Don't you have to field a minimum number of sports to participate in division 1 sports in the NCAA?
UNI & loss of State Funding
- Thread starter gondozors
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Don't you have to field a minimum number of sports to participate in division 1 sports in the NCAA?
If you had the choice of a scholarship at UNI or had to walk-on at Iowa or Iowa State what would you choose? Most would choose the scholarship route at UNI. I think there are a lot of in-state kids that have to make this decision. If UNI no longer had scholarship football, IMO, Iowa State would benefit to at least some degree.
So for UNI to stay in Div I they have to have 14 sports (7 men 7 women or 6 men and 8 women). I would imagine UNI is probably at the minimum number of sports now.
The buzz at UNI is pretty positive. There will be many cuts, but I am fairly confident that with all of the upgrades that they have made to the Dome in just the past year, they will find a way to keep football scholarship.
If the state truly goes through with what they're saying, UNI should be concerned. 40% of their budget would be cut. That's huge.
Alberts does seem to be determined to move UNO to Division I - I expect to hear an announcement in the next year or two. There is also some talk of expanding the football stadium.
There is enough football interest in the area that I can see it happening without any erosion of support for UNL. If there is any negative impact, it might be with the support that Creighton basketball has in the metro area. Some of the corporate backing could swing to UNO.
Just looking at it from the outside, they have 15 sports and can't go below 14 (6 men, 8 women). The women's sports are fairly safe due to Title 9 and the large glut of scholarships used by FB. As I see it, their options are:
1. Double the cost of FB season tickets (they are only $99 now) and start requiring donations for all good FB and MBB seating.
2.Drop down to non-scholarship FB and cut a women's sport like Tennis (Title 9 would allow that with the elimination of 65 men's scholarships).
Honestly, those are the only things I can see that gets them out of this mess. A 40% chop in the budget is devastating. They don't have the big donors to help them out or a huge conference TV renegotiation coming up or large enough arenas where selling more tickets is going to help all that much. And if they decide to up the ticket prices and required donation, they run the risk of alienating the fanbase...especially because they market around being a family event and being affordable.
I would think any other school having division 1 football in Nebraska will hurt the Huskers eventually. Right now the defacto school to go to in that state is NU. You give players more choices and they'll take them.
Heck yes it would hurt NU. You're talking about at least half of the state's top level walk-ons. Think about the classes UNI pulls in and then distribute most of those guys between iowa and ISU's walk-on programs. Nebraska has been operating in a state with not only no other BCS program, but no 1AA programs either. This means that every single player halfway worthy of playing D1 is going there (scholarship or not).
Another idea, and I'm not sure this would work due to Title IX and friends....
Currently, UNI fields men's teams in:
BB
FB
XC
Golf
T&F
WR
and women's teams in:
BB
XC
Golf
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
T&F
VB
Could Northern Iowa simply cut scholarships from their non "mainline" sports? With tennis, T&F, Swimming, Soccer, Golf, Wrestling (I know, in Iowa it's a mainline sport but for desperation...), and XC without scholarships, that leaves VB, BB, WBB, and FB with scholarships and seems more in line with what they need.
However, I'm sure that violates the Hell of out Title IX, so maybe a more realistic solution would be a combination of cutting non mainline scholarships while lowering the number of football scholarships. I did a quick search online and found this:
College Football Scholarships. NCAA and NAIA Football Recruiting.
which says the NCAA allows 63 scholarships for IAA, but that there is a certain number of players who must be on scholarship. You can divide scholarships though to cover more players. Couldn't UNI just get creative and split one scholarship over 4 players while giving them more aid in say academics (that would require them to actually be good students....)? Just a thought. Def not an expert, but thought I'd throw that out there.
Currently, UNI fields men's teams in:
BB
FB
XC
Golf
T&F
WR
and women's teams in:
BB
XC
Golf
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
T&F
VB
Could Northern Iowa simply cut scholarships from their non "mainline" sports? With tennis, T&F, Swimming, Soccer, Golf, Wrestling (I know, in Iowa it's a mainline sport but for desperation...), and XC without scholarships, that leaves VB, BB, WBB, and FB with scholarships and seems more in line with what they need.
However, I'm sure that violates the Hell of out Title IX, so maybe a more realistic solution would be a combination of cutting non mainline scholarships while lowering the number of football scholarships. I did a quick search online and found this:
College Football Scholarships. NCAA and NAIA Football Recruiting.
which says the NCAA allows 63 scholarships for IAA, but that there is a certain number of players who must be on scholarship. You can divide scholarships though to cover more players. Couldn't UNI just get creative and split one scholarship over 4 players while giving them more aid in say academics (that would require them to actually be good students....)? Just a thought. Def not an expert, but thought I'd throw that out there.
Second question... Does anyone know if UNI football breaks even? I know that basketball makes a small profit...
Good question. You would think so, but the dome won't pay near as much money as ISU or Iowa to fund all the scholarships and coaches on the team.
