(03-06-2017 08:11 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  Lots of different ways to look at it, I know. I've said before that I don't blame anybody for cutting back their financial support based on what they see on the field or court.

However, listening to Dr K this past weekend helped me to put it into perspective a bit.
OWL CLUB revenues and membership is up considerably over the past 3-4 years. Season ticket sales for football, baseball and basketball are also up during the same period..although baseball lags behind in sales from its glory days after the 2003 -2009 seasons.
There are some renovations planned for Reckling beginning immediately after the end of this season, as well as some pretty significant plans for West concourse and South End Zone renovations and refurbishment. To be done over the next 3-5 years, I'm guessing.

As an example of our plight, however, Alabama (an obvious outlier) has 140 million dollars in football revenue...that includes a tremendous TV package. Lots of other P5 schools with a whole lot less than Alabama, but a whole lot more than Rice. We have a 27 million dollar budget for ALL SPORTS. What we have gained in extra money from OWL CLUB donations, season ticket sales etc has been offset by our big loss in TV revenue. We are treading water. Barely.

Our next (very slim) chance to move up in Conference affiliation will probably be at the end of the next P5 TV contract. Dr K presented a very nice video that was used in our presentation to the BIG XII. Very impressive. Also used in recruiting. Said to be edited soon and to be presented to the Rice community in April. We have an impressive list of recent CUSA championships and an impressive list of recent upgrades to our sports facilities...considering the size of our school. Apparently there has been several ongoing conversations with other conferences..although not P5.etc etc From all that info, my feeling is that if the P5 wants to expand based on having a clean program, great graduation rates, presence in a large urban market with lots of people watching sports on TV, a comparatively tiny fan base, a meager donor list and apathetic student body...we are the obvious choice.

It was a great meeting, but I came away with the feeling that our backs are against the wall and the only way forward is revenue. Generated by the Department. Nothing was mentioned about any further major commitment from the University beyond what is going on right now.
My definite impression is that Dr K has done a very good job of keeping all the juggling balls in the air. I don't think he's ignoring baseball. He obviously has a different opinion from most of us on this board regarding retaining our HC in football. Basketball..men and women.. is a high spot.

I'm in a position to give to the program and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Season tickets and OWL CLUB. I think Rice fan financial support is the only way forward. For survival.
If it doesn't happen, well then in 5-10 years, probably less... we will be D2-3.

Well put.

(03-06-2017 08:11 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  Lots of different ways to look at it, I know. I've said before that I don't blame anybody for cutting back their financial support based on what they see on the field or court.

However, listening to Dr K this past weekend helped me to put it into perspective a bit.
OWL CLUB revenues and membership is up considerably over the past 3-4 years. Season ticket sales for football, baseball and basketball are also up during the same period..although baseball lags behind in sales from its glory days after the 2003 -2009 seasons.
There are some renovations planned for Reckling beginning immediately after the end of this season, as well as some pretty significant plans for West concourse and South End Zone renovations and refurbishment. To be done over the next 3-5 years, I'm guessing.

As an example of our plight, however, Alabama (an obvious outlier) has 140 million dollars in football revenue...that includes a tremendous TV package. Lots of other P5 schools with a whole lot less than Alabama, but a whole lot more than Rice. We have a 27 million dollar budget for ALL SPORTS. What we have gained in extra money from OWL CLUB donations, season ticket sales etc has been offset by our big loss in TV revenue. We are treading water. Barely.

Our next (very slim) chance to move up in Conference affiliation will probably be at the end of the next P5 TV contract. Dr K presented a very nice video that was used in our presentation to the BIG XII. Very impressive. Also used in recruiting. Said to be edited soon and to be presented to the Rice community in April. We have an impressive list of recent CUSA championships and an impressive list of recent upgrades to our sports facilities...considering the size of our school. Apparently there has been several ongoing conversations with other conferences..although not P5.etc etc From all that info, my feeling is that if the P5 wants to expand based on having a clean program, great graduation rates, presence in a large urban market with lots of people watching sports on TV, a comparatively tiny fan base, a meager donor list and apathetic student body...we are the obvious choice.

It was a great meeting, but I came away with the feeling that our backs are against the wall and the only way forward is revenue. Generated by the Department. Nothing was mentioned about any further major commitment from the University beyond what is going on right now.
My definite impression is that Dr K has done a very good job of keeping all the juggling balls in the air. I don't think he's ignoring baseball. He obviously has a different opinion from most of us on this board regarding retaining our HC in football. Basketball..men and women.. is a high spot.

I'm in a position to give to the program and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Season tickets and OWL CLUB. I think Rice fan financial support is the only way forward. For survival.
If it doesn't happen, well then in 5-10 years, probably less... we will be D2-3.

Revenue has been our only way forward for the past 50 years. Unfortunately we spent at least 40 of those 50 years not understanding that.

Other schools require even more money. I took the Kyle Field tour and they showed off boxes that require $1 million to start to reserve for 15 years and at least 100,000 a year after that. The tour did not include the area where it $20-25 million to get in. Someone else taking the tour mentioned that college football has become more a business than a sport.

(03-06-2017 06:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I became an Owl fan when I became an Owl, 1963. I stayed a fan ever since, even during the dark years of the decades of losing. When we flirted with quitting during the time of the McKinsey report, I decided to support the athletic program with buying football, basketball, and baseball season tickets and joining the Owl Club.

I have since dropped the basketball tickets.

But I am tired of all the pissing and moaning. Either I support the programs or I don't. In the past I have supported them regardless of results. Should I continue to support them regardless of results, is the question. Because the results lately aren't all that good.

If I am going to cancel football over declining results, then I should be consistent and cancel baseball too. If I do that, I can also cancel my Owl Club and University donations. Save a bundle. And I can still be a fan, exactly the way I was in the 70's and 80's and 90's.

I have advocated in the past for all of us to support the program(s), but I'm tired. If you can't beat them, join them. Quit with the crowd.

Thanks, Rice athletics, for some great memories.

Don't let the whiners get you down Buddy. Buy your tickets, go to games, support the Owls and let the whiners whine to each other. I'll treat you to the beverage of your choice before the opening game of football. The self righteous whining is tiresome. Just don't read it and don't respond to it. Whiners are invested in their whines. Let them enjoy their misery.

(03-06-2017 07:36 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  

(03-06-2017 06:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I became an Owl fan when I became an Owl, 1963. I stayed a fan ever since, even during the dark years of the decades of losing. When we flirted with quitting during the time of the McKinsey report, I decided to support the athletic program with buying football, basketball, and baseball season tickets and joining the Owl Club.

I have since dropped the basketball tickets.

But I am tired of all the pissing and moaning. Either I support the programs or I don't. In the past I have supported them regardless of results. Should I continue to support them regardless of results, is the question. Because the results lately aren't all that good.

If I am going to cancel football over declining results, then I should be consistent and cancel baseball too. If I do that, I can also cancel my Owl Club and University donations. Save a bundle. And I can still be a fan, exactly the way I was in the 70's and 80's and 90's.

I have advocated in the past for all of us to support the program(s), but I'm tired. If you can't beat them, join them. Quit with the crowd.

Thanks, Rice athletics, for some great memories.

But would you reconsider buying basketball tickets because of results?

I didn't quit basketball because of results.

(03-06-2017 08:11 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  I'm in a position to give to the program and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Season tickets and OWL CLUB. I think Rice fan financial support is the only way forward. For survival.
If it doesn't happen, well then in 5-10 years, probably less... we will be D2-3.

I have been right there with you, supporting the program to the best of my ability with tickets, donations, and attendance.

But there is a growing minority, maybe by now a majority, that thinks the way to improve is by canceling tickets, reducing donations, and staying home.

If you can't beat them, join them. Cancel every ----ing thing. That's the way to help the Owls.

I am normally an optimistic guy - thus the name. But it seems like the second most optimistic guy is fatalistically resigned to failure.

(03-07-2017 12:02 AM)austinowl73 Wrote:  

(03-06-2017 06:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I became an Owl fan when I became an Owl, 1963. I stayed a fan ever since, even during the dark years of the decades of losing. When we flirted with quitting during the time of the McKinsey report, I decided to support the athletic program with buying football, basketball, and baseball season tickets and joining the Owl Club.

I have since dropped the basketball tickets.

But I am tired of all the pissing and moaning. Either I support the programs or I don't. In the past I have supported them regardless of results. Should I continue to support them regardless of results, is the question. Because the results lately aren't all that good.

If I am going to cancel football over declining results, then I should be consistent and cancel baseball too. If I do that, I can also cancel my Owl Club and University donations. Save a bundle. And I can still be a fan, exactly the way I was in the 70's and 80's and 90's.

I have advocated in the past for all of us to support the program(s), but I'm tired. If you can't beat them, join them. Quit with the crowd.

Thanks, Rice athletics, for some great memories.

Don't let the whiners get you down Buddy. Buy your tickets, go to games, support the Owls and let the whiners whine to each other. I'll treat you to the beverage of your choice before the opening game of football. The self righteous whining is tiresome. Just don't read it and don't respond to it. Whiners are invested in their whines. Let them enjoy their misery.

Nah. They win.

(03-06-2017 08:11 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  Our next (very slim) chance to move up in Conference affiliation will probably be at the end of the next P5 TV contract. Dr K presented a very nice video that was used in our presentation to the BIG XII. Very impressive. Also used in recruiting. Said to be edited soon and to be presented to the Rice community in April. We have an impressive list of recent CUSA championships and an impressive list of recent upgrades to our sports facilities...considering the size of our school. Apparently there has been several ongoing conversations with other conferences..although not P5.etc etc From all that info, my feeling is that if the P5 wants to expand based on having a clean program, great graduation rates, presence in a large urban market with lots of people watching sports on TV, a comparatively tiny fan base, a meager donor list and apathetic student body...we are the obvious choice.

It was a great meeting, but I came away with the feeling that our backs are against the wall and the only way forward is revenue. Generated by the Department. Nothing was mentioned about any further major commitment from the University beyond what is going on right now.
My definite impression is that Dr K has done a very good job of keeping all the juggling balls in the air. I don't think he's ignoring baseball. He obviously has a different opinion from most of us on this board regarding retaining our HC in football. Basketball..men and women.. is a high spot.

I'm in a position to give to the program and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Season tickets and OWL CLUB. I think Rice fan financial support is the only way forward. For survival.
If it doesn't happen, well then in 5-10 years, probably less... we will be D2-3.

Intriguing to hear that our Big XII beauty contest video will be rolled out publicly soon. Anyone have any idea in what context? Like, just a routine end-of-fiscal-year donations push, or something more unusual, like launching a campaign to establish an athletic endowment?

(03-08-2017 09:41 AM)stepfordowl Wrote:  

(03-07-2017 01:11 PM)illiniowl Wrote:  

(03-06-2017 08:11 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  Our next (very slim) chance to move up in Conference affiliation will probably be at the end of the next P5 TV contract. Dr K presented a very nice video that was used in our presentation to the BIG XII. Very impressive. Also used in recruiting. Said to be edited soon and to be presented to the Rice community in April. We have an impressive list of recent CUSA championships and an impressive list of recent upgrades to our sports facilities...considering the size of our school. Apparently there has been several ongoing conversations with other conferences..although not P5.etc etc From all that info, my feeling is that if the P5 wants to expand based on having a clean program, great graduation rates, presence in a large urban market with lots of people watching sports on TV, a comparatively tiny fan base, a meager donor list and apathetic student body...we are the obvious choice.

It was a great meeting, but I came away with the feeling that our backs are against the wall and the only way forward is revenue. Generated by the Department. Nothing was mentioned about any further major commitment from the University beyond what is going on right now.
My definite impression is that Dr K has done a very good job of keeping all the juggling balls in the air. I don't think he's ignoring baseball. He obviously has a different opinion from most of us on this board regarding retaining our HC in football. Basketball..men and women.. is a high spot.

I'm in a position to give to the program and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Season tickets and OWL CLUB. I think Rice fan financial support is the only way forward. For survival.
If it doesn't happen, well then in 5-10 years, probably less... we will be D2-3.

Intriguing to hear that our Big XII beauty contest video will be rolled out publicly soon. Anyone have any idea in what context? Like, just a routine end-of-fiscal-year donations push, or something more unusual, like launching a campaign to establish an athletic endowment?

This is NOT a scholarship issue period. Every school plays by the same set of rules. Stop believing the myth. The only difference is the financial aid criteria at each school. D1 schools are NOT allowed to mix other aid packages with baseball scholarships. if the financial aid package is greater than the baseball scholarship offered they put the player on financial aid and there is no baseball scholarship. All the minimum baseball scholarship is 25%. :chairshot:

I believe Rice has better financial aid packages than almost any school except Stanford or the Ivies. That's not really the issue... The problem is none of our baseball players can get merit scholarships because to do that at Rice they would probably have to be top 1% or higher academically out of all college athletes. Even with financial aid or partial baseball scholarship at Rice it would still be cheaper most of the time to go to an in state public school with NO assistance. 4 years at an in state school in Alabama with no scholarship would've been equivalent 1 year of tuition and housing at Rice when I applied.

We can thank Leebron for this as well remember when Wayne got to Rice tuition was $15k. Now it's $40.5k. That excludes living cost in a big city like Houston compared to living in say... Lafayette or Ruston. Now if you're on a 25% scholarship at Rice you'll end up paying $40k/year anyway compared to $20k at state schools.

Every school plays by the same rules, but the same rules produce dissimilar results in different situations. The big differences that impact us are twofold:
1) Because our total cost is higher than a state school or a TCU, the amount left over for the athlete and his family to pay after the partial scholarship is applied is greater, and
2) Because the only way that the partial scholarship can be supplemented is with a merit scholarship applied on the same basis for all students, and because our regular student body is so highly qualified that it is much harder for baseball players to compete on that basis than it is at a state school or a TCU, the gap is magnified.

Same rules applied to different situations produce different outcomes.

Putting any aid supplemental to the partial scholarship on a need basis would level the playing field, or at least reduce the tilt significantly. Otherwise, it's not clear what can be done. If it costs $20,000/year more to go to Rice than to TCU, net of any scholarship, that does put Rice at a disadvantage.

(03-08-2017 10:42 AM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(03-08-2017 09:41 AM)stepfordowl Wrote:  

(03-07-2017 01:11 PM)illiniowl Wrote:  

(03-06-2017 08:11 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  Our next (very slim) chance to move up in Conference affiliation will probably be at the end of the next P5 TV contract. Dr K presented a very nice video that was used in our presentation to the BIG XII. Very impressive. Also used in recruiting. Said to be edited soon and to be presented to the Rice community in April. We have an impressive list of recent CUSA championships and an impressive list of recent upgrades to our sports facilities...considering the size of our school. Apparently there has been several ongoing conversations with other conferences..although not P5.etc etc From all that info, my feeling is that if the P5 wants to expand based on having a clean program, great graduation rates, presence in a large urban market with lots of people watching sports on TV, a comparatively tiny fan base, a meager donor list and apathetic student body...we are the obvious choice.

It was a great meeting, but I came away with the feeling that our backs are against the wall and the only way forward is revenue. Generated by the Department. Nothing was mentioned about any further major commitment from the University beyond what is going on right now.
My definite impression is that Dr K has done a very good job of keeping all the juggling balls in the air. I don't think he's ignoring baseball. He obviously has a different opinion from most of us on this board regarding retaining our HC in football. Basketball..men and women.. is a high spot.

I'm in a position to give to the program and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Season tickets and OWL CLUB. I think Rice fan financial support is the only way forward. For survival.
If it doesn't happen, well then in 5-10 years, probably less... we will be D2-3.

Intriguing to hear that our Big XII beauty contest video will be rolled out publicly soon. Anyone have any idea in what context? Like, just a routine end-of-fiscal-year donations push, or something more unusual, like launching a campaign to establish an athletic endowment?

This is NOT a scholarship issue period. Every school plays by the same set of rules. Stop believing the myth. The only difference is the financial aid criteria at each school. D1 schools are NOT allowed to mix other aid packages with baseball scholarships. if the financial aid package is greater than the baseball scholarship offered they put the player on financial aid and there is no baseball scholarship. All the minimum baseball scholarship is 25%.

I believe Rice has better financial aid packages than almost any school except Stanford or the Ivies. That's not really the issue... The problem is none of our baseball players can get merit scholarships because to do that at Rice they would probably have to be top 1% or higher academically out of all college athletes. Even with financial aid or partial baseball scholarship at Rice it would still be cheaper most of the time to go to an in state public school with NO assistance. 4 years at an in state school in Alabama with no scholarship would've been equivalent 1 year of tuition and housing at Rice when I applied.

We can thank Leebron for this as well remember when Wayne got to Rice tuition was $15k. Now it's $40.5k. That excludes living cost in a big city like Houston compared to living in say... Lafayette or Ruston. Now if you're on a 25% scholarship at Rice you'll end up paying $40k/year anyway compared to $20k at state schools.

You are correct, I mentioned this a while back. When Gillis was here, there was a definite attempt to control tuition cost. I believe the current admin made a conscience decision to up the fare to appear more elite. I assume the financial aid packages were upped, although I doubt the increase matched the increased tuition.
Obviously a partial schollie of a smaller bill is better for the athlete

Quotes describing the inequality of scholarships in the college baseball landscape, that I also posted in the Lamar game thread.

Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and presumably some other states benefit from in-state tuition programs that they can give to athletes:

Quote:TOPS has allowed LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri and previous LSU baseball coaches Smoke Laval and Skip Bertman to move more money around as if they had 15.7 scholarships to offer, enabling them to sweeten the scholarship money to the most elite recruits, particularly those from out of state who have the higher out of state tuition included in their scholarships. TOPS gave Mainieri the luxury of extra scholarship money to attract an Alex Bregman – one of the top high school shortstops in the country in 2012 out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He signed with LSU, led the Tigers to the College World Series in 2013 and ‘15 and became the second player picked in the Major League Baseball Draft last summer.

Colleges in Alabama and Mississippi, for example, do not have similar academic scholarship incentive programs for the masses as those in Louisiana, Georgia and Florida.

“With TOPS, LSU can afford to go get, say, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound left-hander from Mississippi,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco mused in 2004 in reference to then-LSU redshirt freshman left-hander Clay Dirks (6-4, 235) of Hernando, Mississippi. Dirks was 26-11 in four seasons for the Tigers.

Rising tuition for all students hurts a school like Rice, who used to be quite inexpensive compared to peers. Baylor hurt as well:

Quote:Because a full scholarship is a rare species in baseball, the value of whatever a team offers a player is tightly tied to the cost of attending a certain school. This creates more financial imbalance in the sport, particularly between public and private schools.

Former Baylor head coach Steve Smith, who was dismissed after 21 years following a 23-32 season in 2015, saw this financial crunch when the university looked to expand its footprint while raising tuition to compensate for increased spending.

“Ten years ago, if I awarded you 75 percent (of a scholarship) you owed about $4,000,” Smith said. “Today, if I give you 75 percent, you owe about $15,000. So my situation, scholarship-wise, has been blown apart by Baylor’s increase in cost.”

Stanford has a way to help work around this difficulty (though this decision was not made specifically to benefit athletics):

Quote:In late March, Stanford announced it was raising an important financial aid threshold. Previously, any family with a yearly household income of $100,000 or less could expect to contribute nothing to a student’s tuition payments. This year, that number became $125,000....
...
With the change in criteria for full tuition coverage, then, Stanford gained another advantage, apart from its prestigious academics, numerous major league alums and place in one of the nation’s top college baseball conferences. Its built-in scholarship for some recruited athletes got a little bigger. The playing field became a little less level.

(03-08-2017 11:58 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I don't know that scholarships are the only problem, and do not mean to state or imply that they are. But the scholarship differential is a major problem, and ignoring or discounting it, or pretending that it does not exist, is simply wrong.

Here are the economics. Total cost of attendance at Rice, Baylor, TCU, and SMU (which, of course, does not have baseball) are all around $60,000/year, roughly $45,000 tuition, books, and fees, and $15,000 room and board and incidentals. Let's say you get a 1/2 scholarship to Rice (we can do 23 of these for baseball, total). That's $30,000, leaving $30,000 to pay. If you get an off-campus house with about 6-8 teammates, you can knock maybe $10,000 off the room and board and incidentals. That leaves $20,000 out of pocket.

Now look at TCU. Same baseball scholarship, same $30,000 after the baseball scholarship. Now kick in a $20,000 merit scholarship. Now you're at $10,000 net, and if you do the off-campus thing to save money, you are somewhere between $5,000 and zero, net out of pocket.

Her's the only way I can see that might narrow the gap. Jack up tuition, fees, and books to $65,000, or $80,000 total cost, but offer everybody who gets in a $20,000 merit scholarship to maintain the same $60,000 net. Now that half scholarship is $40,000, leaving $40,000 net. The merit scholarship covers $20,000 of that, and living off campus gets you down to around $10-15,000 net. That might narrow the gap enough in some cases. That would have to be very carefully defined to avoid the wrath of the NCAA, but it's probably not worse the what LSU or Nebraska get away with now. Maybe you structure the $20,000 as a loan, but with very nominal repayment provisions--say $100/year after graduation. I'm kind of fishing here, but maybe something like that could be done.

As far as Wayne, he is quite simply the only reason that D-1 athletics exist in any form at Rice today, and for that reason he has earned a few rights and privileges that others might not deserve. But regardless of whether he has gotten better or worse with age, I am quite certain that he is at a point where his age is being used by others as a recruiting negative. Situations where someone is brought in as an heir apparent seem to have a way of turning out less that totally desired, see Will Muschamp at UT or some of the rancor when Jimbo Fisher replaced Bobby Bowden at FSU, but I'm not sure that isn't the best answer here.

Or perhaps we could do the Stanford thing suggested above.

One way that I believe Vanderbilt gets around the issue is awarding scholarships for the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, since most of their players study something within that school. Since most of our players are Sport Management majors, can we not have a similar niche scholarship?

The focus should be on competing with the schools that we have in state and around Houston. At this point, we are very far from competing with 99% of the schools being discussed.

Our presence in Texas has been on the decline and now even our local prowess has declined as well.

I get that Lamar usually plays us tough, but if we go through this season and have similar issues with the Sam Houston's, HBU's, and Texas State's of the world, changes have to be made. No one will ever be able to make the argument that the best players from smaller schools around the state don't want to go to Rice instead. Unless it is an academic issue, there is no reason small schools in Texas should be bringing in better players than us.

UH has had our number for a few years and we are certainly the underdog in that rivalry right now, so I won't even lop them into the group of schools we should consistently outperform.

(03-08-2017 02:18 PM)RiceOwl Wrote:  The focus should be on competing with the schools that we have in state and around Houston. At this point, we are very far from competing with 99% of the schools being discussed.

Our presence in Texas has been on the decline and now even our local prowess has declined as well.

I get that Lamar usually plays us tough, but if we go through this season and have similar issues with the Sam Houston's, HBU's, and Texas State's of the world, changes have to be made. No one will ever be able to make the argument that the best players from smaller schools around the state don't want to go to Rice instead. Unless it is an academic issue, there is no reason small schools in Texas should be bringing in better players than us.

UH has had our number for a few years and we are certainly the underdog in that rivalry right now, so I won't even lop them into the group of schools we should consistently outperform.

Good point. It is one thing to lose to power-house in-state schools (UT, A&M, TCU). It is one thing to lose to schools with significant scholarship advantages (LSU, even ULL or SELA in their good years). It is another to be losing against the lower-tier Texas schools.

Fear the Southland. In 2003 the loss on the end of our 30 game winning streak was to Lamar. Rice was 2-3 vs the Southland that year.

(03-08-2017 02:18 PM)RiceOwl Wrote:  The focus should be on competing with the schools that we have in state and around Houston. At this point, we are very far from competing with 99% of the schools being discussed.

Our presence in Texas has been on the decline and now even our local prowess has declined as well.

I get that Lamar usually plays us tough, but if we go through this season and have similar issues with the Sam Houston's, HBU's, and Texas State's of the world, changes have to be made. No one will ever be able to make the argument that the best players from smaller schools around the state don't want to go to Rice instead. Unless it is an academic issue, there is no reason small schools in Texas should be bringing in better players than us.

UH has had our number for a few years and we are certainly the underdog in that rivalry right now, so I won't even lop them into the group of schools we should consistently outperform.

We don't play HBU, and SHS usually has a pretty good team.

Getting drubbed by Lamar is bad. However, there's no clear-cut "lower tier" in Texas D1 baseball.

There is without a doubt a lower tier. Ask any recruit, player, or coach and they will tell you the same.

We were once in the elite/top tier and are now in the middle.

(03-09-2017 09:13 AM)stepfordowl Wrote:  

(03-09-2017 08:37 AM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(03-08-2017 02:18 PM)RiceOwl Wrote:  The focus should be on competing with the schools that we have in state and around Houston. At this point, we are very far from competing with 99% of the schools being discussed.

Our presence in Texas has been on the decline and now even our local prowess has declined as well.

I get that Lamar usually plays us tough, but if we go through this season and have similar issues with the Sam Houston's, HBU's, and Texas State's of the world, changes have to be made. No one will ever be able to make the argument that the best players from smaller schools around the state don't want to go to Rice instead. Unless it is an academic issue, there is no reason small schools in Texas should be bringing in better players than us.

UH has had our number for a few years and we are certainly the underdog in that rivalry right now, so I won't even lop them into the group of schools we should consistently outperform.

We don't play HBU, and SHS usually has a pretty good team.

Getting drubbed by Lamar is bad. However, there's no clear-cut "lower tier" in Texas D1 baseball.

Sure there is a lower tier. Go join the Ivy League which is D1. Also, regarding tuition. Can someone please explain to me how college tuition costs are $60K per year. Every school is doing it. These are "not for profit" entities operating as a business maximizing profit. Enough with the sham.....schools should be ashamed. They manufacture or develop nothing as their costs are maintenance and personnel.

There's a few things that have driven up tuition costs from my understanding. Those have generally been connected to administrative bloat, the facilities/activities arms race, inflation (obviously growth has well out-paced that), and the increase in financial aid.

To the last point, one thing that often gets missed in these discussions is that while total tuition cost without assistance has gone up, many schools (Rice being one of them) has generally kept pace with additional tuition assistance, especially for those on the lower end of the income spectrum. They basically use either international students of students from wealthy families that pay full tuition, to help subsidize the cost of attendance for those on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. For example, Stanford now has a policy that if your family makes <$125,000 a year, tuition is waved for you.

And don't take my explanation as an endorsement - it is just an explanation.