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Serious question: from the University's perspective (not just Men's hoops), is it a good idea to support all the teams GU currently supports? Assuming moving out of the WCC would be good for GU (I have serious doubts), should the complications from finding a home for sports like cross-country hold GU back?
Going further, even if GU stays in the WCC, should funds currently supporting some of these sports be diverted elsewhere? I think each sport should be evaluated on the costs and benefits it provides to the university as a whole.
Benefits:
1) Increase awareness of GU.
2) Help foster a sense of community at GU. Sporting events provide a source of common interest and "something to do". Sports help maintain ties with local community and alumni.
3) Attract desirable students. Athletes may only choose GU because of the sport. Many of these athletes are smart, outgoing, ambitious, and leaders. They also drastically increase the attractiveness of the student body (e.g. women's soccer). Good sports should help attract a larger/better pool of non-athlete applicants. Most likely GU hoops is the only sport that could really help in attracting non-athletes.
4) Attract/retain desirable faculty. It raises the prestige of a school. It gives you something extra to consider when deciding between two jobs. It makes a college town/small city a better place to live (something to do factor again), so faculty might be less likely to leave once they arrive at GU.
Cons:
1) Divert resources from other more valuable alternatives
2) Keep GU hoops tied to a conference that may not provide the most value
IMO, the only sports at GU that are worth officially supporting are:
1) Hoops M/W (winter sport)
2) Soccer M/W (fall sport)
3) Baseball (spring sport) and it comes with volleyball for Title 9 purposes.
4) Tennis (maybe).
All the other sports at GU could be club sports (e.g., GU hockey and Lacross). All the other sports do not really draw much interest from students or the community (at least when I went to GU). It is "nice" they exist, but they really only improve the experience of the participants (and those that are happy the participants came to GU rather than another school that supports the sport). "Student-athletes" who care about the "student" dimension more than the "athlete" dimension are actually the regular students who play on club teams, the intramural sports, and exercise in between school and work.
Going further, even if GU stays in the WCC, should funds currently supporting some of these sports be diverted elsewhere? I think each sport should be evaluated on the costs and benefits it provides to the university as a whole.
Benefits:
1) Increase awareness of GU.
2) Help foster a sense of community at GU. Sporting events provide a source of common interest and "something to do". Sports help maintain ties with local community and alumni.
3) Attract desirable students. Athletes may only choose GU because of the sport. Many of these athletes are smart, outgoing, ambitious, and leaders. They also drastically increase the attractiveness of the student body (e.g. women's soccer). Good sports should help attract a larger/better pool of non-athlete applicants. Most likely GU hoops is the only sport that could really help in attracting non-athletes.
4) Attract/retain desirable faculty. It raises the prestige of a school. It gives you something extra to consider when deciding between two jobs. It makes a college town/small city a better place to live (something to do factor again), so faculty might be less likely to leave once they arrive at GU.
Cons:
1) Divert resources from other more valuable alternatives
2) Keep GU hoops tied to a conference that may not provide the most value
IMO, the only sports at GU that are worth officially supporting are:
1) Hoops M/W (winter sport)
2) Soccer M/W (fall sport)
3) Baseball (spring sport) and it comes with volleyball for Title 9 purposes.
4) Tennis (maybe).
All the other sports at GU could be club sports (e.g., GU hockey and Lacross). All the other sports do not really draw much interest from students or the community (at least when I went to GU). It is "nice" they exist, but they really only improve the experience of the participants (and those that are happy the participants came to GU rather than another school that supports the sport). "Student-athletes" who care about the "student" dimension more than the "athlete" dimension are actually the regular students who play on club teams, the intramural sports, and exercise in between school and work.
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