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Notes from Coach Dave’s Breakout
NCAA Lawsuit: House vs. NCAA
Impact: The lawsuit will affect current and future budget cuts at SU, particularly impacting college Olympic sports and men’s rowing.
This will immediately change the future of college sport and WILL impact collegiate
Olympic (non-revenue) sports programs across the country.
Reference: NCAA Settlement Documents
Immediate Impact to SU Men’s Rowing
Budget Cut: $100,000
Roster Reduction
Positive News:
No immediate plans for SU to cut sports
Strong alumni support recognized by SU athletics and this counts a lot when considering which sports to sponsor going forward.
Future Needs
Fundraising:
Additional $100,000 per year needed to maintain current operating budget.
This is possible with a modest increase to the excellent yearly fundraising dollars our alumni already provide.
It is likely that all Olympic sports will need to continue to increase there fundraising dollars to continue the same level of operations in the future.
There has been a lot of talk about endowments.
To endow the entire program with current scholarships takes a $45 million endowment
To endow current coaching positions and operating budget without scholarships takes $25 million.
To endow a Head Coach position takes $5 million
NIL (Name, Image, Likeness)
Support: Favorable towards athletes making money and marketing their own name, image, and likeness.
Men’s rowing does not currently, nor has any plans to, use NIL money to recruit student athletes. We will not be fundraising for NIL payments.
Concerns:
Against athletes attending school solely for monetary gain instead of education and college experience
Collegiate athletics is no longer amateur athletics.
Recruiting
Advantages:
Excellent water/training facilities
Strong university reputation
Challenges:
SU admissions standards comparable to Ivy League schools in our most sought after programs (Whitman, Newhouse, Falk).
Scholarships and Roster
Current Status:
10 scholarships
50 athletes on roster, but reduction to 40 mandated.
Comparison:
Other schools starting to see roster limits but we are the lowest.
The Cal and Stanford programs are fully endowed, others are close.
Northeastern and BU have most scholarships in the country with Cal and Washington close behind. There are no longer Pac-12 scholarship restrictions (was 14.6) for Cal, Washington, and Stanford so expect them to increase scholarships.
Female coxswains do not count towards the roster
Boathouse Renovation
Current Status:
Fundraising is ongoing, but current changes in collegiate landscape has shifted focus to maintaining current program operating status.
Requirements:
$7-8 million needed for construction
$1.5 million must be committed from alumni for SU to begin planning
Biotelemetry Technology
Usage: Sensors and electronics attached to the shell to measure rower’s effectiveness
Benefits: Provides a measurable way to provide feedback to rowers and gain insight in to their on the water performance.