Polls 1/19

[billhoward]

This forum excoriates the Cornell Daily Sun for lapses in grammar and judgment, then uses an article in the Columbia Spectator to discuss a point about fundraising. Hmm.

When looking for links between sports success and donations, you've got to decide if you're talking about all schools, big-time football / basketball schools, or Ivy schools. The Ivies are different. You also need to overlay events of the outside world - Penn talks about a winning football team in the late 1990s and donations going up. That was also the time when all the Wharton School pirates in neckties were cashing in on Wall Street and sending money back to their alma mater. This year, Florida wins the football championship (give or take not playing Utah) yet will probably be hard pressed to match its total alumni contributions of the past year.

What was Cornell's heydey for sports of the past generation? Some might argue it was the Ken Dryden - Ed Marinaro era (also the first ever NCAA lax title), yet Cornell found no increase in donations in that era different from previous years or at other Ivy schools. Cornell did get its first artificial turf out of it, though, and arguably it was hastened by wanting Big Ed to have something nicer to run on his junior and senior years.

Research looking at U.S. colleges / university broadly seems to conclude that if there is a lift, it's at larger schools and pretty much restricted to getting into post-season football and basketball (big public U's) and post-season basketball (private U's).

Some of the research says the money that comes in is restricted donations benefitting sports not the university. (The first Cornell turf field.) Distorted example: T. Boone Pickens gives Oklahoma State $165 million, but it's all for a football stadium / practice facility. Without evidence, I'd argue that at schools such as Cornell, sometimes it's the donation that leads to later success or ongoing success: the wrestling center gets built then Cornell wrestling moves to a higher plane; perhaps endowing the hockey coach's job makes it possible to retain someome like Schafer.

A lot of the scholarly research focuses on impact on money coming in. One area where there is a clearer benefit is a smarter entering class: Post-season success translates into an uptick in applicants. UConn does well in hoops, the next 2-3 years, more HS seniors apply. I bet Davidson had a banner year with applications after its FF appearance. Then the school can be more selective in its admissions.

On a personal level, if you're fundraising, you appeal to whatever appeals to your prospect. If he or she is a sports fan, you'll play up the school's sports successes. And if the prospect makes a donation, you'll feel there's a link.

FWIW, Cornell's new alumni affairs director, Chris Marshall, is spending a lot of time thinking about how to bond alumni and Cornell and one thing he's working on is emphasizing programs that link Cornellians not just be class but by affiliation, and his big three are sports, music, and Greek life.

[Beeeej]

That was an awful lot of musing for not actually answering my question, Bill.

[KeithK]

[quote Beeeej]That was an awful lot of musing for not actually answering my question, Bill.[/quote]And this surprises you why? :-P

[Beeeej]

[quote KeithK][quote Beeeej]That was an awful lot of musing for not actually answering my question, Bill.[/quote]And this surprises you why? :-P[/quote]

Who said I was surprised?  Mostly, I was hungry and a little bit tired.

[KeithK]

[quote Beeeej][quote KeithK][quote Beeeej]That was an awful lot of musing for not actually answering my question, Bill.[/quote]And this surprises you why? :-P[/quote]

Who said I was surprised?  Mostly, I was hungry and a little bit tired.[/quote]
IS there an emoticon for that yet?  Somebody get on it!

[DeltaOne81]

[quote KeithK][quote Beeeej][quote KeithK][quote Beeeej]That was an awful lot of musing for not actually answering my question, Bill.[/quote]And this surprises you why? :-P[/quote]

Who said I was surprised?  Mostly, I was hungry and a little bit tired.[/quote]
IS there an emoticon for that yet?  Somebody get on it![/quote]

For which? The hungry and tired? Or the look one gets when Bill muses on for hundreds of words without addressing the question?

[Josh '99]

[quote DeltaOne81][quote KeithK][quote Beeeej][quote KeithK][quote Beeeej]That was an awful lot of musing for not actually answering my question, Bill.[/quote]And this surprises you why? :-P[/quote]

Who said I was surprised?  Mostly, I was hungry and a little bit tired.[/quote]
IS there an emoticon for that yet?  Somebody get on it![/quote]

For which? The hungry and tired? Or the look one gets when Bill muses on for hundreds of words without addressing the question?[/quote]I would use that emoticon all the time.  Until one is specifically introduced for that purpose, though, I recommend any or all of the following:

::demented:: ::nospam:: ::pissed:: ::scream:: ::snore:: ::bang:: ::twak:: ::wtf::

[Swampy]

[quote billhoward]A lot of the scholarly research focuses on impact on money coming in. One area where there is a clearer benefit is a smarter entering class: Post-season success translates into an uptick in applicants.[/quote]

Statistically, one is much more likely to notice this with a school like Davidson than Cornell. Serious applicants to Cornell and actual Cornell admissions are already such a narrow band on bounded academic criteria that any significant change in academic qualifications would be unlikely to show up.

[nshapiro]

I am pretty sure that Davidson failed to make the final four.  George Mason was the last real upset to make the final four, and I recall a report indicating that applications were way up in the following year.

[CM cWo 44]

Down to #4 on USCHO... don't want to start another thread

[Oat]

Northeastern (#7 in the PWR) is a bit overrated right now. Everything is acceptable to me.

[kaelistus]

[quote Oat]Northeastern (#7 in the PWR) is a bit overrated right now. Everything is acceptable to me.[/quote]

SIMPLE MATH!!!!!!111111

Wait. Sorry, I was channeling USCHO. :-)