Minnesota Gophers 2020 Offseason

[CrazyDave]

Official captains announcement: http://z.umn.edu/gwhcap20

Captains: Grace Zumwinkle & Emily Brown
Alternates: Taylor Wente & Olivia Knowles

[D2D]

The Gophers have the makings of a very formidable team this season, provided of course there is a season. It will take a little time for the very talented freshman class to adjust to the faster pace of D1, but once they do they should make strong contributions to the team's overall success.

Newest Gophers Top National Rankings
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/7...-rankings.aspx

[D2D]

Expect to hear a lot from this incoming player over the next four years.

Meet the Newcomers: Abbey Murphy
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/7...ey-murphy.aspx

[D2D]

Another pickup with a ton of potential. Three year USA hockey selection who should adopt to the D1 level pretty quickly.

Meet the Newcomers: Maggie Nicholson
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/8...nicholson.aspx

[ARM]

If we can't watch new Gophers play, at least we can read about them.

Meet the Newcomers: Josey Dunne
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/8...sey-dunne.aspx

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

If we can't watch new Gophers play, at least we can read about them.

Meet the Newcomers: Josey Dunne
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/8...sey-dunne.aspx

Interesting that her two older sisters thought Minnesota was the place they could see her playing at...

[ARM]

Interesting that her two older sisters thought Minnesota was the place they could see her playing at...

Not sure about Jessica, but Jincy would have had a lot of indirect experience with the Gophers program, having been coached by Muzz, Milica, and Westy, as well as JJ with USA U-18s. Maybe Josey just likes mascots where a lot of things spin?

[ARM]

First sport cuts at the "U". Only men's sports for now, but ...

https://gophersports.com/news/2020/9...community.aspx

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

First sport cuts at the "U". Only men's sports for now, but ...

https://gophersports.com/news/2020/9...community.aspx

Seems inevitable this will affect women's sports as well.

[OldDave]

Seems inevitable this will affect women's sports as well.

I doubt that it will. Almost every paragraph in the statement mentions Title IX, and they were recently audited for Title IX compliance. It would seem that they were not in compliance for percentages of participation that matches the U's student population (54% women). The two options would be to add women's teams or reduce men's. Covid probably killed any discussions about increasing teams, so this is the alternative. The fact that the number of male athletes cut is 58 suggests they would have needed to add at least 70 women's slots if they didn't cut men's. I'm not aware of any one sport that would have that many spots, so that means multiple teams with coaches and support staffs and facilities. Tough to do in a pandemic.

[OldDave]

She said it better than I could:

[OldDave]

This is weird. What I posted for a link was: https://www.startribune.com/title-ix...ary/572396412/ That doesn't show when I preview, and apparently I cannot change what shows. Not the best software I've used.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

I doubt that it will.

You doubt the revenue shortfall won't affect women's sports?

[OldDave]

You doubt the revenue shortfall won't affect women's sports?

Hah! You are trying to trip me up with a double negative. So, rather than answering the question, I will state that I very much doubt that any women’s sport will be cut.

My reasons for saying this rest primarily on two factors. One is Title IX. If they cut any women’s sport, they will then be back in the position of having to cut another men’s sport. I do not think they want to cut any sports.

The second reason for saying that they will not cut more sports arises from the obscure science of accounting. Most, if not all, of the Athletic Department is set up as a non-profit. This allows us to deduct donations we made to the Department from our taxable income. But in order to qualify as a non-profit, they have to come up with “expenses” that offset their revenue. Athletic scholarships are a nice vehicle for this. You will notice that the amount “charged” from the academic side of the U, for example, is higher than the amount an average student would pay for the same classes and services. This allows the University to move money around the institution in such a way that the non-profits can continue to claim non-profit status. When the AD says they saved X dollars by cutting scholarships, the net savings to the University is zero.

I do not know what percent of the $75 million is donations, but I think that further cutting of sports puts that amount at risk. Of course, by cutting some sports to reach Title IX requirements, they now have an opportunity to approach donors in other sports and ask them to maintain their donations even without actual events in order to save those other sports.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Hah! You are trying to trip me up with a double negative.

Wasn't my attention to trip you up...Just poorly worded. Should have been will.

You did answer it anyway, so thanks.