Shama: U Regent Hsu Voting No on Sports Cuts

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Shama:

Regent Michael Hsu told Sports Headliners he will vote no on the University of Minnesota proposal to cut four men’s sports at the Board of Regents meeting Friday. The Star Tribune reported last week the U Athletic Department is also seeking approval for reducing 41 roster spots on Gopher women’s teams as part of its cost savings plan for the next school year. Hsu is opposed to that initiative as well.

“I am opposed to the (total) proposal because I think it’s the wrong proposal at the wrong time,” Hsu said. “I think it’s premature. I think the fact we’re playing football, we don’t really know what our financial picture is like. If it (the proposal) includes reducing women, it’s not something we should be doing until the office of civil rights comes knocking on our door and tells us we need to cut men and women from our programs.”


Go Gophers!!
 

So now the goalposts have been set in concrete, the Gabel administration with their proposal and Regent Hsu with his. Any sensible budget negotiation from here would kick toward the middle space between those poles with some sort of mix of scholarship reductions and program eliminations that have been proposed. The hard part is the choosing. Let’s hope those on the Board choose wisely... Go Gophers!
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
So now the goalposts have been set in concrete, the Gabel administration with their proposal and Regent Hsu with his. Any sensible budget negotiation from here would kick toward the middle space between those poles with some sort of mix of scholarship reductions and program eliminations that have been proposed. The hard part is the choosing. Let’s hope those on the Board choose wisely... Go Gophers!
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I know you're hoping for the men's track team to be saved. Which I think would be good.

But I'm curious to know your thoughts: would you support it being saved only for a limited segment of the events? Like for example, if they only kept throwers and distance runners? (arguably two of our best areas, I believe?). Wouldn't ever compete for team titles, but certainly individual champions could still happen.
 

MplsGopher said:
I know you're hoping for the men's track team to be saved. Which I think would be good.

But I'm curious to know your thoughts: would you support it being saved only for a limited segment of the events? Like for example, if they only kept throwers and distance runners? (arguably two of our best areas, I believe?). Wouldn't ever compete for team titles, but certainly individual champions could still happen.
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Fair question, but I am going to evade it because I just don’t know for sure what would be best. In some respects, I am not plugged in enough to get to that level of analysis.

I admit that I just have an emotional connection to the T&F program given its 100 plus year history and it being, in my opinion, such a quintessentially college athletic program.

It rewards so many different skill types within different people as compared to say, Tennis, while also seeming like the terminal opportunity for all those people whereas there may be more opportunity to play tennis in some form or fashion outside of college than track and field. And as compared to Gymnastics, while both are probably the end of the road type of opportunity for those athletes as there can’t be much at all of a professional market out there for either sport, I just think T&F has a longer and more storied history at the U of M. I wish it would continue on into the future because once eliminated, it will never come back.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
Fair question, but I am going to evade it because I just don’t know for sure what would be best. In some respects, I am not plugged in enough to get to that level of analysis.

I admit that I just have an emotional connection to the T&F program given its 100 plus year history and it being, in my opinion, such a quintessentially college athletic program.

It rewards so many different skill types within different people as compared to say, Tennis, while also seeming like the terminal opportunity for all those people whereas there may be more opportunity to play tennis in some form or fashion outside of college than track and field. And as compared to Gymnastics, while both are probably the end of the road type of opportunity for those athletes as there can’t be much at all of a professional market out there for either sport, I just think T&F has a longer and more storied history at the U of M. I wish it would continue on into the future because once eliminated, it will never come back.
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And, just to make clear the purity of my motives, I am personally more entertained by college tennis as an in-person spectator sport than the other two. So even through I personally prefer tennis - by a significant margin, I just think T&F has the better claim... the better argument to stick around at the U of M Gophers athletic program.
 



Having the opportunity to work for Michael Hsu for four years, I can tell you he has a brilliant mind and an enormous passion for the University of Minnesota. I have a lot of faith in his leadership as a Regent.
 

60 minutes features U of MN cuts to men's programs. Harder to understand the 1.6 millions in savings over the entire budget. Coyle refusing to be interviewed is not a great endorsement of your decisions.
 

Coyle also didn’t look good when Burns said they had a plan to save the gymnastics program and Coyle wouldn’t even look at it. I‘m not happy with Coyle’s leadership and can’t believe the Regents who voted to cut these programs didn’t have more sense.
 



GringaGopher said:
60 minutes features U of MN cuts to men's programs. Harder to understand the 1.6 millions in savings over the entire budget. Coyle refusing to be interviewed is not a great endorsement of your decisions.
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Obviously, I didn’t think the 60 Minutes story made the University of Minnesota, especially AD Coyle, look good.

While it wouldn’t have looked good either way, Coyle should have gone on camera for an organization like 60 Minutes. They are reputable enough for the public to deserve an on-air appearance. If it was a lessor organization, a statement would do.

I am glad that at least the Men’s outdoor Track and Field program was saved by the Board of Regents.
 

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