(07-16-2017 02:20 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Did USA see an enrollment boost associated with FBS? That may well be something UALR will look at in considering moving up...the profile increase and having the football opportunity to offer to students.

Going to HS in Hot Springs, though we moved to Florida before I graduated, I was only considering Arkansas and UALR. I'm not real clear what the draw is for Arkansas State or Central Arkansas. It was basically go to the state flagship or go to Little Rock where there will be internship and networking opportunities. With ASU and UCA having larger student populations, it may be something that UALR is looking at to boost the profile to grow enrollment.

I strongly suspect that the reason we moved up was for student recruitment. In general, Southern males consider football to be integral part of a college experience. And Southern females consider southern males to be an integral part of a college experience. A more robust student life helps with student retention too.

USA's goal is to get enrollment about 20k while slightly increasing their admission criteria as well as to help retain students. They think football helps.

Whether its FBS football or a massive new scholarship program, enrollment at USA is rising. 17k will attend this year.

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The question regarding a move up is this. At what point does the increased student fees and diversion from academic programs create a disincentive that outweighs the benefits?

For USA, the move to FBS came at the same time as a 50 million dollar scholarship program was implemented. So many of our students aren't paying the fee. It would be interesting to see how things would look if there was just a higher fee and no mitigating scholarship program.

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At UALR, there probably will simply be a new cost for FBS football without any mitigating factors.