Re: LSSU hockey 2013-14
I'm sorry, did you just say Fire Science isn't a "hot" program? It happens to be the 2nd largest Major at LSSU behind Fisheries & Wildlife Management. That is a statement backed by data, not by "knowing people". Every nursing program in the nation is overbooked. It's due to a nursing instructor shortage (nursing instructor pay is horrid, even at larger schools).
Unless you or anyone else can show me data to prove shifting $300K per year to the hockey program is going to make at least that back in the long run, that is an incredibly idiotic idea. Universities don't make $300,000 guesses, especially in this financial environment. Bold and Risky is what brought us the Arts Center and Arbuckle's projects, and put us into debt.
Fire Science is the 2nd largest major at LSSU, that's fantastic but the fact of the matter is that there is a severe lack of jobs in that field at this time, and it's not going to take too long for people to realize that it may not be the best idea to go to 1. go to school for a degree that it's very, very tough to find a job in right now and 2. pay for a Bachelor's degree from a 4 year University when they can obtain the necessary education to qualify for a job in the field from a community college or academy service.
You want data? According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics most recent figures from 2010 there were 310,400 firefighters employed in the United States, and by 2020 there is only projected to be a growth of 26,600 jobs nationally, or 532 per state on average. Not only is that 9% field growth slower than the average for all occupations, but let's take a peek at the outlook for those brave souls who do decide to this field a shot:
"Prospective firefighters will face tough competition for positions. Many people are attracted to the job’s challenge, opportunity for public service, relatively low formal educational requirements, and pensions that are usually guaranteed after 25 years of service. As a result, a department often receives hundreds or thousands of applicants for a single position. Physically-fit applicants with high test scores, some post-secondary firefighter education, and paramedic training have the best prospects."....Not exactly the kind of prospects that will have prospective fire science students chomping at the bit to enroll. I know LSSU grads that have tested in a dozen states, and the scenario is always about the same, there are about 6 openings for a department job with well over 1,000 candidates, even with a Bachelor's degree it's hard to stick out....So, sorry but I have to shudder at betting big on the long term prospects of the enrollment and further investment of the LSSU Fire Science program.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/firefighters.htm#tab-6
Also, the nursing instructor shortage has no bearing on the expandability of the LSSU nursing program due to the simple fact that they are geographically limited by the available amount of clinical training sites...the program barely gets by with the size of the program as it is and when I say barely gets by I mean they get by by having students travel and pay for gas and lodging on a weekly basis at their own expense to Newberry, Marquette and Petoskey (and previously, Cheboygan)...and let me tell you, for a kid on a college budget, that is not easy.
You want data to prove that making a bigger investment in hockey will bring in more money, however since I'm speculating, there are obviously no hard numbers I can provide but here are some gross estimates:
The 2012-13 attendance numbers I couldn't seem to locate, but for 2011-12 the Lakers averaged 2,184 people for home games. Taffy Abel holds 4,000 and with evidenced by the handful of 3500+ crowds the past 2 seasons, there are certainly enough people around to fill that arena if given a reason on a consistent basis. If the Lakers could climb to be a top WCHA program I think it is feasable to average 3500 on home dates, an increase of 1,316 people from the 2011-2012 average. Now obviously some of that growth will be students but lets say if the team were averaging that every night that 1,000 of those 1,316 were actual ticket buyers.....a ticket costs what $10? that's $10,000 in new revenue per home date, they usually have about 18 in a year so that's about $180,000 in increased revenue.....Now of the estimated 1,316 new faces lets says each person on average purchases 50 cents worth of concessions, thats $658 dollars per home game or $11,844 per season of new concession revenue. That $11,844 is not net revenue obviously because unlike ticket prices, you would have to purchase more concessions to sell thus reducing profit but let's say they net $6,000 of that $11,844 and that the school can make an additional $15,000 per year on team merchandise (Jersey's, hats, banners, souvenirs) that's sold to the increased amount of attendees...Thus far you have $180,000 increase in ticket sales, $6,000 in concessions and $15,000 in merchandise for a total of $201,000 per season. I also hypothesize (and this is the most important of all) that if the hockey team returned to a more prominent form, that regional awareness would increase regarding the school overall and that enrollment would increase substantially; which is the biggest money haul of all, since it doesn't take many students to bring in long term funds that end up in the millions of dollars in totality......
In summary i think investing in what the program that is the University's calling card, biggest asset, and biggest potential cash cow makes far more sense and has the best odds of success than investing money in facilities or programs that have a glass ceiling that is already more or less being approached in current times.....and in the long run should the hockey investment prove true, eventually you would hope to have the money to invest in those other programs also, but as of now we have one nickel to spend and I hope we spend it wisely.
