Most recently this article “LC recruiting strives to rank in both athletics and academics through institutional change” gave some decent information on L&C working on changing their athletic culture. Here are some of the excerpts:
---Generally, the LC athletic program needs 150 recruits each year, yet they only pulled in 57 for the 2006-2007 seasons. The football team struggled to have enough current players available to host the necessary amount of recruits. (for overnight recruiting visits)
---“We don’t have any appealing facilities that might entice those athletes to brave the weather,” said head baseball coach Justin Baughman, an LC alum and member of the LC Hall of Fame for baseball, “What’s the incentive?”
---“There seems to be a disconnect in what admissions thinks we do in regards to recruiting and what we actually do,” said swimming coach Matt Sellman. He said that the coaches get to know the recruits very well and “have a good idea of who is a good fit and how successful they can be at LC, both academically and athletically. Sometimes admissions doesn’t have that personal relationship, which makes it difficult for them to see the potential in recruited student athletes that coaches do.”
---Both Yeager and coaches agree that there has been better communication between admissions and the athletic department than in the past, but a lot of changes have just been implemented, so the gears of improvement have just begun to click
Meanwhile….
The Willamette Collegian has run a multi-part series on the de-emphasis of athletics on the Salem campus and a call to raise WU’s current athletic budge. Willamette sports writer and baseball player, Jimmy Meuel reports that Willamette currently spends 2.5% of their budge on athletics; which is the same as Lewis & Clark. (Linfield allots 3.36% and Whitworth 3.6%).
I’ll let Jimmy take it from here: “Athletics at Willamette are not in a good place right now. The school has devalued its sports and thus winning is down all across the boards. Yet while many factors might contribute to this, increasing the athletic budget for sports is the quickest and easiest way to give our student-athletes the best possible teams the highest academic standards, the best campus life, the most visibility for our school and the most diversity. Yet in order to accomplish (WU President M. Lee) Pelton's goals-in order to do what's best for the school-they must raise the athletic budget."
….In reading these articles I don’t blame WU Football Coach Mark Speckman looking for other gigs.
Pioneer Log: Dude, Where's my recruit?
Willamette Collegian: Does L&C really have the same athletic budget as we do?
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