Extra Points’ Brown is joined by Grand Canyon President Mueller to talk about GCU’s student engagement strategy, the future of a reimagined WAC, the university’s non-profit status, a culture of "good resource stewardship," what it means to be a "Christ-centered" athletic department & institution, plus several other topics.
(02-23-2022 12:40 AM)DZ1 Wrote: Thanks for sharing this. Nice interview. Glad to see President Mueller is still set on NOT having football.
would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
Good interview. A couple of takeaways I noted: First, I like his focus on Olympic sports. Some schools have them to meet a requirement, usually football. My thoughts are if you field a team, attempt to win it. Some people laugh when I mention we win at the “second tier” sports. Looking at the results, it’s clear GCU cares too.
Second, I echo his sentiment on the WAC. When we left, it was on the verge of collapse. Even a couple of years ago. But what the WAC is now is very appealing. Not quite what it was when we joined a decade ago, but better than when we left. It also has potential to improve. Now, the big question is, will the pieces stay together to get there or abandon ship for a slightly better situation.
(02-24-2022 07:57 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote: I think you know the answer to that last question. If teams are willing to leave this iteration of the WAC for what CUSA has become then.... yeah.
But if you look why they left it was a FBS football related decision. If WAC was really going to have FBS, I think the two stay. That being said, good interview. As a coach of an Olympic Sport, I like to see the commitment to them.
(02-24-2022 07:57 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote: I think you know the answer to that last question. If teams are willing to leave this iteration of the WAC for what CUSA has become then.... yeah.
But if you look why they left it was a FBS football related decision. If WAC was really going to have FBS, I think the two stay. That being said, good interview. As a coach of an Olympic Sport, I like to see the commitment to them.
I am surprised his title is "President." Would be more fitting to be CEO.
(02-23-2022 12:40 AM)DZ1 Wrote: Thanks for sharing this. Nice interview. Glad to see President Mueller is still set on NOT having football.
would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
(02-23-2022 12:40 AM)DZ1 Wrote: Thanks for sharing this. Nice interview. Glad to see President Mueller is still set on NOT having football.
would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
A thought or 10 to extend this part of the discussion.
Is there a state as football-crazy as Texas? Meanwhile, the west coast states report double-digit percentage declines in high school football participation. California is doubly weird… there are no longer any California public universities below D-1 with football. This is partially because- wait for it- ijunior college football is more popular than those lower level public schools. At least that was a serious discussion chain on a D-2 board I follow, and the only real reasoning put forth is “because it has always been that way.” Shrug.
At least, if a public university sponsors football, it has a reasonable chance of being in a statewide or otherwise slightly favorable insurance program. Whereas, eh, take a guess as to why Azusa Pacific dropped football. Why do the many professional football startups of recent times continue to fail? Insurance is probably a key factor.
(02-23-2022 12:40 AM)DZ1 Wrote: Thanks for sharing this. Nice interview. Glad to see President Mueller is still set on NOT having football.
would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
(02-23-2022 12:40 AM)DZ1 Wrote: Thanks for sharing this. Nice interview. Glad to see President Mueller is still set on NOT having football.
would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
(02-23-2022 12:40 AM)DZ1 Wrote: Thanks for sharing this. Nice interview. Glad to see President Mueller is still set on NOT having football.
would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
A thought or 10 to extend this part of the discussion.
(02-23-2022 07:03 PM)OhioBoilermaker Wrote: would you give me a tldr on why this is?
I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
(02-24-2022 01:30 AM)DZ1 Wrote: I've mentioned in other posts that football is a money pit. It also decreases the amount of male athletes you can have in other sports (or it increases the number of female athletes to balance Title IX requirements hence increasing cost). Finally, the state of Arizona is not as football crazy as the state of Texas. GCU is very happy to be the #1 men's soccer program in the state.
Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
Easy to say when your school is traded on the stock market.
Overall this show the difference between public and private schools.
(02-24-2022 04:31 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote: Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
Easy to say when your school is traded on the stock market.
Overall this show the difference between public and private schools.
GCU is not traded on the stock market. Grand Canyon Education (GCE) is traded on the stock market. GCE services way more than GCU. They have service agreements with 50+ colleges throughout the USA.
Plus the private verses public argument does not wash. Public universities get way more funding from government subsidies than private universities. It makes one wonder what public universities are doing with all those funds. There is a tremendous amount of waste in higher education.
(02-24-2022 04:31 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote: Helpful when Arizona, Arizona State and NAU don't field Men's Soccer teams.
You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
Easy to say when your school is traded on the stock market.
Overall this show the difference between public and private schools.
(02-25-2022 05:38 PM)DZ1 Wrote:
(02-25-2022 02:02 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:
(02-25-2022 11:47 AM)DZ1 Wrote:
(02-25-2022 08:43 AM)pistolp747 Wrote:
(02-25-2022 02:13 AM)DZ1 Wrote: You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
Easy to say when your school is traded on the stock market.
Overall this show the difference between public and private schools.
GCU is not traded on the stock market. Grand Canyon Education (GCE) is traded on the stock market. GCE services way more than GCU. They have service agreements with 50+ colleges throughout the USA.
Plus the private verses public argument does not wash. Public universities get way more funding from government subsidies than private universities. It makes one wonder what public universities are doing with all those funds. There is a tremendous amount of waste in higher education.
We are educating our students. GCU, last I checked wasn't even considered on any rankings by the standard of U.S. News and World Report. You keep your men's swimming and poor quality education--we are doing better.
Unless your degree is from Harvard, Yale, USC, Cal, MIT, or other prestigious schools, the school on it, really doesn’t matter. How would an employer know the quality of education offered at each school or the effort put forward in learning the curriculum at said school?
It doesn’t matter where your degree comes from. Nobody really cares.
(02-25-2022 02:13 AM)DZ1 Wrote: You just made my point. Most football dominant schools cannot afford to have soccer or even some other men's sports. Why foolishly compete against ASU, and UofA for American football fans when we can corner the market on Arizona's 'true' football fans.
By the way, how are men's soccer, men's swimming & diving, men's indoor/outdoor track and field, doing at NMSU?
Having football requires a sacrifice that GCU wisely does not wish to make.
lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
Easy to say when your school is traded on the stock market.
Overall this show the difference between public and private schools.
(02-25-2022 05:38 PM)DZ1 Wrote:
(02-25-2022 02:02 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:
(02-25-2022 11:47 AM)DZ1 Wrote:
(02-25-2022 08:43 AM)pistolp747 Wrote: lol I will take football over any of those sports you mentioned every day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
I am happy for you. Making decisions based on "wants", rather than what is financially feasible and good for the University, is why many universities are financially struggling and/or raising tuition to stratospheric heights.
Easy to say when your school is traded on the stock market.
Overall this show the difference between public and private schools.
GCU is not traded on the stock market. Grand Canyon Education (GCE) is traded on the stock market. GCE services way more than GCU. They have service agreements with 50+ colleges throughout the USA.
Plus the private verses public argument does not wash. Public universities get way more funding from government subsidies than private universities. It makes one wonder what public universities are doing with all those funds. There is a tremendous amount of waste in higher education.
We are educating our students. GCU, last I checked wasn't even considered on any rankings by the standard of U.S. News and World Report. You keep your men's swimming and poor quality education--we are doing better.
I would be happy to compare the quality of education between NMSU & GCU, if you wish. However, you continue to respond by changing the focus of the discussion. We have now traveled from the financial difficulties of having football, to GCU supposedly being traded on the stock market, to the 'poor' quality of GCU's education. You seem to just be throwing out negative opinions of GCU without really rebutting any of my responses.
What other negative opinion would you like to share about GCU? Once you get them out of your system, perhaps we could get back to our original topic.
