Ak/uaa

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Ak/uaa

I don't think that the combined model is going to fly with the NCAA. They didn't sound enthusiastic about it last time.

GFM

I think its disappointing that an exception can't be made for a State like Alaska...but they've managed to not do it this long so idk...

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Ak/uaa

I imagine the NCAA would have a pretty easy "out" to not allow a combined AK athletics program split across two campuses. "If Hawaii can do it, AK will need to play within the current rules as well..."

If the politicians stuck to their guns and don't provide another solution other than these drastic academic cuts, I don't see any way athletics survives at one or both schools. As was noted above, just cutting the big dollar sports isn't the answer because you need to replace them with other sports to have the minimum number of sports.

I think it is sad that one campus (or both) could potentially lose athletics because for most students, that's a big part of the college experience. However without a collegiate athletics program, is it any different than attending a community college where everything is club teams? Are you going to school for a degree or for the fun times? Hopefully athletics at one school could be saved. If you just want a degree, go to no frills UA1... if you want the full blown university experience with way higher tuition and some sports teams that need to be supported without the government's help, then you enroll at UA2.

 

[D2D]

Re: Ak/uaa

More info here:

WCHA's uncertainty grows with Alaska teams' increasingly dire situation
http://www.startribune.com/wcha-s-u...-teams-increasingly-dire-situation/513192372/

 

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Ak/uaa

The Anchorage Daily News is reporting:
"A couple of options for absorbing deep cuts are being considered, including one that would require $50 million worth of cuts at UAA for fiscal year 2020. On Thursday, UAA chancellor Cathy Sandeen released a plan that would include a $4 million cut to athletics. “Please note these are not final decisions,” Sandeen wrote."

That is $4 M cut out of $12 M athletic budget. If I understand, these would be cuts for NEXT year's budget. I suppose that this year's athletic budget continues. So UAA hockey looks safe for this year...but next year ???

No, the FY2020 budget is for this school year, running from July 2019 through June 2020. Therefore the proposed cuts would affect the upcoming school year.

If you have to trim $4M, dropping the expensive hockey team gets you "farther faster". I found a document that says the net cost of hockey (expenses minus income) is around $1.5 M. So you still have to trim another $2.5 M. But dropping men's hockey gets UAA down to the NCAA d2 minimum of 10 sports, so there are no more sports that can be dropped. I'm not sure it's possible to cut another $2.5 M and still have an NCAA d2 athletic program in Anchorage. The only hope would be the "combined" model with UAF: 5 sports in Anchorage & 5 sports in Fairbanks including hockey.

The $4 million in cuts from the $12 million is for total expenses, so based on the 2017-18 athletic budget cutting hockey would save the school about $2.33 million, ove half the $4 million. However, as I have previously posted, I believe that the school would have to honor all scholarships offered to incoming freshman who signed NLIs. I'm not sure for returning players, but for 2017-18 the school gave out $545 thousand in aid, which if honored would drop the savings to around $1.8 million.

BTW, the net loss for the hockey program for 2017-18 was $1.94 million when institutional support counted as revenue was excluded.

As for sports teams, according to how the NCAA counts them UAA currently has 13, so the could drop hockey and two other teams. You also have to remember that the school needs to try and stay in Title IX compliance and cutting hockey would swing the participant proportion towards the women, so you could cut one women's sport's team, likely volleyball ($693 thousand overall, $486 thousand if all scholarships are honored). The rest could come from laying off general support staff expenses ($1.7 million) and trimming team and general athletic budgets.

From the article about the gymnast it appears UAA may not be honoring some or all scholarships. If the school offered no athletic aid it would save about $2.97 million and all teams might be able to survive by trimming budgets and laying of some of the support staff. Of course it would also depend on whether or not the athletes who had been receiving aid remained at school and paid full tuition.

Sean

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Ak/uaa

Looking at the calendar, I'll guess fall sports at both campuses are safe. Or are they going to pull the volleyball team off the floor in the middle of a match?

 

[Suze]

Re: Ak/uaa

Here is the latest ADN article on the budget:

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/edu...wn-approach-for-university-of-alaska-funding/

I don't understand what the Governor is trying to pull now.

“The cuts would be applied to specific areas across the university, which would present an unprecedented restriction of the regents’ authority to allocate the legislature’s appropriations,” the statement said. “The university is still actively working with the legislature to achieve a reasonable budget.”
The exact funding cut proposed over two years is unclear. The document shows a reduction of nearly $85 million in the current fiscal year and a $38 million cut the following year. It says the total reduction from the management plan for fiscal year 2019 was $132.8 million.

The document also says: “Restoration of $38mm into FY2020 budget requires reductions to be confined to identified categories, i.e., overhead reductions may not be taken from non-research academic programs.”

It's not up to Dunleavy's administration to determine how the University spends their allocated money. This is the job of the Regents!! Ack!!!

 

[Liveatjrl]

Ak/uaa

I'm sure someone did this and mentioned it at one point but my understanding is that:

PSU would need 2 games if UAF is cut
Maine would need 2 games if UAA is cut
ASU, Maine, PSU would need 2 games if both are cut
Denver and Omaha are okay in all scenarios

WCHA Alaska Exemptions taken out means:
UAF cut means all WCHA teams are okay
UAA cut means all WCHA teams are okay except Lake Superior would have 2 extra games
UAF AND UAA cut means UAH, Bemidji State, Bowling Green are fine
Ferris would have 1 extra game
Lake Superior would have 4 extra games
Mich Tech, Minn State, Northern Mich would have 2 extra games each

By extra games I mean they no longer have the Alaska exemption so would they get a free pass or have to drop those extra OOC games?

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Ak/uaa

I'm sure someone did this and mentioned it at one point but my understanding is that:

PSU would need 2 games if UAF is cut
Maine would need 2 games if UAA is cut
ASU, Maine, PSU would need 2 games if both are cut
Denver and Omaha are okay in all scenarios

WCHA Alaska Exemptions taken out means:
UAF cut means all WCHA teams are okay
UAA cut means all WCHA teams are okay except Lake Superior would have 2 extra games
UAF AND UAA cut means UAH, Bemidji State, Bowling Green are fine
Ferris would have 1 extra game
Lake Superior would have 4 extra games
Mich Tech, Minn State, Northern Mich would have 2 extra games each

By extra games I mean they no longer have the Alaska exemption so would they get a free pass or have to drop those extra OOC games?

I have to think the NCAA would grant teams an exception. They scheduled games in good faith. It isn't like they were trying to hoodwink the NCAA or WCHA by trying to get extra games.

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: Ak/uaa

Chancellor White’s comments on UAF athletics.

https://news.uaf.edu/friday-focus-what-athletics-can-do/

 

[Liveatjrl]

Ak/uaa

I have to think the NCAA would grant teams an exception. They scheduled games in good faith. It isn't like they were trying to hoodwink the NCAA or WCHA by trying to get extra games.

I agree, I figured they might just let it slide this year but I'm curious about PSU/ASU/Maine being short 2 games. Maybe they'll allow them to play each other and maybe one of them replaces Lake Superior State in the catamount cup since they'd have 4 extra games.

 

[davyd83]

I'm sure someone did this and mentioned it at one point but my understanding is that:

PSU would need 2 games if UAF is cut
Maine would need 2 games if UAA is cut
ASU, Maine, PSU would need 2 games if both are cut
Denver and Omaha are okay in all scenarios

WCHA Alaska Exemptions taken out means:
UAF cut means all WCHA teams are okay
UAA cut means all WCHA teams are okay except Lake Superior would have 2 extra games
UAF AND UAA cut means UAH, Bemidji State, Bowling Green are fine
Ferris would have 1 extra game
Lake Superior would have 4 extra games
Mich Tech, Minn State, Northern Mich would have 2 extra games each

By extra games I mean they no longer have the Alaska exemption so would they get a free pass or have to drop those extra OOC games?

If both Alaska teams are cut, Northern Michigan would only have 30 games left on the schedule. They would have the ability to add 4 games.

To me, it seems possible that the WCHA would move to a 24 game conference sechedule to keep it balanced, or possibly 26 to get a max amount of games if they lose both Alaskas and the exemptions.

 

[Liveatjrl]

Re: Ak/uaa

If both Alaska teams are cut, Northern Michigan would only have 30 games left on the schedule. They would have the ability to add 4 games.

To me, it seems possible that the WCHA would move to a 24 game conference sechedule to keep it balanced, or possibly 26 to get a max amount of games if they lose both Alaskas and the exemptions.

I was operating under the impression that all wcha teams would still get their 28 conf games no matter what happens. This is all based on out of conference games and exemptions available.

 

[Eddie Schorr]

Re: Ak/uaa

Here is the latest ADN article on the budget:

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/edu...wn-approach-for-university-of-alaska-funding/

I don't understand what the Governor is trying to pull now.



It's not up to Dunleavy's administration to determine how the University spends their allocated money. This is the job of the Regents!! Ack!!!

It's long been a dream of the right to get rid of liberal arts in public universities and turn them into essentially DeVry like trade schools for corporations. I'm guessing that humanities and social sciences are going to be devastated.

 

[ticapnews]

If both Alaska teams are cut, Northern Michigan would only have 30 games left on the schedule. They would have the ability to add 4 games.

To me, it seems possible that the WCHA would move to a 24 game conference sechedule to keep it balanced, or possibly 26 to get a max amount of games if they lose both Alaskas and the exemptions.

It's my assumption the WCHA has already worked out such a schedule but will keep it private until the Alaska teams fold. In that event, Denver, PSU and Maine will have the opportunity to schedule the other WCHA teams that are below the limit. I believe that will be NMU, Ferris State and Huntsville. I'm doing this from memory so I might be wrong.

Denver/NMU, Ferris/PSU and Maine/UAH makes the most sense. I would not be surprised if the schools have already worked out such arrangements just in case.

 

[davyd83]

It's my assumption the WCHA has already worked out such a schedule but will keep it private until the Alaska teams fold. In that event, Denver, PSU and Maine will have the opportunity to schedule the other WCHA teams that are below the limit. I believe that will be NMU, Ferris State and Huntsville. I'm doing this from memory so I might be wrong.

Denver/NMU, Ferris/PSU and Maine/UAH makes the most sense. I would not be surprised if the schools have already worked out such arrangements just in case.

Huntsville is at Omaha the weekend Anchorage would be at Maine. On the Alaska/Penn State Weekend, Ferris is at Miami.

 

[ticapnews]

Huntsville is at Omaha the weekend Anchorage would be at Maine. On the Alaska/Penn State Weekend, Ferris is at Miami.

Right, but if the WCHA does a new schedule there will be new dates available. Maine and UAH, for example, could play at a different time. Perhaps before holiday break. Or the schools can eat the loss on their schedule, which won't be ideal...

 

[beaverhockey]

Re: Ak/uaa

You all do realize that travel plans and contracts for said travel...are already done?

Not saying that changing the schedule at this late stage can't be done, but it can't be done!

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Ak/uaa

You all do realize that tracel plans and contracts for said travel...are already done!

Not saying that changing the schexule at this late stage can't be done, but it can't be done!

Do you think Lake Superior State will still fly to Anchorage for a weekend because travel has already been contracted?

It CAN be done. Contracts are broken all the time. It will just cost money. Some schools may decide the expense of canceling AND booking new travel plans will be unaffordable.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Ak/uaa

Chancellor White’s comments on UAF athletics.

https://news.uaf.edu/friday-focus-what-athletics-can-do/

Colorado College was never in the CCHA, but that's OK. Is wasn't the Germans who bombed Pearl Harbor either.

Like Bluto before him, when Chancellor White is rolling, you let him go. Go Chancellor!


All kidding aside, the Chancellor's comment is pretty good. The one little hiccup doesn't spoil it...

 

[beaverhockey]

Re: Ak/uaa

Of course contracts are broken all the time...I'm just syaing that the league won't be reworking the entire conference schedule since 95% (give or take) of the schedule is unaffected by whatever happens in Alaska.

Also, those involved in the process in Alaksa have said it may be September before they have final answers to these questions.