Should we (Louisiana) be worried more about perception or reality?Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
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Should we (Louisiana) be worried more about perception or reality?
Here's the link to the Louisiana Board of Regents Finance Committee's meeting minutes:
http://www.regents.state.la.us/pdfs/Fina...-27-07.pdf
FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT 6 June 27, 2007
POLICY FOR STATE FUND USAGE IN ATHLETIC PROGRAMS
Mr. Vandal also informed the Committee that staff had been reviewing considerable amounts of data and information regarding the financing of athletic programs, both in Louisiana and outside the state, and in conjunction with the Board’s policy for state fund usage in athletic programs. There is clear evidence that the athletic programs are generally underfunded compared to their competition, and that in some cases, the Louisiana programs are some of the lowest funded programs within their respective conferences. Mr. Vandal presented a proposal as reflected in Appendix I for revisions to the current policy which is designed to allow more flexibility for institutions to provide additional operating budget assistance for the athletic programs as determined necessary by campus heads and management boards.
After discussion, the Finance Committee took the following action:
On motion of Regent Toups, seconded by Regent Rasberry, the Finance Committee unanimously recommended that the matter of the proposed changes to the Board of Regents Policy for State Fund usage in Athletic Programs as reflected in Appendix I be deferred until such time as the Board has had more opportunity to consider the need for and merits of the proposal.
Let's hope it gets past the Finance Committee in August.
IMO, reality is more important. But, is the perception different than reality? I don't know.
Go Tech!
You have lsu allum on the board
Perception is more complex than this. Athletics is the face of universities now. With increased funding and visability, comes increased positive perceptions.
Speaking only for Tech, we have our academics on track to live up to any scrutiny put upon us by increased attention this may bring about.
This needs to pass.
Note Board of Regent Roland Toups' extraordinarily strong ties to LSU College of Engineering, LSU College of Business Advisory Board, LSU’s Construction Management Hall of Fame, and the Baton Rouge community (ie LSU community) in general.
http://www.eng.lsu.edu/alumni/hod/toups.html
Note that Board of Regent W. Clinton Rasberry Jr is a post-graduate of the LSU School of Forestry.
http://www.regents.state.la.us/board/rasberry.htm
Don't underestimate LSU's enormous influence on the Louisiana Board of Regents.
Why don't we (Tech) have our own system with our own trustees?
In my more than 40 years of journalism I've never heard of a breaking scoop.
I like it, Lee.
Now quit patting yourself on the back.
As reported on our recruiting board this spring this was all started by ULL, then Madam Governor, who told ULL to get Tech involved along with the Commissioner Savoie.
. . . and now it looks like LSU is involved.
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
This increased state funding should not be the only thing that Tech is relying on. It's pretty obvious that this is the golden egg that JO has been counting on.
For every dollar in additional state funding that will come when this proposal is passed (hopefully in August), Tech needs to get another dollar in increased ticket sales, individual and corporate donations, and new untapped revenue sources. Based on JO's proven track record, he isn't the AD that will get this job done.
But I must disagree with DFM and be totally for this proposal. It burns me up to look at the budgets of schools in other conferences (especially the Ohio MAC schools) and see how little Tech gets in state funding compared to those schools.
Take Toledo for example. It's 2005-2006 Agreed Upon Procedures Report is on the next to last page of this document from the Ohio Auditor's website. Toledo spent $15.85 million in 2005-2006. Its true revenues were less than $4.89 million. It reported interfund transfers (state funding) of over $10.16 million. The other $800K was from other fund transfers.
$6 million in allowed general fund transfers will not get Tech where it needs to be. But it will at least level the playing field with peer institutions and make it possible for Tech to do what it needs to.
This need to be done with out a doubt, but the most important thing is the business park which will bring, sponsership opertunities, fans and more political leverage in the long run. The 12 million funding for the business park ultimatly will generate more money into the atheletic budget then this issue. I do want both but the 12 million is the most important and if we have to use any political favors use them at this time on the park.
Because the last time Dan Reneau and the LSU-S chancellor attempted this in the 1990s that proposal was stopped dead in it's tracks by the Louisiana Board of Regents. Dr. Reneau hired consultants who made their recommendations on a tiered system for N. Louisiana's universities and JuCos in which BPCC and others' curricula would streamline directly into 4-year universities. The LSU-S chancellor publically agreed that this proposal (which included a Louisiana Tech/LSU-S merger) would create enormous efficiency which would save Louisiana taxpayers millions!!!
Of course someone on BB&B will say this is not true and I'll be tempted to go dust off my old boxed up Shreveport Times, News Star, and other articles on the subject. Feel free to ask Dan Reneau about it, but I'll bet he'll refuse to discuss the subject. He was allegedly reprimanded for "working independently" instead of through the BoR in Baton Rouge.
Louisiana Board of Regents = Bureaucracy at it's finest IMHO.
Thanks for the information, definitely an eye-opener.
Hopefully Jindal can/will push for reform here. I know some of the LSU law professors, and some med-school professors, were disgusted over how ineffeciently the university system was operated in LA. I think the LA university governance system is the only one of its kind in the U.S. and LA universities lag behind the rest of the country.
Even if Tech had its own Board of Supervisors, that board would still have to report to the Board of Regents.
This quickest way to streamline Louisiana universities would be to drop about 4 of them from 4-year status back to JC status. I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.
o.k., why do we have a board of regents?
From the Regents' webpage...
The Board of Regents, a state agency created by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution, coordinates all public higher education in Louisiana. The Board began operations January 1, 1975, succeeding the Coordinating Council for Higher Education.
All of the Boards of Supervisors (LSU, Southern, University of Louisiana, and Community and Technical Colleges) are also constitutionally mandated.
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