[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I have somewhat of a hypothetical question for members of NNN: how will folks react to faculty opposition to football?[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Iām asking because over the last year Iāve informally polled many faculty and the overwhelming majority oppose, in principle and fact, football at Charlotte. The reasons are many, but legitimate and serious. Itās an odd caase because many faculty support athletics, many have season tickets for basketball games, but are firmly opposed to football.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Iāve not attend the Football Committee meetings, so I donāt know what the attitude or disposition of those faculty members has been, but I can envision, in the event that the Committee recommends football, the University Faculty Council (which has shared governance responsibilities with the administrationāalbeit not always exercised) voting nearly unanimously to oppose and recommending rejection of the Committeeās findings.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I have no evidence to suggest that will be the case, but if it does happen it will have a tremendous influence and/or implications.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Short of denigrating the faculty as āno-nothingsā and āinconsequential,ā what strategies might those in favor of football pursue to counter this opposition? The student poll will only be one counter-balance, but probably insufficient in the long run. It will be only one of the many factors used to make the final decision. Iāve used all of the reasons that Iāve seen written about here, Iāve even emphasized the various intangibles (such as what was in the Raleigh N&Oās recent article), but those are hard to measure and do little to convince faculty opposed to football that it is needed here.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Just curious.[/SIZE][/FONT]
What are their reasons that are deemed so serious and legitimate?
You must be polling in some place other then the engineering dept. The professors there are generally excited about the prospect for football. As for countering anti-footballers, well I believe the voice of the alumni and students will weight more then theirās. They are employees, we are the ones who pay there salaries (through taxes and tuitions).
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] The student poll will only be one counter-balance, but probably insufficient in the long run. It will be only one of the many factors used to make the final decision. [/SIZE][/FONT]
Wrong. Do you know why? Because professors and faculty DO NOT pay the direct expense of a college football team at Charlotteā¦ The students do. And, the students voted āyes.ā Thatās why the vote trumps anything the faculty could throwā¦ including some faculty voteā¦ Thatās also why you are continually attempting to discredit it/minimize its significance. Guess what? Most faculty at other institutions that have already have football oppose it tooā¦ This is nothing new. How has that worked out?
Football supporters also have the branding study, the football study itself which will be positive, and all of those experts that testified favorably for football in front of the committee.
āProbably insufficient in the long runā sounds very biased and opinionated from the get-go, and so your choice of words is very interestingā¦ almost like youāre trying to get the football supporterās/studentās strategy/gameplan in preparation.
What are their reasons that are deemed so serious and legitimate?
Mostly financial, the others are academic. On the financial side the one Iāve heard most often is that the university already struggles to secure resources through private fund-rasing for purely academic and programmatic needs that football would shift efforts and emphasis. From the academic side, itās mostly stereotypical stuff (more dumb jocks, reduced admission standards, etc.), but firmly believed.
More to the point, one can use almost every argument to illustrate that many of these reasons are unfounded, shouldnāt produce opposition, but the opposition will be there.
So, what strategies can be used to overcome this serious opposition? Folks at NNN are just as firmly convinced that āoppositionā is without any merit and unwilling (not all and not at all times) to listen to counter-arguments, resulting in neither side changing minds.
Opposition from faculty has always been there. It will be there AFTER there is football at Charlotte too. Some things are just facts of life.
Mostly financial, the others are academic. On the financial side the one I've heard most often is that the university already struggles to secure resources through private fund-rasing for purely academic and programmatic needs that football would shift efforts and emphasis. From the academic side, it's mostly stereotypical stuff (more dumb jocks, reduced admission standards, etc.), but firmly believed.
So, theyāre opposed to allowing the students to decide what to do with their own money?
And, theyāre opposed to allowing boosters and donors decide what to do with their own money?
Interestingā¦ What country do we live in again?
Mostly financial, the others are academic. On the financial side the one I've heard most often is that the university already struggles to secure resources through private fund-rasing for purely academic and programmatic needs that football would shift efforts and emphasis. From the academic side, it's mostly stereotypical stuff (more dumb jocks, reduced admission standards, etc.), but firmly believed.More to the point, one can use almost every argument to illustrate that many of these reasons are unfounded, shouldnāt produce opposition, but the opposition will be there.
So, what strategies can be used to overcome this serious opposition? Folks at NNN are just as firmly convinced that āoppositionā is without any merit and unwilling (not all and not at all times) to listen to counter-arguments, resulting in neither side changing minds.
So basically they have nothing. The stereotypical stuff is just unfounded hogwashā¦not grounded in any fact at all.
Being that the students will pay for the bulk of the costā¦and they are the ones who voted for the increaseā¦ I dont see where the problem is on the financial side. Sure it will cost moreā¦but there is also the arguement that it has a greater possibility to reap a large financial rewardā¦through increased support from alumsā¦businessesā¦ect.
ATL is right. Ultimately, the administration should make a sound decision based on the will of the people who are going to be paying for it.
[QUOTE=NinerATL2CHA;258803]Opposition from faculty has always been there. It will be there AFTER there is football at Charlotte too. Some things are just facts of life.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, just ask faculty at any other school that has football. Iām sure most would oppose it and would rather have more money for their cause. Academics vs Athletics will always be a battle. Just go watch āNecessary Roughnessā!!
Wrong. Do you know why? Because professors and faculty DO NOT pay the direct expense of a college football team at Charlotte... The students do. And, the students voted "yes." That's why the vote trumps anything the faculty could throw... including some faculty vote... That's also why you are continually attempting to discredit it/minimize its significance. Guess what? Most faculty at other institutions that [B]have already have football[/B] oppose it too... This is nothing new. How has that worked out?Football supporters also have the branding study, the football study itself which will be positive, and all of those experts that testified favorably for football in front of the committee.
āProbably insufficient in the long runā sounds very biased and opinionated from the get-go, and so your choice of words is very interestingā¦ almost like youāre trying to get the football supporterās/studentās strategy/gameplan in preparation.
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]OK, remove your āconspiracy theoryā hat for a moment and stop trying to implicate me in some grand plan to undermine football at Charlotte; I fully support football here and Iām on record many times saying just that.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Iām not trying to āminimizeā the student poll, rather trying not to overemphasize it either.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Students will not pay the āentireā cost of football here anymore than they pay for all other sports.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Faculty do oppose football at many schools, no question about it, but I think youāre also underestimating where opposition might come from, what role it could make in the administrationās decision, and if all anyone then does is merely criticize the opposition it wonāt produce a positive result.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[QUOTE=Mr. Bojangles;258807]Yeah, just ask faculty at any other school that has football. Iām sure most would oppose it and would rather have more money for their cause. Academics vs Athletics will always be a battle. Just go watch āNecessary Roughnessā!![/QUOTE]
The Athletic Department is a completely separate organization at Tennessee, for just this reason.
Iād like a poll done per department. NLP thinks there is a bi-modal distribution between the natural sciences and the liberal arts/sciences.
Regardless, the faculty can STFU and be happy theyāre getting a rather substantial pay raise funded not by their hard work, but the hard work of NC taxpayers. The same ones weāre going to be indirectly asking to fund football at Charlotte.
At least in that instance the tax payers can āopt outā by choosing to send their children elsewhere.
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Faculty do oppose football at many schools, no question about it, but I think youāre also underestimating where opposition might come from, what role it could make in the administrationās decision, and if all anyone then does is merely criticize the opposition it wonāt produce a positive result.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Where might this opposition come from? Why so coy?
The burden would be on the faculty to prove why we SHOULDNT move on with football. If all they have is what you have listedā¦Iām not worried. We would have the support of the $tudentsā¦Alumniā¦the branding studyā¦and hopefully the Board. I would think the faculty would need a bit more then just a bunch of preconceived notions and stereotypes.
Not to mentionā¦I think Mac Everett>>>>>>>>>>Faculty.
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Students will not pay the āentireā cost of football here anymore than they pay for all other sports.[/SIZE][/FONT]
āEntireā wasnāt my quoteā¦ donāt know where you got that from.
The students will be paying a great deal per semester for football. They agreed to do it.
The faculty will be paying nothing.
Tell the Faculty to mind their own business, & worry about their own school.
Tell the Faculty to mind their own business, & worry about their own school.
One of us is confused, and I think itās you.
The Faculty should worry about football at the college they went to. I donāt care to hear opposition from any Prof. that didnāt go to UNC Charlotte.
And itās you who are confused. I know what I mean.
And it's you who are confused. I know what I mean.
Yer funny, I like you.
We must remember that most faculty already have a football team from their own universities.