Isn't if there is going to be a second round of expansion or if we will get an OCS.

The biggest concern is who will be sitting in the U of Memphis Presidential office come this May.

Will he/she continue the momentum created by David Rudd?

We're expecting to reach Carnegie R1 status later this school year.

Campus expansion with an expansion of academics.

Consolidation of our athletic facilities on the south campus.

We're light years ahead of where we were when President Rudd took office.

We do not need to stall out.

Agreed. Conference realignment, athletics, stadiums, etc. are important. But they are means to an end, not the end itself.

The main purpose of the University isn't to produce sports entertainment. It is to educate and perform research, which helps drive the local and regional economy. Athletics can help facilitate that by generating revenue, keeping alumni involved, and giving students fun activities to gather for. But the #1 priority has to be the academics.

(09-11-2021 03:25 PM)CRM114 Wrote:  Agreed. Conference realignment, athletics, stadiums, etc. are important. But they are means to an end, not the end itself.

The main purpose of the University isn't to produce sports entertainment. It is to educate and perform research, which helps drive the local and regional economy. Athletics can help facilitate that by generating revenue, keeping alumni involved, and giving students fun activities to gather for. But the #1 priority has to be the academics.

Just one thing to call out because I don’t think people realize. Athletics are a great way to keep alumni engaged and market the university but it is a big financial negative. Our athletics are NOT sustaining, they depend heavily on donations and student fees. Probably less than 40 athletic programs in the country actually self sustain

(09-11-2021 03:13 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  Isn't if there is going to be a second round of expansion or if we will get an OCS.

The biggest concern is who will be sitting in the U of Memphis Presidential office come this May.

Will he/she continue the momentum created by David Rudd?

We're expecting to reach Carnegie R1 status later this school year.

Campus expansion with an expansion of academics.

Consolidation of our athletic facilities on the south campus.

We're light years ahead of where we were when President Rudd took office.

We do not need to stall out.

Or worse go backwards. I am sure the next president will want to do things their way. Hopefully that will be done with the idea of building on what has been going so far instead of thinking they need to scrap it and completely go their own way.

(09-11-2021 03:25 PM)CRM114 Wrote:  Agreed. Conference realignment, athletics, stadiums, etc. are important. But they are means to an end, not the end itself.

The main purpose of the University isn't to produce sports entertainment. It is to educate and perform research, which helps drive the local and regional economy. Athletics can help facilitate that by generating revenue, keeping alumni involved, and giving students fun activities to gather for. But the #1 priority has to be the academics.

I agree. At the same time Dr. Rudd noted awhile back that being able to get in a stronger conference would increase research money.

(09-11-2021 03:32 PM)tkgrrett Wrote:  Just one thing to call out because I don’t think people realize. Athletics are a great way to keep alumni engaged and market the university but it is a big financial negative. Our athletics are NOT sustaining, they depend heavily on donations and student fees. Probably less than 40 athletic programs in the country actually self sustain

I think your max number is likely much lower than that for who can self-sustain. But JMO, I think the majority (at least those that post here) realize our athletic program depends on donations and student fees. I think that's a part of why we are seeing the resurrected push for an OCS since it can potentially help increase donations while lowering reliance on student fees.