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Saint Paul's Macalster College to Lose Cross Country Ski Team
Unfortunately, Macalaster College, a small and wealthy liberal and I
mean "liberal" arts college in Saint Paul is dropping their Cross Country Ski Team. This puts the MIAC Conference in a bind as they are now one team short of qualifying as a conference. The Athletic Director at Macalaster is Irv Cross. Yeah, the former CBS, NFL broadcaster back in the 70s along with Brent Musberger and Phylis George. Irv was a great football player but probably doesn't understand cross country skiing and the rich nordic skiing tradition of Minnesota. This comes at a time when the snow in the area is fantastic. Macalaster is one of the wealthiest small colleges in the country thanks to an endowment from the Reader's Digest Foundation. I guess they'll waste the money on something else. The program was only a five years old or so and was headed in the right direction. Jay Tegeder "On the podium if the right people don't show up!" JT |
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#2
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Saint Paul's Macalster College to Lose Cross Country Ski Team
I am associated with a college that dropped a hockey program when hockey is
on the upswing. Why? It's expensive and it didn't draw recruits, especially in that college's league. I don't know about the Reader's Digest Foundation, but I do know the Reader's Digest magazine can't compete against the internet, and that financial returns have been dismal for all endowments, college and otherwise, for three years. So I'm guessing that maybe there is pressure to limit the endowment support of the college. So here's my best guess at what the "facts" might be: (1) The X-C ski program is small and isn't drawing a lot of new freshman to the college. (2) The contribution from the endowment of the college is being reduced. After a few lousy years in the stock market, the better endowed colleges are suffering the worst because they are more dependent on the market for their budget needs than just making tuition projections. I would guess the same comment applies equally well to any other endowment making grants to the college. (3) Even though the X-C program is relatively cheap, other more expensive programs (hockey?) draw more "full pay" students due to the conference they compete in. It makes sense to immediately divert the limited funds available into those activities that will generate revenues by attracting "warm bodies" to the campus. (4) College officers will always give students what they want if the administration can just figure out how to break even at it. (5) The quality of snow has nothing to do with it. "Liberal" has nothing to do with it. I have been looking at the numbers that New York State Office of Parks and Historic Preservation uses to forecast the demand for facilities. The latest survey they did was performed in 2002. While the growth rate for X-C skiing was good statewide, it comes after a "recession" between 1998 - 2002 where there was a shrinkage in the number of X-C skiers. In addition, the absolute number of skiers is very very small in comparison to other sports. This is information for New York, not MN, and I would guess its very weather dependent. You might want to look at the numbers for your area. I mention this just to point out that if the college is looking to attract applicants from a target pool, it may be cheaper and easier to pick a more popular sport. Volleyball, basketball, hockey, and swimming are all more popular. Hockey is an interesting comparison, because "ice time" is very expensive. If you don't build and maintain a rink, you still have to rent time at one. It would seem that X-C is very cheap by comparison. But I will assure you that the college's administration made a rational decision based on the payback that continued participation in that sport would generate. I hope this is helpful in getting an "insiders" perspective on it. "Jay Tegeder" wrote in message om... Unfortunately, Macalaster College, a small and wealthy liberal and I mean "liberal" arts college in Saint Paul is dropping their Cross Country Ski Team. This puts the MIAC Conference in a bind as they are now one team short of qualifying as a conference. The Athletic Director at Macalaster is Irv Cross. Yeah, the former CBS, NFL broadcaster back in the 70s along with Brent Musberger and Phylis George. Irv was a great football player but probably doesn't understand cross country skiing and the rich nordic skiing tradition of Minnesota. This comes at a time when the snow in the area is fantastic. Macalaster is one of the wealthiest small colleges in the country thanks to an endowment from the Reader's Digest Foundation. I guess they'll waste the money on something else. The program was only a five years old or so and was headed in the right direction. Jay Tegeder "On the podium if the right people don't show up!" JT |
#3
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Saint Paul's Macalster College to Lose Cross Country Ski Team
On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 21:47:21 GMT, "Pieter Litchfield"
wrote: snip see http://www.macalester.edu/athletics/...205nordic.html Main points from the article: "Men’s and women’s Nordic skiing will become a club team rather than a varsity sport at Macalester College at the end of this season. The change results from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (MIAC) elimination of Nordic skiing as a sponsored sport and Macalester Athletic Department budget cuts. The Scots will continue to operate as a varsity team through the end of the current season which winds up at the end of February. “The decision to move Nordic skiing from the varsity level to a club sport was driven by budget restraints and the conference’s decision two years ago to no longer have a championship at the end of this season without an expanded base of participation,” said Macalester Director of Athletics Irv Cross. “It is our intent to have a viable club sport program in order to offer our students a full and meaningful athletic experience.”" Note also this college withdrew its football program from the MIAC and are competing elsewhere due to lack of ability to be competitive in that league. |
#4
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Saint Paul's Macalster College to Lose Cross Country Ski Team
As a divison 3 college, no athletic scholarships are given at
Macalaster. Their sports teams have long been known for their futility and at one time the football program had the longest losing streak in the country. They even considered dropping football. Mac attracts the Kofi Anan (sp) types. In fact, Kofi did attend... Jay Tegeder "Keep training, lycra never lies!" JT "Pieter Litchfield" wrote in message . .. I am associated with a college that dropped a hockey program when hockey is on the upswing. Why? It's expensive and it didn't draw recruits, especially in that college's league. I don't know about the Reader's Digest Foundation, but I do know the Reader's Digest magazine can't compete against the internet, and that financial returns have been dismal for all endowments, college and otherwise, for three years. So I'm guessing that maybe there is pressure to limit the endowment support of the college. So here's my best guess at what the "facts" might be: (1) The X-C ski program is small and isn't drawing a lot of new freshman to the college. (2) The contribution from the endowment of the college is being reduced. After a few lousy years in the stock market, the better endowed colleges are suffering the worst because they are more dependent on the market for their budget needs than just making tuition projections. I would guess the same comment applies equally well to any other endowment making grants to the college. (3) Even though the X-C program is relatively cheap, other more expensive programs (hockey?) draw more "full pay" students due to the conference they compete in. It makes sense to immediately divert the limited funds available into those activities that will generate revenues by attracting "warm bodies" to the campus. (4) College officers will always give students what they want if the administration can just figure out how to break even at it. (5) The quality of snow has nothing to do with it. "Liberal" has nothing to do with it. I have been looking at the numbers that New York State Office of Parks and Historic Preservation uses to forecast the demand for facilities. The latest survey they did was performed in 2002. While the growth rate for X-C skiing was good statewide, it comes after a "recession" between 1998 - 2002 where there was a shrinkage in the number of X-C skiers. In addition, the absolute number of skiers is very very small in comparison to other sports. This is information for New York, not MN, and I would guess its very weather dependent. You might want to look at the numbers for your area. I mention this just to point out that if the college is looking to attract applicants from a target pool, it may be cheaper and easier to pick a more popular sport. Volleyball, basketball, hockey, and swimming are all more popular. Hockey is an interesting comparison, because "ice time" is very expensive. If you don't build and maintain a rink, you still have to rent time at one. It would seem that X-C is very cheap by comparison. But I will assure you that the college's administration made a rational decision based on the payback that continued participation in that sport would generate. I hope this is helpful in getting an "insiders" perspective on it. "Jay Tegeder" wrote in message om... Unfortunately, Macalaster College, a small and wealthy liberal and I mean "liberal" arts college in Saint Paul is dropping their Cross Country Ski Team. This puts the MIAC Conference in a bind as they are now one team short of qualifying as a conference. The Athletic Director at Macalaster is Irv Cross. Yeah, the former CBS, NFL broadcaster back in the 70s along with Brent Musberger and Phylis George. Irv was a great football player but probably doesn't understand cross country skiing and the rich nordic skiing tradition of Minnesota. This comes at a time when the snow in the area is fantastic. Macalaster is one of the wealthiest small colleges in the country thanks to an endowment from the Reader's Digest Foundation. I guess they'll waste the money on something else. The program was only a five years old or so and was headed in the right direction. Jay Tegeder "On the podium if the right people don't show up!" JT |
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