Nic Panel Holds Onto Diversity Athletic Committee Votes Not To Limit Grant-In-Aid Spending

A panel assigned to the task of evaluating the athletics program at North Idaho College spent much of its latest meeting discussing diversity.

As 22 members of the committee wrestled Tuesday with whether to limit recruitment of out-of-state athletes, most found themselves reluctant to “change the face” of NIC.

Committee member Ken Kohli said one of the things he enjoyed most when he attended NIC was meeting people from different backgrounds. He also noted that the college’s mission statement specifically includes a plug for diversity.

But, he admitted, “If I were to try to make that case to the taxpayers, I might come back a little wounded.”

Taxpayer concerns raised during recent budget hearings and a large increase in the amount of tuition and fee waivers for athletics prompted NIC’s Board of Trustees to form the committee.

The trustees asked the committee to bring recommendations for any changes in the athletic budget back to the trustees next month.

Using straw votes, the committee Tuesday dismissed two extreme propositions - to do away with the intercollegiate athletics program altogether or to expand it by four or five more sports.

Discussion lingered over a proposal to limit grant-in-aid funding, otherwise known as tuition and fee waivers, to students from Idaho or the adjacent states and Canadian provinces.

Only a fraction of athletes come from outside the Northwest.

Initially, a majority of the committee supported the suggestion. But in a second straw vote, the majority opposed geographic limits on how the grant-in-aid is spent.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NEXT WEEK Discussion of a cap on the amount of tuition and fee waivers granted to athletes.