(09-17-2017 05:35 PM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  Clarity nailing it left and right lately. He is so right on with his post about UMKC.

Let's see where Clarity is right:

1. Centenary dropped from D1 and Savannah State has announced they will drop to down to D2. He is technically correct about both anyyd he is also correct that it is rare. So rare that those are the only two examples out there. The problem is that these schools are not comparable to UMKC. Centenary has an enrollment of 630 students and an athletic budget of $1.4 million at the D3 level. UMKC has an enrollment of 17,000 and a 2017-2018 athletic budget of $13.2 million. They are not comparable. Savannah State is an HBC school playing football, basketball and baseball on a $6.5 million athletic budget. That is too little invested to be at the D1 level and again, not comparable to UMKC. The alumni is pushing back on the drop, so it may not be a done deal. That is it. Sorry Clarity, but Centenary and Savannah State are not relevant to UMKC.

2. The UMKC Chancellor asked the question, "What is the right amount of money to spend on athletics?" She added "Where does the money come from?" What's the best strategy and return on our investment?" Basic questions that any responsible Chancellor should be asking. Sorry Clarity, she was not talking about dropping down in athletics or dropping athletics.

3. The Valley may have no interest in UMKC, but only the MVC knows that. When Creighton left in 2013, they visited UMKC but chose Loyola. They seemed to be looking for markets. In 2017 with the departure of Wichita State, they did not talk to UMKC and chose Valpo. They needed a quality program and Valpo is an hour outside of Chicago. I have no idea if UMKC would be a candidate for expansion in the future but I am sure that Clarity does not know, either.

4. The WAC is more stable than the Summit. Clarity is just wrong. The WAC will have 10 baseball schools and 12 men's soccer schools in 2018. The Summit will have
six baseball schools and six men's soccer schools, the bare minimum. Both will have nine basketball schools. The basketball attendance is better in the WAC. The RPI was higher this past season. GCU, NMSU and Seattle have larger basketball budgets than any school in the Summit. The WAC has better markets. It is not close, especially with Fort Wayne campaigning for the Horizon.

5. I agree with Clarity on baseball. I don't think UMKC has any interest in adding baseball for a variety of reasons.

6. I don't really think the Summit wants UMKC back and I don't think they want to go back. I agree with Clarity.

7. The WAC contract is up? I don't know where that is coming from but I can't see either party being concerned about a contract, if one exists. The WAC does not have an exit fee, so any contract would be pointless.

8. The fact that UMKC has never been good at basketball does not equate to dropping down. UMKC is an R2 research school, rated in the Forbes 660 list of best schools in the country. Division 1 is prestige and schools sell it as competing at the highest level of college athletics. It is a marketing tool. They are not dropping down to D2 and I will put a 100 per cent prediction on that.

UMKC just cut their athletic budget from $14.7 million to $13.2 million. Tough cuts, but other schools get by on less. Southeast Missouri State is D1 and their recent athletic budget was $12.6 million. They were spending less and they play football, basketball and baseball. UMKC will survive and so Clarity's ridiculous doomsday prediction for UMKC athletics is laughable.