band directors, or sports management people. Also the student bodies are different at Missouri State versus the schools who eliminate. MSU is much more rural, public school attendees. MSU has the problem that the casual college sports fan is going to be a Missouri, Arkansas, or Kansas fan.
October 24th, 2010 at 2:34PM
Bull hockey. Being a trainer for a Division I college football team is not a huge advantage for your future. Acting as a trainer for any other nonrevenue sports is just as relevant Further, this argument also presumes that only expensive big time BCS football is the only option. You can have a football team without having a BCS football team. You can have a marching band without having a huge financial sucking sound coming from your athletic department. You can have trainers without having a million dollar football coach.
Or, you could even recognize that not every school needs to have every major.
October 24th, 2010 at 2:56PM
GTWMA,
In looking at the websites for Missouri State, Truman St and the University of Missouri, it looks like that Missouri State is the school that produces high school band directors, high school coaches, and trainers. Looking at the sites it actually looks like that the state of Missouri has sorted out the majors.
The argument can be made that some schools would lose little if the football team went away. However,those are usually private schools, heavily female, liberal arts and in the northeast. A school that trains sports managers (not agents), trainers, band directors, and high school coaches requires an athletic program.
October 24th, 2010 at 6:50PM
“The greatest football coach in the history of college football majored in English Literature at Brown.”
This is not true. Paul “Bear” Bryant in fact got his degree from The University of Alabama.
October 24th, 2010 at 6:50PM
SD, first, it’s not true that Missouri State is the only school in the state to offer those options. University of Missouri, University of Central Missouri, Missouri Valley College, Northwest Missouri State, Southeast Missouri State among others offer some or all of these degrees. (And, there are plenty of majors that allow you to run sports organizations without a major in sports admin. Many simply have a straight business degree. Many have an economics degree. There’s NOTHING special about sports admin that gets you into the front office). In fact, NONE of these career paths or majors REQUIRES a BCS football team to get a good education.
Many of these schools would not only lose little, they’d GAIN by dropping to either FCS football or lower, or dropping it altogether. These programs consistently LOSE money playing in the BCS, taking money away from other educational activities. FCS or DIV II and III are an option and where a lot of these schools should be, if they have one at all.
Here’s a list of schools that have dropped out of BCS: Appalachian St.
Brown
Cal St. Fullerton
Chattanooga
Citadel
Colgate
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Drake
East Tenn. St.
Furman
Harvard
Holy Cross
Illinois St.
Indiana St.
Lamar
Long Beach St.
McNeese St.
Pacific
for more… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_college_football_teams
A good cross-section, not limited to female, liberal arts, NE.
October 24th, 2010 at 7:36PM
GTWMA,
The University of Missouri does not have music education for high school band directors. Missouri does not have a major for high school teachers. Central Michigan has a football team and probably spends as much on it as does Missouri State. Missouri Valley college does not have a music department. Northwest Missouri State also has a football team (Div II). Southeast Missouri State is a Div 1-AA (old term) that Missouri State is and is probably losing the same amount of money.
Looking at the list, I know that Brown, Columbia Dartmouth, Furman, Harvard Holy Cross, Colgate (Holy Cross and Colgate just played), Illinois St and Indiana State University are in the same conference as Missouri State (the Missouri Valley conference) and still have football.
My guess is that Indiana State and Illinois State are losing massive amounts of money on sports just like Missouri State. They probably also have music education programs, dance programs, trainers, sports medicine, and sports management programs that need an Athletic Department to run training program through.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:14AM
A football program is neither necessary nor sufficient for a marching band. Drum and bugle corps demonstrate this proposition on a regular basis.
October 25th, 2010 at 8:43PM
But one does not learn how to be a high school band director by being in a drum and bugle corps. They do different things and use different methods. If other schools are learning how to be high school band directors while MSU is having their students observe someone else doing the work, then MSU graduates are at a disadvantage.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:16PM
It really helps to remember that “Missouri State University” was formerly known as “Southwest Missouri State Teachers’ College.” The change of name does not correspond with any significant change in the institution, although the state’s Republican politicians are still trying to make it happen–and for their plans a football team is quite important.
November 2nd, 2010 at 12:07AM
One does not require a higher-division football team to provide a football field for a marching band, if the idea is to provide conditions for developing band directors. A lower division or club team can provide the opening for the concert.
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