Let me run this by you

[Globetrotter]

So. I have attended OSU and worked there for several years. I am a BG fan without question but it would be foolish for me to ignore the vast differences in the school. What walking around campus always has me asking is what can OSU due to improve. Out in the middle of nowhere and close to a comparable U 15-20 minutes away.

So what has always (probably selfishly) popped in my head is that athletics might be the way to go to. I have read in the past that winning a championship in football or basketball leads to improvements in the number and quality of applicants to a school. I assume, and I have searched with no success, that the same is true for schools like Boise St, Gonzaga and Butler. Face time on the national scale athletically leads to better name and school recognition and then a higher number and quality of applicants. So why not just invest heavily in football and basketball with the goal of a return that would lead to a better overall campus. Increasing enrollment by nearly 1000 this year will certainly be a major boost but I would assume that more enrollees the more graduates the more alumnae giving the more improvements on facilities, the more quality applicnats the more successful alumnae the more almunae giving the more improvements on facilities......You see where I am going. And alumnae will give if they have a connection to the University. Be it academic or athletic.

Those are just my thoughts and I am sure there are some assumptions in there no matter how logical the reasoning may seem to be. Wondered what you thought about it. Why not pay the football coach and mens basketball coach each a million dollars with the expectation of success and overall academic improvement.

I expect some condescending answers but I really would like some thought and input here.

Edit: This is at odds with my hopeful assumptions but it really looks more at BCS schools and is certainly not inclusive enough.

http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09330.pdf

This would support me

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/devin.p ... script.pdf

[Falcon137]

I think everything you said makes sense. But, where does the money come from?

You can't just cut music and the psych departments to give the football coach a raise.

Does anyone have a application numbers after JH5, College Gameday and a bowl win compared to a 6-6 season? I'm sure there is a pretty large discrepancy.

[transfer2BGSU]

Does anyone have a application numbers after JH5, College Gameday and a bowl win compared to a 6-6 season? I'm sure there is a pretty large discrepancy.

Fall 02 10063 apps/3611 freshmen enrolled
Fall 03 10307/3558
Fall 04 11221/3920 New scholarship program introduced (including full tuition scholarships)
Fall 05 11231/3649
Fall 06 11656/3652
Fall 07 11398/3290 New scholarship program introduced (awarding only 25 full tuition scholarships)
Fall 08 11220/3120
Fall 09 10440/3094

Source: Office of Undergraduate Admissions Freshman Class Profile
http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/finance/file34891.pdf

For Fall 2010 - I believe we had 13,994 applications with an enrollment of 3874 freshmen.

Some people might believe the football success of 2003 was responsible for the increase in enrollment in Fall 04, but we began awarding full tuition scholarships to EVERY student that had a 3.80 GPA and 30 ACT/1300 SAT (Reading/Math combined).

Prior to Fall 2007, a student needed a 3.500 GPA and 23 ACT to receive a scholarship. Beginning Fall 2007, we revised the scholarship grid and began to award a $1,500 scholarship to students with a 3.00 GPA and 20 ACT. We also cut back to 25 full tuition scholarships being awarded to those with the 3.80 GPA/30 ACT.

The university recognized that discounting 21% (average) was too high and we cut back to approximately a 14% discount rate (some pay more, some pay less based upon scholarships received). We also recognized that we could not afford to keep the scholarships the same and guarantee them for four years.

Prior to Fall 2007, the average BGSU freshman (3.21 GPA/22 ACT) was not receiving any scholarship monies. Now, our "bread and butter" students are receiving at least $1,500 in scholarships.

Another casualty of the scholarship cuts was the Alumni Legacy Out-of-State fee waiver. Legacy students would pay the in-state tuition rate. Now they pay 1/2 of the out-of-state fee for years 2-4. something we're not happy about, but had to do in the face of rising budgets and cuts in state funding. You need to remember that we also had three straight years of no tuition increases before Fall '10.

We've weathered the storm that other institutions are going through right now. We still have to watch the budgets and not spend on a whim. But for every 100 new student increase, you bring in $840,000. The increase in retention (approximately 2%) brought in approximately $2.5 million additional funds.

The goal for 2011 is to bring in a freshman class of 4,000 students and 750 transfer students (and to retain the freshmen we brought in this fall).

We now return you back to your regularly scheduled threads.