The third time was a charm time -- after voting down the concept twice before to students approved the move last week. If the big West does invite the school to the [Indiscernible] it will cost the school $3500 . But supporters say that it is worth it. I spoke with my guest, Daniel Shafter, San Francisco sports management program. There is a lawsuit against the [Indiscernible] . Do schools get a boost out of elevating to Division I sports? Yes. There is research that shows that they do get a boost. They get applications in enrollment. This is part of their income. They create a touch point for others to reach back into the school Does that happen even if they do not have a football team? Smack yes. But it does help to have football but also men's basketball. What drives that is the media coverage. Having a Division I athletic program at a university. You said that in other university president -- have been impressed with schools that have academic and Division I academics. There was a study a few years ago that surveyed university presidents. Controlling for the academic success of the school but the president still reign to school by their athletics. And that was surprising given that the presidents would be able to control that. So USDA is having trouble with alumni support. You mentioned that alumni support could be one of the boost for the school that elevated to a Division I. How does that work? Especially major basketball games. Create an event that is easier to bring in the alumni or non-alumni, in the area. It creates excitement and they are able to use that as a launching point to increase donations to the University. Like I said there has been a lot of research on this. Especially for schools, that have a large student population or alumni. But yet when they do not play Division I sports. It says that they do not foster alliance. When I left, I have not found a reason to come back to campus. And again this is what the research shows. That these events create a reason to come back to the campus. Why does it take so much to expand to a Division I? They have minimum arena sizes and things like that. But it does come from [Indiscernible] with facilities and coaches . They are competitive in their conference. So you have this constant competition. Because to be successful -- is all about winning. The school is using 90%. For the athletic budget. That is larger than more division programs. But most start off in a situate -- similar situation where they do not have an existing stream of revenue that comes in so they are going to lie -- rely on the University. As they increase their revenue, concessions and parking -- then you can lower the amount of student fees. And students to get something for it because they voted it -- voted for it. They feel, it will help increase their brand of the University. That is a point as well 70% of the students voted yes and only 35% even voted. We want everyone to vote but yet they do not I speak because of the size, I feel like it is an untapped resource. There are 25,000 undergraduate students. I have people asking me, did you go to the University of San Diego? And I am so shocked especially when people do not know anything about it. I know it wants to create revenue from other sources. Especially with student fees. Use -- they still need to an invitation. What is that procedure like? It is just like an negotiation. Basically it is what kind of revenue will the school get? What is the entry fee? It really becomes a negotiation between the conference and the University. I cannot imagine why they would not want the University of San Diego. It is a very large university and this will add to the bro -- profile.
UC San Diego students are hoping a potential move to NCAA Division I will do more than boost their athletic reputation.
Undergraduates on Tuesday approved a proposal to eventually increase their athletic fees by $480 per year to help fund the transition. The school will still need a bid from an NCAA conference, likely the Big West Conference.
Students supporting the measure argued in their ballot statement that becoming a Division I school would associate UCSD with other universities known for top-tier academics and athletics, such as Stanford, UCLA and Harvard.
“Currently, our brand is well-known only to a narrow, elite segment of the population. How many times have you had our school mistaken for (San Diego State University) or (University of San Diego)? Improved brand recognition strengthens the value of our degrees when looking for jobs, networking & negotiating starting salaries.”
Daniel Rascher, director of academic programs at University of San Francisco’s sport management program, said research has shown a correlation between schools with Division I athletics and increases to undergraduate applications, student retention rate and racial diversity.
“It also tends to increase donations to the university, which is an area UCSD could improve in,” Rascher said.
UCSD is in the midst of a $2 billion fundraising campaign, but has struggled attracting alumni donations. Alumni gifts made up less than 5 percent of UCSD’s private donations last year, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune, compared to an average of more than 28 percent for colleges nationwide.
“There aren’t many touch points,” said Rascher, who graduated from UCSD in 1990. “Alumni don’t come back to watch the big game.”
Rascher will explain more about the possible costs to starting up a Division I program and the impact it could have on UCSD’s brand on KPBS Midday Edition Thursday.
