Faculty Opinion on Bowl Game

[Rollo83]

From today's BG News. I suspect one of our new posters here...

University should decline invitation to bowl game

whom it may concern:

The BG football team defeated Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game Friday.

While I happily acknowledge players and coaches for their accomplishment, I also would like to suggest, respectfully, that the University decline its forthcoming bowl invitation and stay home this season.

Friday provided an interesting juxtaposition at the University.

In the afternoon, University constituents protested faculty cuts at the Board of Trustees meeting. University administrators argue that these cuts are necessary for budgetary reasons.

Then, that night, the University won a football game that will cost the University money. BG’s win means that NIU will not make the BCS, and MAC schools will thus not receive money from NIU’s BCS appearance. Meanwhile, the University will need to spend money to go to its bowl game.

Given all of that, I think the University should sit this one out.

If the budget is in such bad shape that we need to let faculty go, then we don’t need to dispense more money to the football program. We’re not contractually obligated to go.

We’d go because we don’t want to let down people’s expectations. Meeting expectations and not letting people down may be good reasons, but in our contemporary budget situation, we’ve been told that’s not enough.

Non-tenure track faculty may have expected continued employment, and non-renewal may let them down, but, we’re told, contractually that doesn’t matter. The same ought to apply to football.

Friday thus ought to ask us to take a hard look at our priorities.

On the one hand, we were asked to accept faculty cuts because the University needs the money.

Then, we were asked to celebrate a football victory that will cost the University money.

For years, I enjoyed following college football, but I gave it up in 2012 exactly because of situations, such as this, that show misplaced priorities.

I didn’t want to have to choose to give up football, but when forced, I’m not going to choose football over faculty or the education that faculty provide.

Please join me in choosing education by asking the University to decline its bowl invitation.

Ray Schuck

Assistant Professor of Communication, Firelands

[gmartin]

Think he left the letter M in his last name. Should be Schmuck.

[Globetrotter]

I wouldn't have gone to BG if the faculty were doing similar things when I enrolled.

[factman]

The was also letter in the BG News today from a Firelands prof saying we should have used our faculty instead of spending the half million $ for Accenture to figure how the university can save money!
That would be like telling the prisoner to do his own sentencing!

[MarkL]

I just sent an email to Professor Schuck. I don't know if I'll hear back, but I wrote about my experiences as a prospective and then BGSU student and as an alum and how the Motor City Bowl 10 years ago was a pivotal part of me choosing to go to Bowling Green. No idea if I'll hear back, but I wanted to send a polite and reasoned response.

[apollo]

Would somebody tell this guy there is a payout for reaching the bowl game....

[Flipper]

We're not cutting faculty because we play football or play in bowl games...we're cutting faculty because the union contract altered the cost of doing business and enrollment trends don't look so hot. Drop football tomorrow and we'd still need to make cuts in faculty. It's a false choice designed to confuse the issue.

[It's the Journey...]

Flipper, the enrollment trends were down before the contract was approved, or even finished being negotiated. Putting 100% of the blame for our financial woes on the union contract is not accurate at all. Our enrollment has been trending down, the state changed the way it funds higher education and we lose 6 to 10 million in funding (thanks Kasuck and Ohio legislature), and the cost of doing business keeps going up. All of those affected our finances and none of the were a direct result of the contract. Did it add to the problem, probably. But it is not the whole problem.

[It's the Journey...]

Would somebody tell this guy there is a payout for reaching the bowl game....

There is a payout, but it is very unusual to get the whole payout. As we have talked about in past years, the cost of any unsold tickets come from that payout. I will be surprised is we break even from a money perspective on this game and it doesn't involve major travel for the team.

[bgsufalcon24]

I wouldn't have gone to BG if the faculty were doing similar things when I enrolled.

Oh hell...when I was there, students were telling Undergraduate Student Government to "S my D" over a $50 general fee they approved in order to help pay for the Stroh Center.

Idiots.

[Flipper]

Did I put all the blame on the faculty contract? While it may not be the sole factor in the need for staff reductions, it certainly plays a part. We don't need to make money or break even on a bowl game....as stated before, it's a three or four hour commercial for the university on a national cable network. The football team has generated a lot of interest in (gasp) BGSU athletics within the BGSU community. Taking the drastic step of refusing a bowl bid would effectively undo the many man hours and expense that has gone into building that interest. You'd be telling the community you've been selling the product to tthat you don't really care about it....so why should they?

[MarkL]

I wouldn't have gone to BG if the faculty were doing similar things when I enrolled.

Oh hell...when I was there, students were telling Undergraduate Student Government to "S my D" over a $50 general fee they approved in order to help pay for the Stroh Center.

Idiots.

I remember that all too well. One of my proudest moments in my five years at BGSU was teaming up with several other students who refused to see the Stroh Center fail and leading a campaign to educate the student body on the actual facts behind the Stroh Center and end all the lies and deceit spread by some sour students. We ultimately succeeded and I know the athletic department and President Cartwright were very grateful for the efforts of those students. There always have been and always will be some outstanding student leaders at Bowling Green State University.

[Flipper]

What find truly galling about this debate is superficiality and limited scope of the "faculty" argument. They're position essentially is that it costs money and spending money "looks bad" when we're laying people off because our cost structure is too high for the current and predicted student population...they don't consider the marketing advantages, they don't consider how athletics helps build a bond between the students and the university that carries over when they're alums...they don't consider the interest strong athletics build amongst the alumni..they refuse to view the game for what it is, a loss leader...an investment worth making not only for the sake of all those directly involved, the players, cheerleaders, support staff and band members but the University as a whole.

I would hope that Dr Shuck would fail a student who took such a superficial approach to his coursework...

[FalconRA]

Soap Box Warning:
I have to begin my post by acknowledging that I currently am and have been working in higher education for approximately 7 years. During that time I have spent about 4 of those years at institutions with unionized faculty. To be clear I do not work at BG but think that some of my experiences are likely transferable. And as someone who has gone on and done graduate studies, I feel that no one appreciates and values the role that faculty play in students educations more than myself.
With all of that said I cannot tell you how often I am disappointed by the way that faculty carry on when it comes to university finances. I know first-hand that faculty tend to pick and choose when it is okay that higher education has become a business. I would very rarely ever advocate for individuals to lose their jobs but in the current economic and legislative climate the fact of the matter is that all colleges have to make tough decisions. And if there are programs that have few students and do not offer much to current students or programs that have overly large staffing numbers these are things that need to be considered. I also say that as an administrator I am greatly insulted by the fact that when anyone who is non-faculty is let go that typically faculty unions could care less. Faculty are fine to let higher education operate as a business when they are untouched or benefiting from it but when anything comes anywhere near them, we are doing unspeakable harm to the education process. And just because a University’ finances are diagnosed as healthy by an outside entity does not mean that is should not always be looking to stay financially healthy. And when the firm who determines the health of the institution to discredit the universities findings is hired by the faculty union, who do you think they will be trying to satisfy?
A respectable and comparable wage is often held up as a standard for unions to fight for as well as respectable working conditions. And in most cases I strongly agree with it but when you are looking at a salary of approximately $60,000 for 9 months pretty much guaranteed as an Assistant Professor it changes the argument quite a lot. And while investments are being made all around campus in student housing and other areas I have also seen BG put plenty of money into academic facilities. In addition, I can tell you that I have seen Provosts level of reach and recommendation be greatly diminished because faculty who choose to take directives from the Union rather than the chief Academic officer of an institution. Above all, I can tell you that if you polled college faculty right now and asked who the most important commodity that exists on the campus and who should be the universities highest priority to protect? You would be stunned at the number of votes that had only faculty and not even mention students.
Yes faculty are essential and yes I loved many of my professors in college but there needs to be an understanding that there are other areas of importance at a college. Every year more and more legislation is passed asking colleges to provide more services and outreach. Every year colleges funding is being cut more and more by the state. And every year there are other challenges that pop-up that must to be addressed.
The scope and reach of college athletics is a huge benefit for the institution. Both through advertising, connecting Alumni, campus outreach, opportunities for student athletes, band members, student managers, student trainers and others to travel and have real educational and experiential opportunities. And that is just one example of a place where BG chooses to spend funds. To be clear not all faculty act in the manner I described above or are this out of touch but it is alarming how many choose to act in this fashion.
I apologize for such a long write up but I felt it needed to be said. And in closing I would like to say we are Falcon going to the bowl game and we will Falcon win it!

[Globetrotter]

I like your take and those numbers I think are incorrect. Or heavily swayed by professors in law and medicine who make way more than most