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Questions and Comments We've Received June 10, 2003 I have already bought & pledged family packs(3) for the next 5 years(I live in Wisc.)---As I posted several weeks ago, I think now that this Athletic review is behind us that the fund raising will increase dramatically. I know I will continue to do my part. ***** I am very pleased to see that the Board of Trustees has decided that I-A athletics is in the best interest of Tulane today and for its long term future. This is something I have watched play out at big and small schools across the country and is certainly a difficult topic for administrations in these current economic times. I firmly believe the decision to continue in I-A sets a threshold and expectation for performance that I am confident can be sustained over time by the students, faculty and staff as well as Tulane's alumni and friends. As I stated in an earlier comment sent to the Athletics Department, I have watched the painful process unleashed here in Tulsa by the administration of the University of Tulsa in making all the wrong decisions for all the wrong reasons. I was very concerned to see Tulane sliding into this same cycle and the Board's decision earlier today would seem to mitigate this risk. Of course, this decision now means commitment on behalf of all the constituents and that is no small order either. Tulane is a strong and proud university that has benefited greatly from its academic and athletic heritage. It is a source of pride no matter the record but even better when the performances of the last few years become the standard for excellence on our playing fields. Athletics, like academics, is an integral part of the entire package of producing the leaders of tomorrow. I am pleased to see we understand that at Tulane. ***** I strongly believe Tulane should remain a Division I university. ***** For a school that aspires to join the ranks of Johns Hopkins, Rice, Emory, Washington U., and Vanderbilt, this decision is a major setback. Then again, we can't ignore the influential and wealthy voice of our alumni - the only ones (other than the current athletes) who really support this decision. I guess the only thing we can do now is work on our endowment. ***** As long time (50 years) season ticket holders of Tulane football, and off and on fans of Tulane basketball, and enthusiastic fans of Tulane baseball, we want to thank the Board, the University and the president for supporting Tulane sports. A first class university deserves a first class athletic program. Now we need to attract fans and cut costs. We loved the old stadium, and we loved the game in Tad Gormley. The dome is too big, to impersonal, and freezing cold. How about cutting costs and attracting fans with good old out door football on a fall afternoon. ***** Kudos to the Board for doing the right thing. Thank you President Cowen. Thank you Mr. Koerner. Thank you one and all. ***** Dr. Cowen and the Board - A very big thank you from this alum. This will be my sixth letter to you and the one I am most enjoying writing. You have done the right thing. Tulane University and its athletic teams will be much stronger as a result of your vote today. And a big thank you to Rick Dickson and the entire Athletic Department - what a job you did in just a matter of a few weeks. Thanks to all my fellow alums, fans and friends of Tulane, without you today would not seem so promising for the future of Tulane Athletics and the entire University. Roll Wave and bring on TCU. ***** This is a Glorious day. I am extremely proud to be part of the University as a staff member. I made a decision several years ago to support this Institution financially and will continue with great joy. Why? Not because of the Athletics issue so widely publicize the past few months although, I applaud the courage of every Board Member. I'm proud and I support with joy because I BELIEVE IN THE VISION AND OUR ABILITY TO ATTAIN IT. I SEE TULANE ALONE IN WORLD OF HIGHER EDUCATION. ALONE AT THE TOP. ***** First of all I'd like to say...ROLL WAVE ROLL! I cried when the decision was revealed on TV this morning. I love this school, and I have since I was born since my father went to Tulane. My dad, along with a bunch of other alumni and friends, have already given more to this school today than usual because they highly support the decision of the Ad Hoc Committee. I am also very excited for the football season because I feel like there will be more support since a lot more tickets were sold. Keep it up, Wave! We love you! ***** Thanks for the right decision!!!!!!!!! ***** Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your tireless efforts. The right thing was done today by the board. Rick, please remember what I told you up here in Baton Rouge about our radio coverage. MAKE A DEAL with 92.3 FM to be the main station for Tulane athletics. That station can be heard all over south central and south eastern Louisiana. Marketing the athletic dept. must be a priority. Please keep the fire stoked throughout the summer. Regards and ROLL GREEN WAVE!!! ***** I would like to express my full support for Pres. Cowen's resolution: when academic excellence and sports funding conflict, the goal of a flourishing university ought to be academic excellence. ***** Dear Board of Adminstrators: Thanks for listening to your constituency. As an active alumnus and volunteer, I am deeply grateful that you have listened to the voice of alumni and made such a wise decision. It is especially gratifiying that you have called for the formation of an external advisory board, comprised of officers of the Tulane Alumni Association and its Alumni Clubs, and local leaders. My felow alumni and my colleagues and I on in the TAA stand ready to work with you to bring Tulane to the next level. ***** THANKS FOR KEEPING OUR ATHLETICS!!! IT REALLY BUILDS SCHOOL SPIRIT. ***** As a member of the Arts and Sciences faculty, I am deeply disappointed to hear that the university will keep 1A level football. I am even more disappointed that the Athletics Department will be given four years to get their deficit down to ONLY two million dolllars. No other department would be allowed this deficit. Where have all these so called supporters of the Tulane football program been for the last ten years? As soon as this decision is announced, they will go right back into the woodwork. Very few students attend the games because they do not like the Dome. The Tulane faculty is paid at least 20% less than professors at our sister schools. Why not suggest that the members of the screaming crowd in front of Gibson Hall yesterday take 20% of their salaries and give it to Tulane? And yet, that is what the faculty is told repeatedly: that the athletic deficit is the reason that we get paid less and that we have to pay a higher percentage of the health insurance costs than most universities. This is the main reason that talented professors leave Tulane. Why should the faculty have to pay for providing a farm club for the NFL? When called to give money to Tulane I have consistently said that when football is gone, I will give. That will not change. ***** Today's decision was the correct one and great first step not only in keeping athletics but in continuing the overall growth of the University while it fulfills its mission to its students and to the City of New Orleans and the state. I might suggest that Tulane become much more active in courting its alumni and using that alumni base for financial support. We all get donor card, but on occasion it might be nice to be invited back to your old school for a small gathering where the President or college dean could put for the case for financial support. However I must say that recent revelations regarding the disprortionate number of out of state students now attending Tulane should be addressed. Diversity is unquestionably important in a university setting but Tulane must balance that need against the very real need for a local support base. Finally, a marketing idea. When you compare the behavior of fans at a Saints game to those at a Tulane game, do you really want your young children at a Saints game? Isn't the overall atmosphere at the Tulane game better? ***** Dear Sir or Ma'am, As a graduate of Tulane University and Medical School I read with interest your statement on athletics. It is interesting that Tulane desires to have top notch academics and athletics. Though we always wish for those things that we do not have, we should be careful in our desires. There are two problems with this plan: one is historical and the other strategic. History fails to show one university with outstanding academics and athletics. Far stronger universities with larger endowments have not been able to accomplish this. How is it that Princeton has the highest percentage of alumni giving, strong academics, and fields mediocre teams? Is alumni giving unfailingly linked to a strong football program? A review of the Ivy and sub-Ivy institutions would seem to say no. Others may counter that large state universities with poor academic records derive tremendous revenues from their football programs. Perchance this is because they can not market a strong suit of academic cache? Which group should be Tulane's model? On the strategic issue, is the mission of the university to produce intellectuals or athletes? The answer is obvious to some. I had some football players in my second semester freshman English class and their apathy and illiteracy was disruptive and disgraceful. By midterms they had not purchased any of the texts. Again, what is the strategic goal of the university and how do the tactics further these goals? As a strategic consultant at McKinsey and Company I would recommend keeping a singular focus: academics. The overwhelming majority of the students attend college to receive an education and a diploma, not to have a t-shirt logo that connotes third-person athletic achievement. Back when several physicists declared they had discovered cold fusion and the debate was raging in the popular press there was an interview on NOVA with an MIT physicist who commented (and I paraphrase) ,"It seems that there is a division in opinion over whether this works: those universities with football teams claim it does and those without football teams claim it does not". The purpose of this story is not to say football is bad. Rather, it is demonstrate that there is a perceived difference in the caliber of the universities that have these teams and those without. Incidentally, the football team-possessing universities were proven wrong. Which group would you rather Tulane belong? I fear Tulane is being seduced into the miasma of fuzzy thinking by the sirens of potential revenue and NCAA Saturday afternoon TV exposure. One distinguished professor interviewed on national news attracts more sharp minds than athletes performing on the turf. Plug your ears with wax and sail towards your focus. ***** President Cowen and Members of the Board of Tulane: I did not hesitate to urge you to keep Tulane athletics in Division IA across the board. I will accordingly not hesitate to say thank you for the eagerly awaited decision you made today to do just that. I could not have been more pleased when, about an hour ago, I saw the good news on the TU website. Congratulations on your decision to keep Tulane a leader in all aspects of the college experience. I am most impressed by your commitment to actively initiate much-needed reforms within the NCAA, with a view to returning Division I competition to its originally intended purposes. Keeping Tulane in the game as a leader, rather than withdrawing to the sidelines, was the right choice. Thanks again for making it. Sincerely, Proud father of an incoming freshman Tulane student athlete ***** As a new member of the athletic fund I applaud your decision to keep athletics at the Div 1 level. Thank you for making a great decision. ***** CONGRATULATIONS TO RICK DICKSON. WHAT A FANTASTIC JOB YOU HAVE DONE. I HAVE AGED 20 YEARS IN THIS LAST WEEK I CAN IMAGINE HOW YOU FEEL. GREAT WORK BY ALL OF THE TULANE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT. ROLL WAVE ROLL! ! ! ! ! ! ! P.S. I AM A SEASON TICKET HOLDER WILL BE TO THE DAY I DIE. ***** Please consider moving all home games to an outdoor stadium. I do not enjoy going to downtown New Orleans. ***** Dear President Cowen and Tulane Board of Administrators: I was, indeed, elated to hear that the Board has decided to continue our athletic program at the Division 1-A level for the foreseeable future. I know that this was not an easy decision to make and I congratulate the Board on the courage of its commitment. Tulane is a great academic institution and I am sure that with the concerted and courageous direction of the Board and President Cowen this decision will not jeopardize Tulane's academic and/or financial future. It should only enhance what I know is a great future for the university. I know that with the Board and the President's renewed commitments and with the enhanced and renewed commitment of our students and alumni this effort will not fail. I know we Tulane Alumni are up to the challenge and I am sure that we will do more to support the university's athletic programs. I love Tulane. As does my wife who is also a graduate of Tulane. My daughter is presently starting her junior year at Tulane and will be a participant in the junior year abroad program during the coming academic year. She loves Tulane as much as we do and cannot imagine attending any other institution. I can assure you that we will do whatever we can to enhance our support for the university, its students and its programs. We all think and dream Green!!!!! ***** Tulane once had a great drama review, no more; Tulane once had a great art department--Rothko taught there--no more; Tulane once had a great medical school--the school of tropical medicine was the talk of the nation--no more; Tulane once had a Rose Bowl Team, no more. Tulane once had a top twenty basketball team, no more. What gives ? ***** While I was pleased to learn Tulane will continue to participate in athletics at the Division 1A level, I hope the University will establish rigorous controls to insure academic standards are maintained at that Tulane does not let the athletic program impact the university's true mission or reputation. Perhaps the oversight committee should take a look at Stanford as a model to be considered for planning purposes. ***** To whom it may concern: I realize a great deal of time and energy was expended in reaching today's decision. In my opinion, the board made the correct choice. ***** Honorable Members of Tulane Board of Administrators; I want to be the first to congratulate you for making a very wise and sound decision for the future of Tulane University in your recent meeting of June 10, 2003! By voting unanimously to retain division 1A in all sports including football, you have firmly united the Tulane community and set the stage for tremendous and sustained growth in quality academic and athletic programs at Tulane university in the next decade. By honoring the ardent wishes and fervent hopes of the vast majority of your constituency, you have created permanently a new level of enthusiasm that will compel alumni and friends of Tulane to rally round the university financially in a manner that will eliminate all deficits in all programs at Tulane. Furthermore, you have also empowered the student-athletes at Tulane to compete at new heights with a new level of zeal and intensity that will firmly and irrevocably establish Tulane as a world class university with preeminent academic and athletic programs! . Bravo and congratulations for a job well done! ***** I am glad to hear that the Board decided to keep Tulane in Division 1-A athletics. To curb costs and to develop a broader fan base, I think you should look at using City Park's stadium for football. The game held there last year was great; the crowds were enthusiastic and it felt right. The Dome is too big, the fans get lost there. ***** I just want to voice my support for the decision to remain Division I-A. I have been very pleased to see the amount of thought and analysis that went into this decision, particularly the effort to invite and consider input from various stakeholders, including alumni. I am extremely proud to have graduated from Tulane Law and will continue to support the university as much as possible! ***** Folks, I also know a lot of academics and grad students who would not mind if the football team at the present level is terminated and scholarships be given to students exclusively based on academic merit and possibly, social considerations. I agree with this idea. ***** Now that the dust has settled and Tulane Athletics will stay Division I, let's look at what this exercise was: a shakedown. A fund-raising drive at the point of a bayonet. I'm very disappointed that this fiasco was handled in this manner. Let's hope something good comes of it. ***** Did you know . . . Tulane faculty and staff can buy a family plan (4 season tickets for football) at HALF OFF -- a total of only $90.... that's six games...four tickets to each game for a total of $90...or only $3.75 per ticket! You can't watch a movie for that price!! I encourage all staff and faculty members to buy a family plan of tickets and join your fellow Tulanians for family fun at the games! ***** Thank you for keeping Tulane where it belongs - D1. ***** President Cowen - Your emails are unclear. Just what is it that will be cut from Tulane athletics to keep it solvent? A curious student ***** Quoting Scott Cowen "In addition, the resolution clearly states that the university aspires to continue operating a Division I-A athletics program that is: b) Financially viable on a sustainable basis so as not to impede the basic mission and goals of the university." Did I miss something here? "Continue" to be "financially viable?" Is that what you call a football program that loses millions of dollars a year? Tulane is different from LSU in that we are an academic institution and LSU is an athletic one. The distinction is clear and your decision was weak. Tulane's endowment is one of the poorest in the country and yet you are content to let poorly performing teams like football continue to drain money from the coffers. How much will my tuition go up next year? ***** Great news! ***** As a parent of a student-athelete, it is very upsetting to think that the board and you, Dr.Cowen, would consider getting rid of the football program as it is today. Dr. Cowen, I attended every football game last year, and saw you at each game as well. Why did you attend the games, if you did not support the program? Dr. Cowen, it would be a huge mistake to drop to Division III or drop all athletics. Please vote to keep Tulane in Divsion I. So many athletes, like my son, are depending on you Dr. Cowen and the influence you have over the board's decision. ***** Dear Members of the Board of Administrators: Earlier in this process, I posted a comment that was neutral about the fate of Tulane athletics. Since that time, the Board apparently has decided to consider a third option, dropping football and leaving other sports at the Div. I-A level. This option is patently absurd. Without football, the athletic program will run a deficit until eternity. With football, there is at least a chance the athletic program can make money. I am also disturbed about news reports that the Atheletic Director has not been allowed to make a presentation to the full Board and that a decision either to drop football or go to Div.-III is already made. I submit that the Board of Administrators has a moral duty, if not a legal duty, to take into account the fact that the overwhelming majority of alumni and supporters of Tulane want the entire athletic program to remain Div. I-A. ***** I graduated from Tulane in 1949 and I also had two (2) daughters graduate from Newcomb. And I have a grandson contemplating attending Tulane. I have been a football season ticket holder for many years, and I have been active in fund drives. I have always been proud of my Tulane connections, but very disappointed with the way Tulane handles their athletic programs! The current review of the athletic program surpasses all of Tulane's past stupidity in running the program!!!! Why do all equal or better schools (Vanderbilt, Miami, etc ) see fit to maintain Div 1 Programs???? They must know something that Tulane's Administrators can't understand!!!!! Why is Tulane striving to remove all local participation in Tulane? If Tulane drops Div 1 sports, I will no longer be able to support Tulane University!!!! I hope you get the picture & do not destroy a part of Tulane that is over 100 years old!!! With sincere hope that you do not destroy Tulane as a nationally recognized University!! ***** I moved to New Orleans 11 years ago, literally in the shadows of Tulane University which I attended 1975-77. When I wandered into the library with my little girl, I learned I was not entitled to alum privileges--I had graduated from another university. (It wasn't very long after that I learned the development department had a different view--in their eyes and files and mailing lists, I was most definitely an alum.) I couldn't check out a book, but I could write a check. I didn't much like the way that felt. But I got over it. Because my little family had such a good time at Tulane and Tulane football games. On my oldest daughter's 5th birthday, Gumby (remember him?) dropped by to surprise her and lead her to her new playhouse. On her 7th birthday, he was waiting in a horsedrawn carriage outside the restaurant where we celebrated. (By the way, he didn't ask for a dime.) She will never forget those moments--or going to the Liberty Bowl with her dad, or his 40th birthday party in the Dome during a game, or being a little cheerleader on the field. Her little sister has had a little harder time getting to know Riptide, but she is loyal just the same. In fact, when it was time to name her table group for the year at church, she was proud the guys at her table agreed to go with, "Green Wave". Not Tigers. Not Saints. Green Wave. She learned to ride her bike on the quad and looks forward to Saturday mornings at Pocket Park. She likes to set up lemonade stands during Freshman orientation--an early start on tuition. Today, she gave away an ice chest full of cold drinks and turned in the $89.65 she collected to the Tulane Athletic Fund. If the powers that be drop football, she'll always know she did her best. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for all the great classes and professors I had, it is Tulane football that keeps me in the game. The library, literally, turned me away. Tulane Athletics invited me in and has been a most gracious host. In the fall, my oldest will begin thinking about college choices and my youngest will need a name for her Wednesday night supper table group at church. I wonder what they'll come up with... P.S. I can't help but compare this situation to one I faced professionally about 20 years ago. I was an executive at a major daily newspaper. Things were going great--readership was up, circulation was up, advertising was up, Pulitzers were up. Only one little problem-advertisers liked their ads getting out in the morning, but our readers liked getting their paper in the afternoon. So we had morning and evening editions. Great for advertisers and great for readers who liked getting their news the day it happened, instead of the next morning. But the little problem was that it's expensive to drive by every house in the metroplex twice a day. So the guys from LA come in with the plan--we'll just switch all the afternoon subscribers to morning delivery! We'll literally cut distribution costs in half! What are they gonna do? Cancel? It will be the only way to get all those features they love that the other paper doesn't have! Nobody listened to the readers. They cancelled. They were mad. They didn't come back. There is now a parking lot in downtown Dallas where the 103 year-old Times Herald once stood. ***** Watching sports while a student at T.U. definitely adds to the experience and with the successes of late I think they should be continued. However given the expense, etc. of Division I , I think dropping to Division III (like joining Emory and Johns Hopkins in their conference) would still provide the advantages of intercollegiate competition but at a level more commensurate with the primary academic focus of Tulane. ***** As a member of Tulane's class of 1991 (A&S) I would like to voice my support for Tulane maintaining all of its current athletic programs at the Division I level. ***** As the parent and sister of Tulane alumni, I know how much the athletic program contributed to their selection of Tulane as an educational institution and to their enjoyment of their college experience. Each is now a supporter and maintains close ties with many other alumni. Please do not sacrifice the intangibles you receive by maintaining a Division 1A athletic program. ***** To the Board: As an alum, with 3 Tulane degrees, I expect that you'll make the right choice and keep TU in Division 1. The Board, I assume, has enough intelligence on how to keep TU's athletics afloat. It has been afloat for over a century. If your group cannot, perhaps you need the services of some of the competent Tulane alum professionals. I would gladly offer my services as a CPA and attorney!! Stop the nonsense and keep TU in DIVISION I!!! ***** To Whom It May Concern, For me, Tulane has long distinguished itself as a university with a good reputation, not only for academics, but for the entire college experience. I believe athletics at any university plays a substantial role in the growth of a person. It not only provides for a model of discipline and achievement, but also the potential to develop a family of life-long friends through this bond. I can honestly say that athletics at Tulane was one of the key factors in my decision to attend Tulane. Understandably, the cost for an education at Tulane is expensive and the books have to be balanced (and in the black) to allow Tulane to continue into the future. But, there are numerous models of secondary institutions that run successful and profitable athletic programs, so it can be done. Perhaps it is the athletic priorities need to be modified or re-aligned to make it successful, but whatever happens, athletics at Tulane is an integral part of the university and all attempts to keep the athletic program (in whatever form, Div I, Div I-AAA, Div III, etc.). ***** NO FOOTBALL NO MONEY ***** Dear President Cowen The Green Wave at Tulane is an important component of the traditional fabric which has kept the university in a league competitive with other institutions of higher learning. It would be an unfortunate decision to eliminate the program, and the outcome would carry other adverse ramifications which would diminish the morale of the alumni and all parties concerned. It is with an impassioned plea that I urge you to reverse the decision to cancel this vital facet of an establishment of which I am very proud. ***** I can only hope these emails are being reviewed. Everythiing I have heard or read regarding the future of Tulane Athletics and the upcoming vote has me more concerned then ever. From conversations with other Tualne Alums, we are all of the impression that the current adminstration is acting without the truly long term health of the University in mind. Put simply, the more dire of the proposed changes will have irreparable harm to the reputation of the university and ultimately, in my opinion, on enrollment. Lowering to Division III would seriously reduce the reputation of Tulane as a major University, and removing football, a money making sport, would only damage the University further by reducing the minority diversity on campus, and most likely costing numerous womens sports to be cast aside. I do not feel that the wishes and opinions of the vast majority of Tulane Students and Alumni are being considered by the current adminstration in regards to this matter. Because of the disenfranchisement, should actions be taken that will either lower the status of the athletic department or outright destroy it such as would be the case in removing football only, my future support of Tulane University is seriously in doubt. I do not feel that I am alone in this matter, either. ***** I think it would be a shame for Tulane to change its athletic program when it is doing so well. If Southeastern Louisiana University can get back into football after doing without for years, Tulane should keep what it has. I have been a supporter of Tulane athletics for years as well as supporting Newcomb and the Business school. I doubled my donation to TAF. ***** I sincerely encourage the Board of Trustees to keep Tulane football and all sports at the Division 1 level. Division 1 athletics is a vital part of the fullness of the Tulane educational experience. The Tulane Athletic Department has performed so well on the field and with academic success of the student athletes. Tulane has provided a fine and nationally-recognized example for our student athletes, including minorities. As a member of the Louisiana Council, I believe that Tulane's goal of reconnecting with its Louisiana roots is also vitally tied to successful athletics, particularly football. I encourage the university not to back off from this challenge. Let's clearly identify the opportunities and the efforts necessary to accomplish them. ***** In looking at colleges three years ago, I weighed the pros and cons of the twelve schools I applied to, and in the end, Tulane University's athletic program is what put me over the edge. Tulane fulfills a niche of a smaller, well regarded school in a wonderful location, and the Division One athletic program completes the package. Students don't want to attend a school whose athletics are unknown and lack excitement. I fear that the decision to drop to Division Three will drastically affect Tulane's future classes and that the enrollment will be threatened. The tuition as it stands is among the tops in the country, and the value of a university with a Division One athletic program is very much higher than that with a Division Three program. Please take the voices of the students seriously, I have enjoyed so many football, basketball volleyball and baseball games in the past three years, and I would hope that the future men and women of Tulane can enjoy the same excitement and enthusiasm as I have. ***** Hello, I graduated in 1993 and now live in Massachusetts, so I cannot attend the football games live, but I follow the team and would really like to see the football program and all Div. I athletics stay. I always attended footbal and basketball games as a student, and when Tulane football played at Army me and some Tulanians went to see the game. I am still able to feel my connection to the school whenever I see the occasional basketball or football game on TV. Again, I hope you make the right decision in keeping the programs Div. I. ***** Athletics completes a university. This should not be strictly a financial decision. If finances alone dictated keeping programs many of the programs offered through A & S would also be eliminated. The special courses of study which graduate less than 25 students would be eliminated by purely financial means. A university is more than a place of study it is a community. the Tulane community is enriched by its athletic program including a strong Division 1A football program. ***** Don't make athletics the scapegoat for fiscal mismanagement. ***** I'm not going to sit here and write a long email about how people should be fired and about how bad it is that this was going to be done in secret. All I'll say is if Tulane does get rid of Division 1 sports in this manner, I won't be donating anything toward the school, ever. I know many of my friends share the same sentiment. ***** It is important that this committee explore other alternatives instead of eliminating football or playing in a smaller division. There has to be other options available. If this committee makes a decision to downsize our athletics program, they are consciously spitting on the face of the history and culture of our great university. This decision would prove to be irreversible, and those that make this decision will forever be remembered as shattering the Green Wave spirit. ***** Please do not stop your football program. We love Tulane football. In fact, what you need are more bus trips for out of town games. We really enjoyed those. ***** I'm assuming that someone is going to get one of the sane members of the board, like Bill Goldring, to bring up the fact that for the 1st time in history, we have at least 5 coaches/ AD's that actually turned down interest/offers from other schools to stay with the Wave (Dickson, Scelfo, Jones, Trooper Taylor, Lisa Stockton). How can they possibly not give those guys a chance? ***** Dear Sir or Madam, I am a Newcomb College senior at Tulane and while I live in Chicago with my family during the summer, I have been trying to stay up on all of the news about the fate of Tulane's football team. I will make this short; I do not know exactly who I should e-mail this to, but as a student and future alum of the University, It greatly troubles me to think Tulane will dismiss one of it's beloved sports. True, not all of the University is comprised of avid football fans, but those of us who do follow the season closely possess a definite pride for being in Division I. It is just another reason why I go to Tulane, and the decision to cut the football team will give perspective students just another reason to go elsewhere for higher education. As students, we need an appropriate balance of educational and social life on campus. Do not upset the balance of campus life that all of us, including yourselves, has worked so hard to attain. If I have not sent this to the correct address, please forward it on. Thank you. ***** Dear Sirs, Division I athletics are an important part of the Tulane experience. I graduated in 1994 from A. B. Freeman. I then went to Law School. I am just now getting the point where I have the resources to contribute to the Green Wave Club and the University (I know it is now called TAF, but it will always be the Green Wave Club). I do not know if I will continue to donate to Tulane if it does not field Division I athletic teams, because without Division I athletics, Tulane will not be the same school that I know and love. When I was looking at colleges fourteen years ago I had several requirements which seem rather simplistic in retrospect, but hey I was only eighteen years old. First the school had to have a top flight academic reputation, be close to my home in Birmingham, and have Division I athletics. Without Division I athletics, to be quite honest, I would not even have considered Tulane. Athletics pull the community together. My freshman year was the second year we had a basketball team again. We beat at least two top twenty five teams in Fogleman, UNO and Southern Miss. The next year we were on ESPN and Jim Valvano called the game. We camped out all night for tickets. Jimmy V called Fogleman a "Baby Cameron Indoor," which in case you don't know is Duke's home arena. They have done o.k. and they have not had a decent football team since Steve Spurrier left. In football, we went to a bowl game last season and were televised by ESPN. At least 2 football games will be on ESPN next year. Of all the Division I schools, are there any others schools that as of June 9 are guaranteed 2 ESPN games? I wouldn't think so. I realize that college athletics is a business. However, you should not leap to any snap decisions either. Give the athletics program some time. When we went 12-0 under Tommy Bowdon, we had a mostly senior team. Bowdon left Coach Scelfo with almost nothing. He has taken the team he inherited and taken it back to a bowl. Tulane Football is a national leader in number of players graduated. Donations are up. Season Ticket sales are up. National exposure on ESPN is up. The entire athletic program is on an upswing. At least give the program a chance. Please, do not destroy the Tulane University that we know and love. ***** I believe that Tulane would be making a colossal mistake by making any move away from Division IA football. Football is the revenue engine that drives the entire athletic program and without it, the program is destined for financial disaster. Division IAAA seems to me to be out of the question. The model only works in universities where there is a strong basketball program that serves as the department chief many maker. Tulane historically has looked to football to fill that role. Basketball, even if it became wildly popular, as long as it is played in Fogelman will never become a financial engine. Football serves not just the student community. It acts as the University's ambassador to the New Orleans' community and as an advertising and marketing vehicle to the nation. With an emphasis on continued development of a national student body, the exposure that can be gained through the football team's playing of away games in strategic markets as well as national television appearances seems to me to far outweigh the potential deficit that may be run. In addition, I think many students are attracted to a school that has a "big time" sports program as one aspect of the undergraduate experience. Certainly, my own experience as a parent bears this out. My daughter is a rising sophomore at Tulane and sports did not play a major role in her decision making. It did, however, play a role in that of a number of her friends who chose Tulane over schools such as Washington University in St. Louis, Emory and John Hopkins, in part because of t! he attraction of attending football games. That played a major role in the decision making of my son, who is about to graduate from Northwestern University. I am very familiar with the inequities of the current financial picture of Division IA football. With the attempted expansion of the ACC and the upcoming expiration of the BCS contracts, I believe that this is the wrong time to be making this decision. I believe that the athletic department has earned the right to continue to develop the program and at the minimum Tulane should adopt a wait and see attitude as things play out. Give your staff a chance to show what they can do. They have done wonders in 5 weeks. ***** Is it true that Tulane may drop out of A 1 football--if so--that would be huge black eye. Once upon a time, Tulane had a great drama review-- the Tulane Drama Review--no more--Once upon a time, Tulane had great art department---Rothko taught there, also Harry Hansen--no more---Once upon a time, Tulane had great medical school---in the 1930s it was famous around the world--no more---What gives? Is this what President Cowan's great promises have led to? ***** Dr. Cowen, As a long time active alum and a donor, I urge you and the Board of Administrators to continue Tulane athletics, including football, in Division I. I believe it is am important part of the university life, and I suspect you do not appreciate the level at which alumni giving will diminish if you go forward with the plan to dismantle or reduce the athletic program. Many alums also find it most upsetting that this was done in such a rushed and secretive manner, and wonder what the true motivation is. ***** To Each of the Members of the Ad Hoc Committee and Tulane Board, From what I can gather, you are basing the monumental decision of whether or not to drop football, an over century old tradition at Tulane, solely on money. Without getting into the arguments of whether that should be the sole factor, or whether that is even a valid factor based on the immeasurable intangible benefits the football program has provided over the years (camaraderie among students and alums of all ages around the nation, free national advertising (especially from bowl games and from NFL players like Shaun King and Patrick Ramsey), positive press from being number one in the nation in graduation rates among bowl teams, etc.), the fact is that money is precisely the reason why football should be KEPT at Tulane at the highest competitive level. Tulaneís football attendance has been increasing the last few years, and with Tulaneís bowl victory this past season, its great press for graduating its players, its Top 50 recruiting class, its excellent Coach Scelfo who actually loves the University and wants to stay, and, last but not least, Rick Dicksonís Plan to increase ticket sales and donations, Tulane football is on a tremendous upswing. Tulane should use this positive momentum to its advantage during the next several years when the college football BCS system and related television contracts are in flux. With Tulaneís combination of strong academics and athletic competitiveness, it will be well positioned to join a ìmega-conferenceî within the next several years, with huge money to follow. Yes, this is the best-case scenario. However, what is the best-case scenario if we drop football? That we might lose less money? There is no ìupsideî to dropping football ñ only less downside, and that is by no means assured. By dropping football, you might save money on ìexpensesî, but how much will you lose in terms of lost alumni donations, less national publicity, fewer applications, less school spirit and, what might be most important in the long run, the lost opportunity of joining in the cash bonanza that is and will continue to be college football? By giving up now, Tulane will be shut out of the riches. Tulane was faced with a similar decision in the 1960ís when it decided to drop out of the SEC, only to watch the SEC and other major conferences boom and bring about huge incomes for their schools. Please, do not make a similar mistake that we will regret forever. Make the right decision for today and for the future ñ support football! Sincerely, ***** To Whom It May Concern, As an Alumni, I am very disappointed to hear that the board is considering to get rid of Tulane Athletics at Div. I. If you vote to get rid of the current programs in place, I will no longer support the school now or in the future. ***** To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to offer my opinion on the up coming decisions the board is making regarding the athletic program at Tulane. I will be a senior next year at Newcomb and Tulane athletics have been a big part of my college experience. I can still remember the first football game I went to as a freshmen. My friends and I bought green paint and painted our faces and showed our support for Tulane. I went to all the home football games that year and a lot of the basketball games too. My Sophomore and Junior years I wasn't able to go to as many of the Tulane athletic events because I had a job at Reily and worked most weekends. I still kept up with what was going on. My time so far at Tulane would have been much different if these sporting events were not there or as exciting. Another thing I would ask you to consider is notoriety that the athletic department brings to Tulane. I am from the San Francisco area and I hadn't heard of Tulane until I went to a college night at my high school and started receiving all the information. At home Tulane isn't very well known except for people who watch college sports. I had lots of fun over the holidays at home watching Tulane play in Hawaii with my friends. I was able to show them a bit of my college experience with out having them come and visit. Tulane's athletics help make it known around the country. Finally, I don't think I would have come to Tulane if it didn't' have such a strong athletic program. I know that I will be heart broken if there are any changes made to the athletics program and I am sure that I am not alone in that opinion. Good luck with your decision, I know it won't be easy. ***** Keep Tulane Div 1 thank you |