How Basketball Can Raise Enrollment and Save The University of Montana

The concept is not new. The first notable example occurred in 1984 when Boston College QB Doug Flutie's Hail Mary toss beat Miami. Many remember the historic play, few remember that it influenced an unprecedented 16 per cent spike in student admissions becoming known among college registrars as "The Flutie Effect." Since then there has been a growing body of evidence that further connects the dots between athletic success and student enrollment.

Cal/ Berkeley's Michael L. Anderson's "Benefits of College Success" and the wordily-titled "The Effects of Increased Athletic Success on Undergraduate Applications for Admissions"by an Appalachian State University academician are among many available reports that speak to the subject - but the example most relevant to UM can be found 190 miles west off 1-90 at Gonzaga University.

In 1998 Reverend Robert Spitzer became president of an institution beset by brutal budget cuts, a failing credit rating and an undergraduate population that had dipped from 4,176 in 1990 to 2,791 in just eight years. Rallying the Gonzaga community he embarked an ambitious building program which included construction of the on-campus McCarthy Athletic center (2004-05) to accommodate the swell of fan support for a Bulldog basketball program that had risen to the ranks of the nation's elite. Scholastic performance also improved as evidenced by GPA numbers up from 3.54 in 1998 to the current 3.71. SAT's have elevated accordingly from 1159 to 1290. The present 2017-18 total enrollment numbers 7,501.

Below is the link to an article by ESPN Senior Writer, Dana O'Neill with more details on the Gonzaga success story. Some of my own comments were extracted from an email sent to President Bodnar on March 21st. Part of the untold story is how Reverend Spitzer marshaled the faithful to finance his broad vision. He provided something else - the continuity so lacking at UM both athletically and academically. Mark Few has been at the school for 19 years starting as an associate assistant coach in 1998 - Reverend Spitzer's first year as president. Stepping down in 2008 Reverend Spitzer when asked to speak of the success he had overseen said simply, "Thank God for the basketball team."



http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/119205/how-the-basketball-program-helped-gonzaga-university-flourish

In 2010 after leaving Gonzaga he found time to debate Stephen Hawking on God's role in creating the Universe...what a guy...

Private schools are not restricted by Boards of Regents who are basically party hacks being given thanks for their service to politicians. Religious schools like Gonzaga, even Carroll have some pretty deep pockets. Carroll, of course, is in a unique spot as the Diocese went bankrupt because of the pedophile cases and payoffs. It is a lot easier for private schools to raise funds for a number of reason, some measurable, others not. I doubt most public colleges have the absolute loyalty and solidarity that those schools have. Montana, because of its small population, might be the exception. Where I live, it is interesting to see the split of the population, most of whom, have never seen the inside of a college classroom but support verbally the public institutions but who support financially and give generously to the private schools like Wofford, Furman, and others.

I wonder if Gonzaga would have made the same decision regarding their basketball program had they stayed in the BSC. The WCC has access to bigger media outlets then the BSC. If they stayed in the BSC and followed the path they chose, you have to believe they would have dragged the competitive level of the entire conference up.

If the thread had had a Part 2 it would have been that following logically UM would also have to elevate basketball into a more competitive conference where two and sometimes three or more schools make it into the NCAA tournament doing away with this demoralizing one-and-done loser league. Football however would reluctantly stay where it is - at least for the time being until half a dozen cosmic bodies fall into alignment.

Moving basketball is infinitely easier considering overall expense, facility requirements and scheduling. There are prime examples of a school participating in more than one conference affiliation as evidenced by two of the BSC's Cali football-only members. However, Gonzaga remains the main model as the Bulldogs - not unlike the Griz - have gone about as far as they can go with their current annual slate of middling conference opponents. And they're doing something about it.

It's already obvious what DeCuire's thoughts are on the subject as evidenced by his active campaign of scheduling up against far better competition than the BSC provides. Without that incentive nothing else UM might do is worth a bucket of warm spit.