Maiden Conference USA seasons vivid proof Blue Hens have to be better

[BlueHenBill]

I am so tired of the repeated ill-informed posts to cut some UD sports. First, some (including me) UD alums, fans, & UD students are fans of many UD sports, follow them in person and/or on-line and even help support them financially as do I. Second, you are limited in what sports you could even consider cutting as I have posted numerous times in the many times this let's cut some UD sports nonsense raises its head ad nauseum. Any CUSA sport probably can't be cut because the number of sports played in CUSA are relatively few in number. Title IX and UD's approximately 60% female undergrads probably eliminates the possibility of cutting any Women's sport without cutting at a minimum two or more Men's sports for each Women's sport cut. Another issue is that any costs saved for cutting somer of UD's sports are probably so minimal tat the juice wouldn;t be worth the squeeze,

Maybe our CUSA expert topstraight, can set you straight BHB. I believe UD sponsors more sports than most, if not all of our conference mates. What do we know that they don’t and vice versa?

Hens79, Yes, as I posted "the number of sports played in CUSA are relatively few in number". Some if not many CUSA members play other sports in other conferences. I speculate that many/most /all CUSA members have never sponsored sports such as M/W Lax, Field Hockey, M/W Swimming & Diving for example (maybe many of these sports aren't even played at the HS level in the regions of the country where most CUSA members are located) which all have a long history at UD. At some/many/most CUSA members the proportion of women to men undergrads may not be anywhere near as heavily female as at UD (approx. 60% to 40%), CUSA members tend to be located in more politically conservative regions of the country that are not as litigious, nor as supportive of Title IX which is probably not being enforced under the THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL SITE regime.

[topstraight]

Missouri State sponsors about 20 sports. Female to Male enrollment percentages being the main reason.

WKU is at the FBS minimum--16 sports. We used to have great swimming (M&W) and men's soccer programs--they were cut due to BUDGET. Men's tennis and gymnastics cut a long time ago. Over the last 20-30 years the amount of state budget support for Public Universities in Kentucky has dropped Tremendously. Kentucky State and Morehead barely hang on.

Many CUSA schools have only 16-18 sports---but it's mostly due to lack of Money.

UD "might" be able to find a little money by cutting one minor men's sport. But I have no idea if it would be worth it.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

One strategy some schools are employing is that they are sponsoring a minor sport--But in "name only".

NO NIL, bare bones coaching staff, minimum scholarships, limited travel, etc..

Example---A very stripped down budget for track, women's bowling or the like.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Some schools "specialize" in a particular minor sport or two--- with strong tradition or that have loyal donors. The athletic department pitches in a little more in these cases.

Some Examples---

Mo St., MT------WBB

WKU-------Volleyball

UTEP------------Track and Field

La Tech----------Baseball

[dchen]

I understand why some would want UD to cut some teams and concentrate on the higher revenue sports. It just seems to cut against one mission of athletics which should be student participation. That is give as many students as possible the experience to participate in intercollegiate athletics. But, I guess that just isn't possible these days at the FBS level. It always amazes me, however how some Division 3 schools sponsor so many sports: MIT - 32; Williams College - 30 are two examples and both have football. How do they do that?

[dovetail]

It always amazes me, however how some Division 3 schools sponsor so many sports: MIT - 32; Williams College - 30 are two examples and both have football. How do they do that?

I suspect for these two schools at least that money is no object.

[Info Hound]

It always amazes me, however how some Division 3 schools sponsor so many sports: MIT - 32; Williams College - 30 are two examples and both have football. How do they do that?

I suspect for these two schools at least that money is no object.

If we were D3, we could probably do the same. No scholarships, no travel, high school type facilities.

Some on north campus would approve, I'm sure!

[Hens79]

It always amazes me, however how some Division 3 schools sponsor so many sports: MIT - 32; Williams College - 30 are two examples and both have football. How do they do that?

I suspect for these two schools at least that money is no object.

If we were D3, we could probably do the same. No scholarships, no travel, high school type facilities.

Some on north campus would approve, I'm sure!

Yep. Not sure why some had to even ask the question?

And yep. I still feel UD is dealing with their small time legacy as they have made the FBS move. It has to be impacting fund raising as it’s all UD alumni have ever known.

[Cluck U]

Missouri State sponsors about 20 sports. Female to Male enrollment percentages being the main reason.

WKU is at the FBS minimum--16 sports. We used to have great swimming (M&W) and men's soccer programs--they were cut due to BUDGET. Men's tennis and gymnastics cut a long time ago. Over the last 20-30 years the amount of state budget support for Public Universities in Kentucky has dropped Tremendously. Kentucky State and Morehead barely hang on.

Many CUSA schools have only 16-18 sports---but it's mostly due to lack of Money.

UD "might" be able to find a little money by cutting one minor men's sport. But I have no idea if it would be worth it.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

One strategy some schools are employing is that they are sponsoring a minor sport--But in "name only".

NO NIL, bare bones coaching staff, minimum scholarships, limited travel, etc..

Example---A very stripped down budget for track, women's bowling or the like.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Some schools "specialize" in a particular minor sport or two--- with strong tradition or that have loyal donors. The athletic department pitches in a little more in these cases.

Some Examples---

Mo St., MT------WBB

WKU-------Volleyball

UTEP------------Track and Field

La Tech----------Baseball

topstraight gets it. Plenty of reasons for a school to keep certain sports.

I just posted on another thread that UD finished first in the number of CUSA Honor Roll (3.0 GPA) student athletes...and 2nd in Commissioner's Medal athletes (GPA 3.75 and above). UD fans should be proud of those numbers.

One would think that a high GPA, at least those in decent majors, would translate to a solid job and solid income...which could provide UD with donations in the future (and, perhaps, has in the past), although maybe donations not directly to the athletic department.

I've also heard through many sources that Mens Lax is well supported by their alumni...perhaps other lesser publicized sports are as well. I'd love to see what the % of student athletes give back to UD...broken down by sport.

One other thing...when UD did cut some of the mens' sports, there was a large, negative reaction from the supporters...many who said they would stop supporting UD. Perhaps UD is aware of such similar talk regarding the cutting of any other sports.

In any case, fans screeching about cutting other sports is comical. UD is still an educationally focused institution...or at least it is supposed to be. Football will survive or die based on the support it gets from TV contracts and its fans. Ditto basketball. Want to get better players? Give more money. Don't have enough money to make a difference? Oh, well.

[topstraight]

I do have one wish/suggestion for UD.

Improve Men's Basketball.

Even though not as important as Football--it does gain eyeballs with a few TV games and can help the conference NET rating and NCAA success with a better team. BB Can bring in some Revenue and media attention. The higher the league's average NET rating--the better chance of NCAA success--and some of that money comes right back to UD.

The Blue Hens were Last in CUSA NET rating at #287.

The good news is that it's really not that hard to go from 287 to about #200. Just a small increase in NIL or better coaching could cause that much improvement.

CUSA will only have Ten schools next year. That means UD's NET rating will have a stronger effect on CUSA. It also means that Blue Hens athletics will get a bigger share of CUSA Revenues.

[BlueHenBill]

topstraight, Don't you know that due primarily to injuries UD Men's Basketball played last season with 8, then 7, and finally only 6 of their 13 scholly players? UD lost a lot of close games (in & out of CUSA) where the limited number of scholly players available and the exhaustion of those who played made a significant difference. If UD had been able to keep even just 8 scholly players healthy the entire season UD would have done significantly better in the CUSA in 2025-2026. That being said UD Men's Basketball needs to make significant improvement and will have to start with at least 6-7 new players in 2026-2027.

[Cluck U]

I do have one wish/suggestion for UD.

Improve Men's Basketball.

Even though not as important as Football--it does gain eyeballs with a few TV games and can help the conference NET rating and NCAA success with a better team. BB Can bring in some Revenue and media attention. The higher the league's average NET rating--the better chance of NCAA success--and some of that money comes right back to UD.

The Blue Hens were Last in CUSA NET rating at #287.

The good news is that it's really not that hard to go from 287 to about #200. Just a small increase in NIL or better coaching could cause that much improvement.

CUSA will only have Ten schools next year. That means UD's NET rating will have a stronger effect on CUSA. It also means that Blue Hens athletics will get a bigger share of CUSA Revenues.

One would think that basketball, with a limited number of players (versus football), would be easy to turn around. But then we see the big boys tossing out over $10 million for a roster, another 7-8 figure number for head coaches and goodness knows what else is going into the kitty. As our AD said, we need to compete with our peers…but where will the funding come from?

If you don’t have the money, you aren’t in the game…and we don’t have anywhere near big-time money. Heck, UD is going to have a hard time finding corporate sponsors and state funding as we just lost three trillion (not a typo) dollars worth of corporate value (our state gets a significant portion of our revenues from corporate taxes), spread over 61 (and counting) companies that have up and left our state.

It will be interesting to see how we handle this ever changing sports landscape.

[Hens79]

I do have one wish/suggestion for UD.

Improve Men's Basketball.

Even though not as important as Football--it does gain eyeballs with a few TV games and can help the conference NET rating and NCAA success with a better team. BB Can bring in some Revenue and media attention. The higher the league's average NET rating--the better chance of NCAA success--and some of that money comes right back to UD.

The Blue Hens were Last in CUSA NET rating at #287.

The good news is that it's really not that hard to go from 287 to about #200. Just a small increase in NIL or better coaching could cause that much improvement.

CUSA will only have Ten schools next year. That means UD's NET rating will have a stronger effect on CUSA. It also means that Blue Hens athletics will get a bigger share of CUSA Revenues.

One would think that basketball, with a limited number of players (versus football), would be easy to turn around. But then we see the big boys tossing out over $10 million for a roster, another 7-8 figure number for head coaches and goodness knows what else is going into the kitty. As our AD said, we need to compete with our peers…but where will the funding come from?

If you don’t have the money, you aren’t in the game…and we don’t have anywhere near big-time money. Heck, UD is going to have a hard time finding corporate sponsors and state funding as we just lost three trillion (not a typo) dollars worth of corporate value (our state gets a significant portion of our revenues from corporate taxes), spread over 61 (and counting) companies that have up and left our state.

It will be interesting to see how we handle this ever changing sports landscape.

A little perspective beyond the sensationalized “3 trillion in value” and any potential impact on the State’s ability to provide UD funds.

Delaware’s corporate business model remains alive and as over 1,000,000,000 companies are incorporated in Delaware including over 50 percent of the publicly traded companies in the US and over 60 percent of the Fortune 500. Oh, and the corporate franchise tax loss of these companies leaving Delaware to incorporate in other states is in the low tens of millions of dollars at most, representing 1 percent, give or take over the overall corporate revenue stream.

So now that non issue has been dealt with. Why can’t UD get corporate sponsors? Are they being too picky?

[topstraight]

Yes---I was aware of the injuries and hope they all get healed up---but as you said UD Basketball still needs to make an improvement.

WKU has Not been performing up to our normal levels lately either...(Very disappointing)

Despite all this--CUSA still managed to finish 13th out of 31 leagues. It's a very good basketball conference and could be even stronger if some of our teams (WKU included) could upgrade their talent to an extent.

[Info Hound]

Basketball should definitely the "easiest" to turn around

We can't remain at the bottom.

[CaliHen98]

Missouri State sponsors about 20 sports. Female to Male enrollment percentages being the main reason.

WKU is at the FBS minimum--16 sports. We used to have great swimming (M&W) and men's soccer programs--they were cut due to BUDGET. Men's tennis and gymnastics cut a long time ago. Over the last 20-30 years the amount of state budget support for Public Universities in Kentucky has dropped Tremendously. Kentucky State and Morehead barely hang on.

Many CUSA schools have only 16-18 sports---but it's mostly due to lack of Money.

UD "might" be able to find a little money by cutting one minor men's sport. But I have no idea if it would be worth it.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

One strategy some schools are employing is that they are sponsoring a minor sport--But in "name only".

NO NIL, bare bones coaching staff, minimum scholarships, limited travel, etc..

Example---A very stripped down budget for track, women's bowling or the like.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Some schools "specialize" in a particular minor sport or two--- with strong tradition or that have loyal donors. The athletic department pitches in a little more in these cases.

Some Examples---

Mo St., MT------WBB

WKU-------Volleyball

UTEP------------Track and Field

La Tech----------Baseball

topstraight gets it. Plenty of reasons for a school to keep certain sports.

I just posted on another thread that UD finished first in the number of CUSA Honor Roll (3.0 GPA) student athletes...and 2nd in Commissioner's Medal athletes (GPA 3.75 and above). UD fans should be proud of those numbers.

One would think that a high GPA, at least those in decent majors, would translate to a solid job and solid income...which could provide UD with donations in the future (and, perhaps, has in the past), although maybe donations not directly to the athletic department.

I've also heard through many sources that Mens Lax is well supported by their alumni...perhaps other lesser publicized sports are as well. I'd love to see what the % of student athletes give back to UD...broken down by sport.

One other thing...when UD did cut some of the mens' sports, there was a large, negative reaction from the supporters...many who said they would stop supporting UD. Perhaps UD is aware of such similar talk regarding the cutting of any other sports.

In any case, fans screeching about cutting other sports is comical. UD is still an educationally focused institution...or at least it is supposed to be. Football will survive or die based on the support it gets from TV contracts and its fans. Ditto basketball. Want to get better players? Give more money. Don't have enough money to make a difference? Oh, well.

Nail...head

Well said, Cluck.

[topstraight]

UD Baseball now Last 1-14 in CUSA 10-26 overall...261 in RPI. Come on Hens.

Don't take this the wrong way--Hey. I'm rootin' for 'ya.

Good news--

UD Softball tied for fourth place (11-7) and will be HOSTING the CUSA Tourney in their remodeled stadium.