A Grip on Sports: Funny, as college athletic departments deal with pandemic-induced financial shortfalls, it’s easier to drop sports than slice deeply into football budgets
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Sure, circumstances change. But knocking something off before it really had a chance to get started seems unusually cruel. We are looking at you Boise State.
•••••••
• In the summer of 2008 my eldest son finished up his college education at UC Santa Barbara. He was ready to begin his life, lining up a job at a private golf club in Sacramento, one he hoped would lead to a career in that field.
He found a place to live, packed his car and, after talking with his new boss one last time, headed north. Bright and early one Monday morning, he showed up for his first day. And was told, due to the financial downturn, the board of directors had decided the previous Friday to institute a hiring freeze.
Sorry, the job you had applied for, earned and were looking forward to no longer existed. Ya, we had an agreement but, again, sorry. Ya, I know you relocated but, again, sorry.
I relate the semi-personal story because it popped into my head yesterday when I read Boise State had decided to drop baseball. Again. After a recent reinstatement of a sport that had competed in just 14 games this spring.
It seems a bit unjust, unfair and uncalled for.
OK, I understand financial issues. Had those myself a few times over the years. Had to make cuts. Find ways to make ends meet. But I’m not sure I ever bought a new truck, then 14 miles later took it back because I couldn’t afford the payments.
Not the best analogy, sure, but somewhat appropriate. Except a truck isn’t people. With feelings. Hopes. People who took a chance with a new program when it would have been easier and safer to commit themselves elsewhere.
Yes, this is unprecedented times with unprecedented challenges. You could argue no one could have seen this pandemic coming and you would be right. There may just be even more cuts at Boise State and schools like it in the near future. And still it seems especially cruel to pull the plug on a young, vibrant program that 36 months ago was deemed necessary for the school’s future.
Athletic director Curt Apsey dropped the school’s wrestling program in 2017 with the express purpose of restarting baseball. It costs a lot to disband a program as the NCAA forces schools to honor scholarships of any athlete who wants to stay at the institution. But Boise State did it, alienating the state’s wrestling community in the process, because its express purpose was to use the resources to bring back baseball. It seemed important at the time. Really important.
And now, a couple years later, baseball (along with swimming and diving) is being eliminated to save an estimated $3 million.
I have this vision of the Broncos’ decision makers banging around like a pinball, bouncing off bumpers, never knowing where to go next. The loss of baseball will put the school at six male sports, the minimum for the NCAA Division I ranks. But it really has football, basketball and four sports (track and field, cross country, tennis and golf) that can be done on the cheap. Heck, cross country and track and field are first cousins, what with every cross country runner also competing in the spring.
If finances tighten up any more, the NCAA may just allow schools to drop below the six male sports threshold. Then golf and tennis better start worrying. Because, god forbid, a school can’t cut back on video directors or nutritionists or quality-control folks for football. Just because 14 years ago no one had them on staff is no reason to save money there. Instead, it’s better to drop baseball.
After 14 games.
• The Greater Spokane League is going back to the future in the fall. And Ken VanSickle is driving the DeLorean. Ya, I’m scared too.
Not because VanSickle, the long time (and recently retired) U-Hi athletic director, isn’t qualified to be in charge of the league. He is. But a man of his years, driving a car like that up to 88 miles an hour? That’s scary.
We kid. The league is going back to its early 21st Century configuration this fall, welcoming back schools such as East Valley, West Valley, Cheney, Pullman and Clarkston.
VanSickle has been tabbed to run the 15-school league (soon to be 16 when Ridgeline opens in a year). It’s a solid choice.
If you read Dave Nichols interview with VanSickle (the first of two parts runs today), you’ll begin to understand why. Very few school administrators in this area have a more intimate knowledge of the Greater Spokane League (in its many iterations over the years) and high school athletics in general than VanSickle. And fewer still are as kind and likable.
There will be challenges, as there were in the early years of this century. Back then, they finally became unmanageable, with the 2A schools heading off to the Great Northern League and the GSL turning into a league with two divisions, 3A and 4A. Now, under the WIAA’s guidelines, there are more 2A schools in the area – Shadle Park and Rogers move to that level in the fall, with Cheney heading up to the 3A ranks – necessitating something new.
The process that got us here was a long and, at times, contentious one. But it worked out. And in the fall we will see the changes (if the pandemic cooperates).
• By the way, happy 130th birthday Idaho. No, we weren’t around when you entered the Union in 1890, but some days we feel as if we were.
•••
Gonzaga: Jim Meehan spent four years getting to know Killian Tillie. And he got to know him well, as yesterday’s Virtual Northwest Passages forum showed. You can read Jim’s summary of the video conversation and you can watch a replay as well. Your choice. Heck, do both. … Maybe someday Tillie will have an exhibit in the recently refurbished and ready-to-reopen basketball Hall of Fame. … The Slipper Still Fits’ Steven Karr took some time recently to evaluate the three freshman heading to GU. … One of Tillie’s former GU teammates, Zach Collins, is ready to get back on the court for the Blazers. … Should the trio of Gonzaga players examining their options stay in the draft?
WSU: When I stepped down as the S-R’s Washington State University beat reporter, I made a recommendation on whom I thought should replace me. Lo and behold, Christian Caple was hired. Sorry about that Christian. Just kidding. Christian still keeps up with the doings in Pullman as much as he can, but he covers UW for The Athletic. Yesterday, he spoke with Larry Weir for the latest Press Box podcast. … Christian also has a story on Washington’s greatest football recruiting class, one that included, much to Dennis Erickson’s chagrin, Cheney High’s Steve Emtman. … Former WSU defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni found new employment yesterday at Utah State. … Around the Pac-12 and college sports, Larry Scott is sure the conference is ready, no matter what COVID-19 forces upon it concerning football. Let’s hope so. … Oregon State has come a long way toward improving its defensive front, but there is more work to be done. … Oregon announced its 2020 hall of fame class. … A Colorado safety prepares for his senior season. … Stanford has invited football players back to campus. … USC changed its mind and has told its students most of them won’t be on campus in the fall.
Bloomsday: It’s been a long time since I’ve walked the Bloomsday course with 50,000 of my closest friends. Didn’t think there was any chance this year would break that streak, not with what’s going on. But today, what do I read when I open up the S-R sports section? I can do it virtually. I am officially intrigued. I walk almost that far every day, so, basically, it looks like I would be investing $25 in a local institution and getting a cool T-shirt in return. If they have XXXL, I’m in. Want more information? Don’t miss Dave Nichols’ story.
Preps: As we wrote about above, Dave has the first part of his interview with new Greater Spokane League director Ken Van Sickle. … And we also covered the demise of Boise State baseball, its impact in this area and Ryan’s story about both.
Seahawks: With the surge in coronavirus numbers, Larry Stone wonders if returning to sports is really the right thing to do.
Mariners: Three M’s coaches will work remotely this summer. Zoom hitting sessions? I guess it could work.
Sounders: The team is scheduled to fly to Orlando today even as the case numbers rise.
•••
• Each Fourth of July since I retired, Kim and I have taken a long hike somewhere nearby. We’ve hiked to the top of hills in North Idaho – our first foray after driving to St. Maries for a legendary milkshake – and south of Spokane. We’ve walked by rivers and streams. We’ve photographed wildlife and created a few sunburns. It’s become a tradition, one we will enjoy again tomorrow. The plan is to rise early, get this feature finished and head out, beating the crowds to trail we’ve never explored before (Kim finds one to try and I grunt my approval). We then come back, take a nap, have a barbecue and close up the house tightly so the fireworks don’t spook her large-but-sensitive Doberdane. That’s another Fourth of July tradition. Until later …