(06-01-2015 09:02 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(05-12-2015 07:34 PM)lion1983 Wrote:  

(11-28-2014 10:46 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I would be very surprised. UNA voted down a $7 per student athletic surcharge to ensure the athletic department would have the financial wherewithal to make a move. Besides, the Board's feasibility study said the university would have to increase enrollment to nearly 12,000, which is almost double what it is today, in order for this to be a long term deal.

There isn't room in Florence for 12,000 students.

A lot of this is lingering desire. The move died in 2011.

Personally, I like the way the board handled this and the direction they have chosen going forward. They are focusing on the academic side of the school instead of the athletic, adding a handful of programs which are going to be useful to the local economy.

ROAR LIONS!

I don't know why it wouldn't work. They said from the beginning that they could fund the move with no extra cost to the students. After they announced they wanted to move up the enrollment when up. Now they are having to build more dorms. There have been athletes quoted in the paper that said they wanted to come to UNA because of there desire to move to D1. I agree that they need to focus on the academics and I think they are, part of the stipulations was to build a new Science and technology building and they did. The Shoals area would support a D1 School without any problem. I have a problem with the way the board handled this situation, it was divided and I know the some of the members on the board and they would just assume that there was no athletic program at UNA. They have had problems with not letting the coaches have what they needed for the program with plenty of money to do whatever they needed. For the most part they are politicians or business owners that all they want to do is control something and bank up money so they can brag about how much money they saved the school. Anyway that got into a rant I didn't mean to happen.

The dorms are being built for students that aren't there.

Enrollment is down, and down considerably.

That's the most pressing matter right now and the administration is dealing with it. The D1 move was placed on the back burner 4 years ago when things were looking good for the school. Those circumstances have changed and it is precisely that change that has killed this move.

The enrollment is only down because of lack of room during all of the building that is going on. I have a niece that is attending UNA and is helping with student affairs. She said until everything is finished they are having to not accept students that they normally have room for. She said in the last 3 years applications have tripled. What does that tell you? The only problem with UNA going to D1 is people who don't know or don't really have anything to do with them saying that they won't make it because they are not Alabama or Auburn. It's the same thing that happened with JSU and Troy.