All Things 2025 College Football D2 and D3 Thread

[Panthadad2]

Interesting article this weekend about the struggles UM-Morris is having enrollment-wise.
Wonder if that school will even exist in a few years.

That existence of UMN Morris never made sense to me. Especially in a market already saturated with good private liberal arts schools and MNSCU schools that can offer similar B.A. programs. I believe it's one of the cheapest schools in the state after financial aid, though.

 

[disco]

About 20-30 years ago, Morris was very highly thought of. It was considered a really good value. The impression I got was that it was an affordable, small, liberal arts college. Kind of like a public version of St. Olaf or Gustavus. It was a great option for those that couldn't afford a private school but still wanted the small college feel.

That's how I understood it as well. It was highly selective. A couple guys I played with in high school played football there and they were super smart. They were still D2 - NSIC then. Also, dating back to its origins, before it became part of the U, it still admits Native American students for free.

I have a few friends from Morris, and I've spent some time there. It's not a town I'd want to go to college in. It's really small and remote, with all the negatives of being in a really small, rural town. At least Crookston has an ag mission and it's only about 35 minutes from a decent sized city in Grand Forks.

I was surprised how small it is. Under 1000 students now. About the size of one graduating class from Wayzata or Minnetonka.

The only real positive I can think of for Morris is your degree will say "University of Minnesota."

 

[swede2]

That's how I understood it as well. It was highly selective. A couple guys I played with in high school played football there and they were super smart. They were still D2 - NSIC then. Also, dating back to its origins, before it became part of the U, it still admits Native American students for free.

I have a few friends from Morris, and I've spent some time there. It's not a town I'd want to go to college in. It's really small and remote, with all the negatives of being in a really small, rural town. At least Crookston has an ag mission and it's only about 35 minutes from a decent sized city in Grand Forks.

I was surprised how small it is. Under 1000 students now. About the size of one graduating class from Wayzata or Minnetonka.

The only real positive I can think of for Morris is your degree will say "University of Minnesota."

I wasn't previously aware of the history of the campus pre-dating the opening of UMM in 1960. Over 30% of its students are NA, who receive tuition waivers, based on the fact the campus was once home to an Indian boarding school last operated by the federal government. The feds gave the school to the state, who first operated an agricultural high school, with a stipulation that NAs be admitted free of charge (the language in the grant seems at least somewhat controversial). I can't see the regents wanting to incur the certain charges of racism that would be levied if the campus were closed without at least offering the same tuition waiver at other U campuses.