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Message: [QUOTE="SUOrange44, post: 2148149, member: 8"] I certainly understand the position to some extent but I would caution those in the academic community who minimize the impact of a major sports on a college or university perhaps now, more than ever. Recent trends involving rising educational costs, decrease in the immediate impact of a four year degree, etc. are going to push these schools into a situation where there needs to be something unique that adds to the selling point of going to an expensive four year school, living on campus and the like. So many kids these days (and their folks) seem extremely willing to start out at a two year school or so where else and transfer in. It reduces costs significantly, can often help a student mature since they are not jumping in right after high school along with a bunch of other reasons. If I were part of the SU academic group I would focus on how big a draw the athletic department is. The events, the camaraderie, the networking because of the "brand name" may not be easily quantifiable but play amajor role in the draw to a kid who is just graduating from high school. Those are things he or she will not get immediately or ever if they go the Community College route and may be something they never get at any one of a ton of other institutions of higher learning across the country. Failure to nurture and adequately develop the SU sports program could have the exact opposite effect that some of those in academia are fighting for. Less students, less teachers, less monetary base to fund certain programs, less name recognition a and an overall quality decline. I graduated from high school in 1989 and was (and am) a sports nut. I played a lot of baseball growing up but when it came down to it I applied to a bunch of different schools. They were SU, Indiana, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, Minnesota and SUNY Albany. I applied to Albany because that is where I lived and my parents told me I had to. Otherwise, you can see a common theme. I value education tremendously. My folks did, my wife does and my children do. I can tell you though that if SU did not have a big time athletic program that has become a key element in my life once 1989 I probably would not have applied. I would not have graduated in '93, I would not have donated back to the University and I would not have moved back to Syracuse a few years after graduating from law school where I like to think we take advantage of Onondaga County. Do we need a complete redo of the Dome...probably not. However, it try and push modifications and improvements to the side would be a major error in my opinion and I really think anybody on the inside who is pushing that is extremely short-sighted. SUOrange44 [/QUOTE]

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