Livengood Into Us For One Year (and $300K)

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

[Livengood's] other notable goals include at least half of the athletes achieving a semester 3.0 grade-point average

If Livengood's jocks are able to maintain B GPA's it's only because they're majoring in faux programs like Interdisciplinary where you can "earn" a C just by showing up for team practice. Presumably a winning score merits an automatic 'A' and a get-out-of-jail free card.

BTW, for management practices like this Livengood takes home ~$300K. That's livin' good at OUR expense.

UNLV Kinesiology

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

The UNLV Kinesiology program is just another jock major, used to provide academic cover to jocks who couldn't care less about education. Elimininate it. The jocks affected can always take Bio 196-197, along with the pre-meds.

Kinesiology is a JOKE degree. It contains about as much science as stamp collecting. Fold UNLV's program into one of those *real* Biology degree programs -- you know, the ones with *serious* requirements and standards -- and watch the Kinesiology types switch into one of those ridiculous Sports Education jock degree programs.

UNLV Majors Crafted For Dumb Jocks

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

[Jocks] take the same difficult math, english composition and biology classes that non athletes take ..

Propaganda, spread by sports boosters.

Biology (and no doubt the other serious life science programs) requires Bio 196-197 and Math 181 (Calc). Kinesiology requires Bio 189 and Physio 223-224 -- science courses for NON-majors -- and Math 124 (Algebra). *All* complete jokes. The X education programs have even *lower* standards.

Everyone takes English Composition but somehow I doubt that a passing grade is hard to come by.

UNLV College of Athletics

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

Based on Endowment accounts, UNLV should *eliminate* ~1/2 of its colleges (like Science) and establish a formal College of Athletics, which would offer degree programs in Baseball, Football, etc. This would allow jocks to pursue their goal of professional sports training without compromising the rest of the University.

I do not really oppose that idea. BIG government sports education is no better/worse than BIG government *science* education.

Smatresk's Priorities

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

Smatrick constantly politicizes UNLV with his threats to cut (or raise fees for) serious academic programs while he defends ridiculous majors for jocks, scholarships even for OUT-OF-STATE jocks who couldn't care less about education, high salaries for coaches, Offices of Left Wing political goals, and all the rest.

If the UNLV baseball team were composed of applied science majors then win or lose, I would be its biggest fan. The Coach could be a member of the Chemistry faculty; assistants her graduate students. The pay is $75/game. Anyone who can teach Physical Chemistry should have little difficulty explaining how to turn a double play.

UNLV Baseball Studying pre-MLB; So Why Was Gouldsmith Fired?

Originally posted in a LVRJ forum

.. because he has a .500 career record. BTW, Coach Gouldsmith was making ~$75K.

Here's the 2010 UNLV BaseBall team roster:

#1 Beaty, majoring in Communications. Not serious.
#3 Berke, majoring in Sociology. Not serious.
#9 Beuerlein, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#25 De La Cruz, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#39 DeWeese, majoring in Sociology. Not serious.
#20 Feiner, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#6 Frierson, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#35 Gilbertson, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#34 Hutchinson, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#49 Javate, majoring in Kinesiology. Not serious.
$5 Jimenez, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#36 Kretchmer, majoring in Kinesiology. Not serious.
#28 Nading, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#12 Roundy, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#33 Singer, majoring in Business Finance. Semi-serious.
#40 Thomas, majoring in Physical Education. Not serious.
#38 Whitsett, majoring in Communications. Not serious.
#7 Wilson, majoring in Kinesiology. Not serious.

UNLV Eliminates Academic Programs Which Don't Advance Football

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

UNLV .. does have experience with eliminating programs .. [which do not further] the university's mission.

The mission of UNLV is to play football. Very few jocks major in computer science or engineering. Those programs do *nothing* to provide jocks with the academic cover necessary to make them NCAA eligible. Therefore, they're prime candidates for elimination.

Smatrick must EXPAND the number of jock majors. It looks really bad when 90% of the jocks major in Interdisciplinary. BTW, here are the requirements for that Jockology department:

Notice they wouldn't challenge a 5th grader. Nevertheless, few jocks can get through the "program".

Smatresk Con Job

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

Two years ago, the bachelor's degree in University Studies was eliminated. The program had about 400 students in it, but Smatresk, then the provost, didn't believe it fit with the university's mission.

Pure spin. The reason University Studies was phased out was because of an embarassing USA Today article which revealed that some huge percentage of majors were JOCKS.

Yeah, all but 50 of them have "finished", but that just means they've dematriculated from UNLV, not that they completed their degree. Probably fewer than 15% of them *ever* went to class, much less graduated.

"Interdisciplinary", AKA Jockology.

Millenium Scholarships: Bad For Nevada

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

The [Millenium] program now costs $25 million a year, but that total is increasing by about $1 million per year.

What is this $25M++/yr taxpayer burden to fund Millenium Scholarships? When the UNV was "sold" to a skeptical voting public, that annual expenditure wasn't part of the deal. Neither was the $14M/yr the state gives to fund NCAA sports, nor the hundreds of millions we spend each year on NSHE.

Fund Millenium Scholarships Out of the Football Budget

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

The Legislature spends some $14M per year to fund Division 1 sports. That is, scholarships to chowderhead jocks who couldn't care LESS about education. Many of whom are from out-of-state. That's right.

Though I oppose government funding of education, if the crooked politicians want to bailout the Millenium Scholarship fund the "Intercollegiate Athletics" budget is a good place to get the money to do so.

Livengood's Fuzzy Accounting

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum
[Livengood] kept [UAZ Athletic] department in the black

For college sports you can't really talk about black/red in a way that makes business sense. How can you claim to make a "profit" when your *star* employees are officially unpaid? Or is involuntary servitude legal in Arizona?

How can you claim to make a profit when you don't even make a good-faith attempt to account for your expenses? For example, the cost of tossing admission/grading standards. Athletic Dept accountants never factor in the cost of the numerous basketweaving departments which need to be maintained to give jocks academic cover, like Sociology, Physical Education, Sports Management, etc. Those real costs are conveniently shifted to social "science" college budgets. The old shell game.

FYI, that "$28M subsidy" figure is over the biennium.

Sorry, but UNLV will not renounce federal funding. Title IX *stays*.

Eliminate UNLV Sports

Originally posted in a LVRJ forum

$280K/yr AD Livengood said: A good development person [like its $109K/yr ex-head fundraiser, Bill Brady] can quadruple what you pay them just because they're that good at raising money.

This outrage cannot pass unconfronted.

When a beggar asks you to donate to a charity (like UNLV) you might expect him to be uncompensated. After all, you want all of the money to go directly to the nominal beneficiaries (ie students). Then you find out that "Whoa!" The money is used to pay the $100K+ salary of the hustler.

I've actually met a couple of jokers like that. They were full-time fundraisers for some of those BIG charities you probably heard of. Each was making ~$400K! That's right.

UNLV is like all the other big charities out there. Probably ~96% of its charitable support goes to pay for executive salaries, wine-&-cheese parties, and Lake Tahoe chalets. Virtually NONE of the money goes to *real* students who truly need assistance. The "charity" is reserved for athletic scholarships for jocks who couldn't care less about education.

Sorry. UNLV accepts federal funds. It can't escape Title IX. The cost of Men's football is WOMEN'S football.

UNLV Athletics Dept Needs Remedial Math

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

UNLV [Athletics] estimates that it will end its fiscal year June 30 with $26.06 million in revenues and $27.99 million in expenses.

Those budget figures DON'T add up. It's not rounding errors. That $26M revenue figure isn't even close. Even so, the $280K Athletic Director is employing fuzzy accounting.

Sports boosters never factor in the ridiculous departments (lke Sports this-&-that) and degree programs (like University Studies) which need to be maintained in order to provide jocks with academic cover, nor the compromised admission standards (non-existent, really) required to get the chowderhead jocks in the door in the first place, nor the complete distraction to Admnistration and disruption of what should be a tranquil, ivy tower environment.

When you look at how UNLV prioritizes (ie the $1M hoops coach and $450K football coach) you could conclude that UNLV exists to play BIG sports. Academics is just a pretext. The true cost of UNLV sports is closer to the entire cost of the University.

Smatresk Threatens Informatics (Politicians AlwaysThreaten Parks)

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

President Smatresk ($300K) most certainly will NOT cut Division 1 sports. Sports is UNLV's #1 priority. Basketball coach makes $1M/yr. Football Coach makes $450K. Athletic director makes $280K. FF's eat your hearts out!

Smatresk knows that if he eliminates BIG sports popular support for his institution would wane. Legislators might then decide that UNLV is not worth funding at all. Smatresk is a politician. He'll do whatever it takes to build and maintain a constituency large enough to protect his own sinecure.

Communications is a complete joke. The program exists only to provide academic cover to jocks who are not dumb enough to qualify for that remedial University Studies undegree program. Any degree program unusually popular among jocks should be summarily abolished.

Won't happen. In fact, Smatresk will EXPAND jock programs.

What are jocks supposed to major in? Nuclear Physics? Smatresk needs to give jocks every possible opportunity to coast through their four years of NCAA eligibility. It looks really bad when jocks are concentrated in one or two degree programs which nobody can describe. He needs to give them *plenty* of choices. Basketweaving. X Studies. Sociology. Kinesiology. Management. X Education. Sports Counseling. Blah blah blah. Anything you can think of which sounds cerebral and sophisticated but in reality has no standards and wouldn't challenge a third grader.

The numerous nonjocks in these programs are just wasting their parents' (and taxpayers) money. The Athletic Department appreciates it, though. It allows Smatresk to defend them as low cost.

UNLV Sports Fanatics

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

I know that Harvard plays against Yale [in football] but not Notre Dame. I know that the Ivy's compete at the top level in basketball (and crew).

Sorry if I don't know my D1's from my D2's from my D1-AA's. I guess that makes me a moron.

At my house ESPN is on "skip". At [sports fanatics'] houses it's on all the time.

UNLV Football Makes A Profit. NOT!

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

As I've posted in RJ fora numerous times, Division 1 certainly does NOT turn a profit. In fact, Division 1 sports is a tax CONSUMER. In the current biennium the state appropriation for UNR Intercollegiate Athletics is $5.8M/yr. The corresponding appropriation for UNLV is $7.9M/yr. See AB-562 Section 17 (2009).

You're just perpetuating a big LIE spun by sports marketers.

Besides, where UNLV sports is concerned you can't really talk about black/red in a way that makes business sense. It's always fuzzy accounting. What does it mean to show a "profit" when your star "employees" are prohibited -- at least officially -- from being paid? These studies never take into account the destruction caused by Division 1. The non-existent admission standards, the junk departments maintained, the future legal class action liability for permanent brain injuries sustained during collisions, etc.

More Money for UNLV Sports Facilities

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

If some basketball fanatics want to use their own money to build UNLV a practice facility [which will include an "academic area". LMAO!], I don't really object. That's the way public education is SUPPOSED to be funded. I won't quibble here about about the annual ~$500K maintenance cost -- especially if the donors have committed to pay for that, too.

But under NO circumstances should a bunch of wealthy sports boosters be able to HIJACK the mission of a *public* university. No compromised admission standards for players. No jockology majors to give them academic cover. No text messaging with the coach during mid-terms. None of this 6 years of non-progress towards completing a degree.

I don't mind professors making *accomodations* for athletes. For example, scheduling make-up exams and arranging special lab times, but otherwise players have to be treated just like ordinary students. None of this going over the head of the English professor, like what happened at SUNY.

And I don't want to hear any more of this "successful Division 1 sports programs boosts recruiting of scholars, raises the profile of the University, blah blah blah ..." When did sports become an ADVERTISING program?

Smatresk Will Protect UNLV Jock Majors

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

Smatresk is blustering. He is a politician. He will most certainly NOT cut "Recreation & Sports Management". That is a jock major. Smatresk will do everything in his power to maintain and even EXPAND jock programs. Without sports popular support for UNLV would sharply decline. Legislators might then conclude that UNLV was expendible.

Jocks need to be able to coast through school. Smatresk's job is to ensure that jocks have academic cover, at least until their four years of NCAA eligibility have elapsed. He can't afford to reduce the number of jockology majors. What else are they going to major in? Nuclear Physics? It would look really bad if 97% of the student-athletes were majoring in a single degree program.

What to Do About NSHE

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

1. Slash Klaich's $335K salary. The public sector is NOT supposed to be a place to get rich. There is NO justification to pay Klaich >twice what we pay Gibbons.
2. Eliminate Division 1 sports. Teams can be fielded from the more strapping ranks of the applied science majors. Coaches recruited from the Chemistry faculty. No more athletic scholarships. Put the student back in "student"-athlete. No more NFL/NBA/MLB pay scale coaches.
3. Reduce NSHE to its constitutional minimum: three UNR departments -- Mining, Engineering, and Agriculture (MEA).
4. As the Constitution intended, award free rides (or charge only nominal tuition) to MEA majors. UNR was set up with a perpetual trust to fund MEA, with even a cushion built in to fund Military Science if ever added. Our financial obligation to NSHE should be ~$0.
5. Abolish non-MEA programs entirely, or else charge such students user fees (tuition) high enough to cover their true costs. $800/credit sounds right.

University Studies == Interdisciplinary == JUNK

Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum

UNLV announced a few YEARS ago that 'University Studies' (ie Jockology) was going to be phased out, in response to indefensible USA Today criticism that some huge percentage of UNLV "student"-athletes were declared majors in it, that it had no real objective standards, and yet even after six years most *still* never completed the program.

The real sleazy part of all this is that UNLV isn't really eliminating University Studies. It has just RENAMED it to "Interdisciplinary". Same nonexistent standards. Same jock appeal.