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Minnesota Gophers 2020 Offseason

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
 
FiveHoleFrenzy said:
Interesting that her two older sisters thought Minnesota was the place they could see her playing at...
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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?
 
FiveHoleFrenzy said:
Seems inevitable this will affect women's sports as well.
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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.
 
FiveHoleFrenzy said:
You doubt the revenue shortfall won't affect women's sports?
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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.
 
Looking back one year ago, our Gophers were already 2-0 in exhibitions (total score 14-3 vs. Toronto Aeros and Whitecaps) and 2-0 in non-conference games (total score 10-1 vs. Colgate). Great start to what was a very successful season that ended way too abruptly.

What a difference a year makes! This season, so much promise, yet unrealized, with so many unknowns as to what lies ahead.
 
FiveHoleFrenzy said:
And something interesting to note from the 2019 fiscal financial report from the U of M.

Womens hockey had revenues of $357,236 and expenses of $2,785,244 for a net loss of -$2,428,008.
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The Strib article about reducing women's roster spots in various sports had a supporting article detailing the cuts. The cuts were to three sports: Cross Country (where the NCAA average is 17 roster spots, the Gophers are cutting from 34 to 20), Rowing (NCAA average is 62, cutting from 75 to 60), and Track (NCAA average is 40, cutting from 68 to 50).

When you look at the details from the 2019 financial report, $1,444,000 of the "net loss" does not represent outlays that would go away if the hockey program were deleted. That means that less than $1 million, representing coaches salaries, travel, meals, equipment, and the like, would be saved by eliminating the sport. And then you are in Title IX trouble again if you do eliminate it. I'm not worried.
 
OldDave said:
The Strib article about reducing women's roster spots in various sports had a supporting article detailing the cuts. The cuts were to three sports: Cross Country (where the NCAA average is 17 roster spots, the Gophers are cutting from 34 to 20), Rowing (NCAA average is 62, cutting from 75 to 60), and Track (NCAA average is 40, cutting from 68 to 50).

When you look at the details from the 2019 financial report, $1,444,000 of the "net loss" does not represent outlays that would go away if the hockey program were deleted. That means that less than $1 million, representing coaches salaries, travel, meals, equipment, and the like, would be saved by eliminating the sport. And then you are in Title IX trouble again if you do eliminate it. I'm not worried.
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Just so there is context.

Post number 68 by ARM..."First sport cuts at the "U". Only men's sports for now, but ..."

I respond with post number 69..."Seems inevitable this will affect women's sports as well."

Post number 70 from yourself..."I doubt that it will."

Not specifically about women's hockey other than noting how low their revenue is from the 2019 fiscal report.
 
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