Post by idiotic on Jan 29, 2007 16:31:24 GMT -5
Just ran across this. Vote is on Friday. If this doesnt pass, it could be the end of the MVB team at UCSD. If anyone has friends at UCSD, get them to vote for this or else we may see another program go down the drain 
Vote on athletics funding is a crossroads for UCSD
By Eleanor Yang Su
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 28, 2007
UC San Diego students will begin a weeklong election tomorrow to decide if they want to more than triple a $95 annual fee to help boost coaches' salaries, hire more trainers and offer athletic scholarships.
If students reject the fee increase, UCSD's athletic director says, the school will have to shed at least one-third of its 23 sports teams. And the university could be placed on probation as a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II member for not meeting a requirement to establish athletic scholarships.
If students approve the $329 annual fee, some say, UCSD's sports teams could win more championships, boost school spirit and start down the path of joining Division I in the NCAA.
The vote is a major crossroads for student life at the 46-year-old school, said Joseph Watson, vice chancellor for student affairs.
The fee increase would provide $300,000 in athletics scholarships and funding for intramural sports and financial aid. About 29 percent of the fee revenue would be returned to needy students so that families making less than $33,000 won't pay extra.
Funding differences
If students decide to tax themselves, it will be just the latest fee hike. In the past five years, undergraduate education and registration fees at UC jumped 79 percent, to $6,141 this year. That's not including housing, dining and other expenses.
Dan Bridges, president of the California Collegiate Athletic Association and athletic director at Cal State Los Angeles, says UCSD is the latest to turn to students to pay for sports.
“I think virtually every institution in the system is looking toward a referendum or investigating it,” Bridges said. “It's a snowball effect. Once one institution passes a referendum, it receives a big influx of money and the others have to either get greater support from the institution or ask students for more fees.”
Public universities vary dramatically in how they foot the bill for athletics. Several Division II campus athletics departments, including Cal State Los Angeles, are supported by the institution and rely on student fees for one-quarter or less of their budget. But others, including San Francisco State, began charging students about two years ago for 86 percent of their athletics program funding.
“Funding varies from campus to campus, depending on how the administration sees athletics,” San Francisco State Athletic Director Michael J. Simpson said. “Some see it as an integral part of the teaching and learning process and they advocate for more state money. Other campuses see it as a student affairs function less linked to the academic scene.”
Students choose
At UCSD, the debate began nearly two years ago. Watson, the vice chancellor of student affairs, proposed creating $500 scholarships for each of the school's 600 athletes to comply with a new NCAA requirement. Watson planned to take money from an existing discretionary student fee, which would not have required a fee increase.
But UC's faculty senate rejected that plan and shifted the decision – and the means of paying for it – to students.
At the same time, UCSD Athletic Director Earl Edwards wanted money to revitalize his athletics department. A committee of students and faculty proposed combining the two needs into one fee hike.
“This referendum will allow us to recruit more and better athletes and coaches,” Edwards said. “Then we'll be in contention for national championships. That will help boost spirit on campus.”
For too long, Edwards says, the school has been investing too little in its athletics department, which is the seventh largest of Division II's 280 members. Coaches are underpaid by 50 to 80 percent, he said. Students and coaches are forced to raise about 20 percent of the department's $3.5 million budget.
Edwards says he will have to cut seven to 10 sports if the referendum fails. Additionally, the school would be in violation of NCAA scholarship rules, which could bar UCSD from competing in Division II championships, Edwards said.
Whether UCSD skimps on its athletics budget depends on its comparison group. According to the NCAA, the average operating expenses for Division II schools without football teams is $1.5 million. That's less than half of UCSD's budget for athletics. However, the amount of money UCSD spends per sports team is considerably less than its competitors in the state.
Divided campus
The campus appears deeply split on the issue.
Student athletes support the measure, believing it will boost school spirit, which a recent campus report found lacking.
“If we lose Division II membership and move to Division III, that would be extremely detrimental,” said Justine Fonte, a psychology major and tennis player who is vice chairwoman of UCSD's Triton Athletic Council. “Competing with schools with just 1,000 students would be ridiculous.”
UCSD enrolls about 26,250 students.
The issue is so divisive that neither the Associated Students government nor the faculty senate have taken a position. Several professors say they fear that the referendum will lead the university on a path to the Division I, shifting its priorities from high academic values to big-time sports. Any boost to school spirit wouldn't be worth the sacrifice, says Daniel Wulbert, a math professor and provost at Revelle College.
“I want this place to have a life for reasons other than watching hired athletes come and play,” Wulbert said.
Associated Students President Harry Khanna says students have been put in a difficult position. It's unfair, he says, for students to have to pay so much for a program that also benefits the administration through increased alumni giving and prestige.
“I understand we have a great research campus, but there's no reason we can't have both great research and great athletics,” Khanna said. “Look at Stanford. Look at UCLA. We're going to be in the Division I one day, and this fee referendum is going to help us get there.”
Eleanor Yang Su: (619) 542-4564; eleanor.su@uniontrib.com
Find this article at:
weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20070128-9999-1m28scholar.html
Vote on athletics funding is a crossroads for UCSD
By Eleanor Yang Su
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 28, 2007
UC San Diego students will begin a weeklong election tomorrow to decide if they want to more than triple a $95 annual fee to help boost coaches' salaries, hire more trainers and offer athletic scholarships.
If students reject the fee increase, UCSD's athletic director says, the school will have to shed at least one-third of its 23 sports teams. And the university could be placed on probation as a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II member for not meeting a requirement to establish athletic scholarships.
If students approve the $329 annual fee, some say, UCSD's sports teams could win more championships, boost school spirit and start down the path of joining Division I in the NCAA.
The vote is a major crossroads for student life at the 46-year-old school, said Joseph Watson, vice chancellor for student affairs.
The fee increase would provide $300,000 in athletics scholarships and funding for intramural sports and financial aid. About 29 percent of the fee revenue would be returned to needy students so that families making less than $33,000 won't pay extra.
Funding differences
If students decide to tax themselves, it will be just the latest fee hike. In the past five years, undergraduate education and registration fees at UC jumped 79 percent, to $6,141 this year. That's not including housing, dining and other expenses.
Dan Bridges, president of the California Collegiate Athletic Association and athletic director at Cal State Los Angeles, says UCSD is the latest to turn to students to pay for sports.
“I think virtually every institution in the system is looking toward a referendum or investigating it,” Bridges said. “It's a snowball effect. Once one institution passes a referendum, it receives a big influx of money and the others have to either get greater support from the institution or ask students for more fees.”
Public universities vary dramatically in how they foot the bill for athletics. Several Division II campus athletics departments, including Cal State Los Angeles, are supported by the institution and rely on student fees for one-quarter or less of their budget. But others, including San Francisco State, began charging students about two years ago for 86 percent of their athletics program funding.
“Funding varies from campus to campus, depending on how the administration sees athletics,” San Francisco State Athletic Director Michael J. Simpson said. “Some see it as an integral part of the teaching and learning process and they advocate for more state money. Other campuses see it as a student affairs function less linked to the academic scene.”
Students choose
At UCSD, the debate began nearly two years ago. Watson, the vice chancellor of student affairs, proposed creating $500 scholarships for each of the school's 600 athletes to comply with a new NCAA requirement. Watson planned to take money from an existing discretionary student fee, which would not have required a fee increase.
But UC's faculty senate rejected that plan and shifted the decision – and the means of paying for it – to students.
At the same time, UCSD Athletic Director Earl Edwards wanted money to revitalize his athletics department. A committee of students and faculty proposed combining the two needs into one fee hike.
“This referendum will allow us to recruit more and better athletes and coaches,” Edwards said. “Then we'll be in contention for national championships. That will help boost spirit on campus.”
For too long, Edwards says, the school has been investing too little in its athletics department, which is the seventh largest of Division II's 280 members. Coaches are underpaid by 50 to 80 percent, he said. Students and coaches are forced to raise about 20 percent of the department's $3.5 million budget.
Edwards says he will have to cut seven to 10 sports if the referendum fails. Additionally, the school would be in violation of NCAA scholarship rules, which could bar UCSD from competing in Division II championships, Edwards said.
Whether UCSD skimps on its athletics budget depends on its comparison group. According to the NCAA, the average operating expenses for Division II schools without football teams is $1.5 million. That's less than half of UCSD's budget for athletics. However, the amount of money UCSD spends per sports team is considerably less than its competitors in the state.
Divided campus
The campus appears deeply split on the issue.
Student athletes support the measure, believing it will boost school spirit, which a recent campus report found lacking.
“If we lose Division II membership and move to Division III, that would be extremely detrimental,” said Justine Fonte, a psychology major and tennis player who is vice chairwoman of UCSD's Triton Athletic Council. “Competing with schools with just 1,000 students would be ridiculous.”
UCSD enrolls about 26,250 students.
The issue is so divisive that neither the Associated Students government nor the faculty senate have taken a position. Several professors say they fear that the referendum will lead the university on a path to the Division I, shifting its priorities from high academic values to big-time sports. Any boost to school spirit wouldn't be worth the sacrifice, says Daniel Wulbert, a math professor and provost at Revelle College.
“I want this place to have a life for reasons other than watching hired athletes come and play,” Wulbert said.
Associated Students President Harry Khanna says students have been put in a difficult position. It's unfair, he says, for students to have to pay so much for a program that also benefits the administration through increased alumni giving and prestige.
“I understand we have a great research campus, but there's no reason we can't have both great research and great athletics,” Khanna said. “Look at Stanford. Look at UCLA. We're going to be in the Division I one day, and this fee referendum is going to help us get there.”
Eleanor Yang Su: (619) 542-4564; eleanor.su@uniontrib.com
Find this article at:
weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20070128-9999-1m28scholar.html
