College and the demographics cliff

[maumann]

According to the 2022-23 EADA report, 391 of 812 undergrads were athletes. That's staggering.

I wouldn't be surprised if places like Methodist College and North Carolina Wesleyan have similar percentages. NCWC has a graduation rate of 29 percent for four-year students -- that's staggeringly terrible for a place with 14:1 student/professor ratio and $35,000/year tuition.

I have to guess a lot of freshmen show up to play sports and eventually wind up flunking out.

 

[UPChip]

At the small D-III level, enticing marginal college athletes to come to your school to boost enrollment is a regular survival strategy. Finlandia had a three-digit enrollment in the 2000s when they decided to add football, renovating a local high school venue and putting in turf and lights. The "commitment ceremonies" and "letters of intent" came thick and fast. Sometimes I wondered where in the process they got around to telling these kids that, in D-III, there would be no scholarships.

From 2015 until the school shut down in 2023, they went 5-55 and had four coaches. They expelled as many players in one "escalating situation" with baseball team players as they won games in their program's history.

 

[TigerVols]

Deep on the university's website is this:

Dear Concordia community,

I am writing to share an important update regarding the future of intercollegiate athletics on our Ann Arbor campus.

Before I share the announcement, I want to reiterate that Concordia is fully committed to supporting our athletic programs through the 2024-25 academic year. All intercollegiate sports that can be conducted with adequate roster sizes will continue throughout the upcoming year, including participation in any postseason competitions. From current reports, roster sizes for most sports appear to meet these requirements.

After the 2024-25 academic year, all intercollegiate athletic programs on the Ann Arbor campus will be discontinued. Initially, our leadership team hoped to preserve as many athletic programs as possible beyond the 2024-25 academic year. However, upon further analysis of our financial model, it became evident that continuing these programs in Ann Arbor beyond the upcoming year is not feasible.

I fully recognize that this decision is significant in the history of our university and in the lives of so many Cardinals. Our decision to discontinue athletics at the Ann Arbor campus is in no way a reflection of our exemplary Christian coaches and athletic staff who have poured their hearts into our students and helped to provide the personal undergraduate experience for which this campus is known.

Earlier today, the administration met with CUAA Athletic Director Lonnie Pries to discuss this decision and its implications. Our goal in sharing this information today is to equip students with enough information to allow them to make informed decisions about their future.

Our athletic programs, particularly under the direction of Lonnie Pries, have played an integral part in the transformation of thousands of men and women. Being a Concordia Cardinal was not just about notching wins in the athletic arena. It was about helping to develop men and women in mind, body, and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and world; It was about building champions of character. While athletics at CUAA are ending, the Cardinal legacy endures.

Information regarding academic programs beyond 2024-25 and pathways to graduation for current students will be communicated following a meeting of the Academic Council on June 19, 2024. For more information, please visit www.cuaa.edu/future where updates will be posted as they become available. If you have any questions or concerns, please use the attached web form.

Grace and Peace,
President Erik Ankerberg

"Grace and Peace" is a great way to sign off on an email. That's all I got.

 

[swingline]

Read that as "GREASE."

It's the word. Have you heard?

 

[Twirling Time]

Since D-III has no scholarships, I'm sure all comers are welcome. Two decades ago I got into a discussion with a co-worker on whether the local D-III could beat our local high school 5A in football. We decided it would be a good game.

 

[WolvEagle]

Concordia (Ann Arbor)'s athletic director told MLive that 70 percent of the students are athletes. The Board of Regents for Mequon/Ann Arbor meets today. It'll be interesting to see if they keep Ann Arbor open beyond the 2024-25 school year. I'm sure developers would love to get their hands on that land - along the Huron River and in an upscale part of Ann Arbor. https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbo...versity-amid-efforts-to-improve-finances.html

 

[WolvEagle]

Well, the Concordia Mequon/Ann Arbor Board of Regents decided that starting June 1, 2025, the only undergraduate and graduate programs that will be on the Ann Arbor campus will be health-related (sonography, nursing, radiology, occupational/physical therapy and physician assistant). Online courses will include graduate-level education and business administration. That's it.

Students are encouraged to transfer to Mequon online or in person for the 2025-26 school year to complete other programs.

It'll be interesting to see how many students stay or go for 2024-25. I'm guessing it'll be based on how close they are to graduating. If I'm Eastern Michigan (my alma mater and just a few miles from Ann Arbor), I would aggressively recruit those students, especially in education and nursing, which are two of EMU's strongest programs. EMU has seen its enrollment drop, too - this might be a short-term fix.

 

[dixiehack]

Only two years into its transition to Division I, Lindenwood is in trouble.

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/l...with-staff-layoffs-after-enrollment-concerns/

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Well, the Concordia Mequon/Ann Arbor Board of Regents decided that starting June 1, 2025, the only undergraduate and graduate programs that will be on the Ann Arbor campus will be health-related (sonography, nursing, radiology, occupational/physical therapy and physician assistant). Online courses will include graduate-level education and business administration. That's it.

Students are encouraged to transfer to Mequon online or in person for the 2025-26 school year to complete other programs.

It'll be interesting to see how many students stay or go for 2024-25. I'm guessing it'll be based on how close they are to graduating. If I'm Eastern Michigan (my alma mater and just a few miles from Ann Arbor), I would aggressively recruit those students, especially in education and nursing, which are two of EMU's strongest programs. EMU has seen its enrollment drop, too - this might be a short-term fix.

I think the Mequon, Wis., Concordia campus is pretty healthy, enrollment-wise. I can't imagine students from Ann Arbor transferring there, given the distance, but who knows?
Mequon is one of the tonier collar suburbs of Milwaukee. The school does have dorms that are popular, with lakeside views. So it is an attractive campus.

Like Concordia, Finlandia was a Lutheran-affiliated college, but it had a particularly Finnish vibe. When my parents were in their prime, you could hear Finnish spoken on the street in a lot of UP communities. Those days are long gone, and with them a point of distinction for Finlandia (then Suomi College). Their attempts to grow -- becoming a 4-year-school, adding athletic programs -- were actually signs that things were going south.

Another school on Lake Superior, Northland College, is in dire shape. It's in Ashland, a cute little town but miles and miles from anywhere. It's also focused on ecology and Native American studies, subjects that aren't popular in much of the MAGAland that surrounds it.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Lost another one today. Clarks Summit University, outside Scranton, was previously known as Baptist Bible College.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Thoughts and prayers.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

Eastern Nazarene in Quincy, Mass., too.