Lindenwood to drop Lacrosse

[WhiteCarrera]

https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/1 ... ement.aspx

This was just announced about two hours ago. Eighteen months after elevating all sports to Div. I, they make the announcement to drop ten sports. Ridiculous!!

My two cents:
First, a wimpy move to announce late on a Friday afternoon. This is what so many do when they're embarrassed by something they're forced to announce, but want to limit the exposure to what they're saying.

Second, either this is a sign that this has been part of the plan all along and they've been 100% disingenuous throughout the entire process, OR it's a sign that they completely miscalculated their ability to make the jump and are now trying to somehow recover.

I feel for the team and staff, because I know for a fact they were not ready for the jump to D1 in the first place. They were surprised by the original announcement, and when sports like football and basketball got bumps in scholarship $$, staffing, and everything that goes with D1, lacrosse got only the necessary bump in travel $$ -- no increase in scholarships (they were already below 10.8 and that did not change), no additional staffing, so salary bump for coaches. Without time to recruit, last year was effectively a D1 schedule with the same D2 roster -- unfortunate, but they played their hearts out, And now this - it makes me believe this was the plan all along.

Lindenwood had the largest athletic program in D2, with nationally prominent, full programs in non-NCAA sports as well (cycling, rugby, shooting etc...). Arguably one of the BEST overall programs in D2. Now they've moved to D1, and completely shot themselves in the foot (probably about three feet higher).

[Farfromgeneva]

Lindenwood a endowment dropped from $200mm to $165mm in 2023 for 4,500 or undergrads and a student body of 7,000. That’s very low per student and they clearly need to shrink enrollment.

Sports are managed for tuition dependent schools very differently than self sufficient ones.

Sucks for the kids though.

[smoova]

A young man I coached for a decade is on that roster. He's upset, but only a sophomore and played major minutes as a frosh, so lots of eligibility/opportunity in the portal.

Minor blessing that the admin didn't wait until after the portal closed to make the announcement.

[WhiteCarrera]

No arguing your comments about endowment, but Lindenwood is also a school with little to no debt. When my son was recruited in 2016 I believe they told us they were one of four nationwide with “no debt”. It’s amazing to me their D1 decision was so shortsighted that they didn’t have a plan or commitment for surviving 18 months.

From their announcement in February, 2022:

Lindenwood does not have plans to reduce the total number of sponsored sports. Upon approval, the transition process will take four years to complete.

[Farfromgeneva]

No arguing your comments about endowment, but Lindenwood is also a school with little to no debt. When my son was recruited in 2016 I believe they told us they were one of four nationwide with “no debt”. It’s amazing to me their D1 decision was so shortsighted that they didn’t have a plan or commitment for surviving 18 months.

From their announcement in February, 2022:

Lindenwood does not have plans to reduce the total number of sponsored sports. Upon approval, the transition process will take four years to complete.

I can’t speak to the honesty or representations obviously but I just know the higher ed landscape is in for a world of pain broadly and some serious restructuring of the system. Unfortunately going to impact a lot of people, acutely in the NE but throughout the country.

Sure hope HPU pushed their maturities out but the President is bit of a huckster real estate, fake it until you make it guy who’s highly levered though I Brodie they’ve grown the endowment a bit at least. The former President of Temples B school (not the one who got in trouble for fraud of reporting data the guy who had to clean it up and recently stepped back to a teaching role hating administration) told me in 2019-2020 the Philly schools were having regular meetings to figure out how theyd work together to bail out lasalle but that resolved itself. For now.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/c ... utType=amp

https://apnews.com/article/college-sain ... 3abbf0a630

https://www.desu.edu/news/2021/07/wesle ... -finalized

https://edsource.org/2021/mills-college ... 6656?amp=1

[Laxxal22]

Brutal for the kids but at least they didn't find out halfway through the spring with a year of eligibility burned. Hope they find spots.

[Wheels]

No arguing your comments about endowment, but Lindenwood is also a school with little to no debt. When my son was recruited in 2016 I believe they told us they were one of four nationwide with “no debt”. It’s amazing to me their D1 decision was so shortsighted that they didn’t have a plan or commitment for surviving 18 months.

From their announcement in February, 2022:

Lindenwood does not have plans to reduce the total number of sponsored sports. Upon approval, the transition process will take four years to complete.

I can’t speak to the honesty or representations obviously but I just know the higher ed landscape is in for a world of pain broadly and some serious restructuring of the system. Unfortunately going to impact a lot of people, acutely in the NE but throughout the country.

Sure hope HPU pushed their maturities out but the President is bit of a huckster real estate, fake it until you make it guy who’s highly levered though I Brodie they’ve grown the endowment a bit at least. The former President of Temples B school (not the one who got in trouble for fraud of reporting data the guy who had to clean it up and recently stepped back to a teaching role hating administration) told me in 2019-2020 the Philly schools were having regular meetings to figure out how theyd work together to bail out lasalle but that resolved itself. For now.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/c ... utType=amp

https://apnews.com/article/college-sain ... 3abbf0a630

https://www.desu.edu/news/2021/07/wesle ... -finalized

https://edsource.org/2021/mills-college ... 6656?amp=1

LaSalle had a first-year incoming student class size of 900 for this past fall. They ended up in 450-range. They spent $10M into their endowment last year, too. Their Provost got escorted off campus 2 weeks ago. Fired. Before the news that St. Joe's "merged" with U Sciences, LaSalle approached U Sciences to see if they wanted to buy LaSalle's nursing school. $55M. Where'd that number come from? Apparently to cover some debt that had come due. Too late. Merger had already been worked out but not finalized and announced.

[Farfromgeneva]

No arguing your comments about endowment, but Lindenwood is also a school with little to no debt. When my son was recruited in 2016 I believe they told us they were one of four nationwide with “no debt”. It’s amazing to me their D1 decision was so shortsighted that they didn’t have a plan or commitment for surviving 18 months.

From their announcement in February, 2022:

Lindenwood does not have plans to reduce the total number of sponsored sports. Upon approval, the transition process will take four years to complete.

I can’t speak to the honesty or representations obviously but I just know the higher ed landscape is in for a world of pain broadly and some serious restructuring of the system. Unfortunately going to impact a lot of people, acutely in the NE but throughout the country.

Sure hope HPU pushed their maturities out but the President is bit of a huckster real estate, fake it until you make it guy who’s highly levered though I Brodie they’ve grown the endowment a bit at least. The former President of Temples B school (not the one who got in trouble for fraud of reporting data the guy who had to clean it up and recently stepped back to a teaching role hating administration) told me in 2019-2020 the Philly schools were having regular meetings to figure out how theyd work together to bail out lasalle but that resolved itself. For now.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/c ... utType=amp

https://apnews.com/article/college-sain ... 3abbf0a630

https://www.desu.edu/news/2021/07/wesle ... -finalized

https://edsource.org/2021/mills-college ... 6656?amp=1

LaSalle had a first-year incoming student class size of 900 for this past fall. They ended up in 450-range. They spent $10M into their endowment last year, too. Their Provost got escorted off campus 2 weeks ago. Fired. Before the news that St. Joe's "merged" with U Sciences, LaSalle approached U Sciences to see if they wanted to buy LaSalle's nursing school. $55M. Where'd that number come from? Apparently to cover some debt that had come due. Too late. Merger had already been worked out but not finalized and announced.

Thanks

Hadn’t followed super recently. My friend is done being an administrator and dealing with all that and back to teaching so I hadn’t gotten updated in a while on that situation but I know he wasn’t feeding me any BS back then. He only Brad me president for Fox because of s major scandal w the online b school. The best professors don’t belong as admin - takes a different type. I have all the love in the world for the guy who’s running the mew Mgt grad program
Hobart set up but I can’t help thinking “man out Econ Dept and future kids lost something special because this guy doesn’t teach anymore”. (But I understand why the top of the house picked him)

Bottom line is a few years of yield issues with a sub $200mm endowment is lights out for half under that condition (not counting Covid circumstances) in the NE in this environment.

I resell way back I was looking at a deal that involved some former campus that had been converted to a drug and alcohol rehab facility that was under severe financial stress (modestly public company w no Mkt cap). Was a little west of UPenn.

In sense infill areas it may have better alternative use but my call is the beta alternative use is exactly that. The CAGR of that industry has been 20% over more than a decade, margins are fat, the campuses that sit 2-4 hours away from major metro areas are perfect to remove folks who need to get out of their environment for a period to assist in the rehab and the facilities set up nicely with housing, cafeteria, classroom space etf. Once insurers start really covering mental health for real you’ll see a inflection up in the growth curve (sadly) of the industry and, frankly, college towns who lose their colleges have no leverage to play the NIMBY game at that point.

(and if I can circle up efficient capital for it when this cycle is done you may heard one day of a billionaire named FFG with his rehab empire)

[Farfromgeneva]

No arguing your comments about endowment, but Lindenwood is also a school with little to no debt. When my son was recruited in 2016 I believe they told us they were one of four nationwide with “no debt”. It’s amazing to me their D1 decision was so shortsighted that they didn’t have a plan or commitment for surviving 18 months.

From their announcement in February, 2022:

Lindenwood does not have plans to reduce the total number of sponsored sports. Upon approval, the transition process will take four years to complete.

I can’t speak to the honesty or representations obviously but I just know the higher ed landscape is in for a world of pain broadly and some serious restructuring of the system. Unfortunately going to impact a lot of people, acutely in the NE but throughout the country.

Sure hope HPU pushed their maturities out but the President is bit of a huckster real estate, fake it until you make it guy who’s highly levered though I Brodie they’ve grown the endowment a bit at least. The former President of Temples B school (not the one who got in trouble for fraud of reporting data the guy who had to clean it up and recently stepped back to a teaching role hating administration) told me in 2019-2020 the Philly schools were having regular meetings to figure out how theyd work together to bail out lasalle but that resolved itself. For now.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/c ... utType=amp

https://apnews.com/article/college-sain ... 3abbf0a630

https://www.desu.edu/news/2021/07/wesle ... -finalized

https://edsource.org/2021/mills-college ... 6656?amp=1

LaSalle had a first-year incoming student class size of 900 for this past fall. They ended up in 450-range. They spent $10M into their endowment last year, too. Their Provost got escorted off campus 2 weeks ago. Fired. Before the news that St. Joe's "merged" with U Sciences, LaSalle approached U Sciences to see if they wanted to buy LaSalle's nursing school. $55M. Where'd that number come from? Apparently to cover some debt that had come due. Too late. Merger had already been worked out but not finalized and announced.

The Mills college deal was one of the greatest steward takeovers of any entity I’ve ever seen. Northeastern doesn’t care because they got a sweetheart deal but every Mills college stakeholder who didn’t get to keep a paycheck should be livid. That was some excellent graveyard dancing by Norrheastern.

[LaxPundit07]

https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/1 ... ement.aspx

This was just announced about two hours ago. Eighteen months after elevating all sports to Div. I, they make the announcement to drop ten sports. Ridiculous!!

My two cents:
First, a wimpy move to announce late on a Friday afternoon. This is what so many do when they're embarrassed by something they're forced to announce, but want to limit the exposure to what they're saying.

Second, either this is a sign that this has been part of the plan all along and they've been 100% disingenuous throughout the entire process, OR it's a sign that they completely miscalculated their ability to make the jump and are now trying to somehow recover.

I feel for the team and staff, because I know for a fact they were not ready for the jump to D1 in the first place. They were surprised by the original announcement, and when sports like football and basketball got bumps in scholarship $$, staffing, and everything that goes with D1, lacrosse got only the necessary bump in travel $$ -- no increase in scholarships (they were already below 10.8 and that did not change), no additional staffing, so salary bump for coaches. Without time to recruit, last year was effectively a D1 schedule with the same D2 roster -- unfortunate, but they played their hearts out, And now this - it makes me believe this was the plan all along.

Lindenwood had the largest athletic program in D2, with nationally prominent, full programs in non-NCAA sports as well (cycling, rugby, shooting etc...). Arguably one of the BEST overall programs in D2. Now they've moved to D1, and completely shot themselves in the foot (probably about three feet higher).

Nothing says “please please miss this press release” like a Friday 3 pm release. Pathetic. Their leadership must have spent time in politics.

[MVPiccoli]

No arguing your comments about endowment, but Lindenwood is also a school with little to no debt. When my son was recruited in 2016 I believe they told us they were one of four nationwide with “no debt”. It’s amazing to me their D1 decision was so shortsighted that they didn’t have a plan or commitment for surviving 18 months.

From their announcement in February, 2022:

Lindenwood does not have plans to reduce the total number of sponsored sports. Upon approval, the transition process will take four years to complete.

I can’t speak to the honesty or representations obviously but I just know the higher ed landscape is in for a world of pain broadly and some serious restructuring of the system. Unfortunately going to impact a lot of people, acutely in the NE but throughout the country.

Sure hope HPU pushed their maturities out but the President is bit of a huckster real estate, fake it until you make it guy who’s highly levered though I Brodie they’ve grown the endowment a bit at least. The former President of Temples B school (not the one who got in trouble for fraud of reporting data the guy who had to clean it up and recently stepped back to a teaching role hating administration) told me in 2019-2020 the Philly schools were having regular meetings to figure out how theyd work together to bail out lasalle but that resolved itself. For now.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/c ... utType=amp

https://apnews.com/article/college-sain ... 3abbf0a630

https://www.desu.edu/news/2021/07/wesle ... -finalized

https://edsource.org/2021/mills-college ... 6656?amp=1

We had that at down at Cabrini. David Taylor. Turned the College on it's head. Took something great (a teaching college with decent business and communications offerings) and immediately went after non-core competencies (nursing school, university status, structures galore) without any real fundraising capability/enrollment expansion. Clown show.

[kramerica.inc]

Crazy. They were recruiting hard up until last week.

[laxpert]

It appears Lindenwood decided to concentrate on the Ohio Valley Conference sports. Correct me if I'm wrong but of the ten sports cut (7 men 3 women) none were members of the OVC. They are over the NCAA requirement of 16 teams with the NCAA minimum of six men's teams and 13 women's team.
The move to D1 means Lindenwood would need to fund over 60 additional scholarships if they want to offer the maximum number allowed to the remaining teams.

[Farfromgeneva]

It appears Lindenwood decided to concentrate on the Ohio Valley Conference sports. Correct me if I'm wrong but of the ten sports cut (7 men 3 women) none were members of the OVC. They are over the NCAA requirement of 16 teams with the NCAA minimum of six men's teams and 13 women's team.
The move to D1 means Lindenwood would need to fund over 60 additional scholarships if they want to offer the maximum number allowed to the remaining teams.

Might save them $4-$7mm a year between net revenues and opex to run the programs. That’s a lot for them.

(I’m assuming they net $20-$25k of sticker price for $1.2-$1.5mm, figure nine programs have to probably average $300-$500k-yr to run which is $2.7mm-$4.5mm. And I’m assuming you can backfill the lost tuition paying athlete attendees at no incremental cost)

[WhiteCarrera]

... and they didn't think of any of these eventualities 18 months ago? That's the crazy part! IMHO, either they were incredibly incompetent considering the projections of the superseding four years, or this was their plan all along.

[Farfromgeneva]

... and they didn't think of any of these eventualities 18 months ago? That's the crazy part! IMHO, either they were incredibly incompetent considering the projections of the superseding four years, or this was their plan all along.

Well I’m not saying there was exceptional communication, planning, vision or execution. Just looking at today.

[gmen1986]

It appears Lindenwood decided to concentrate on the Ohio Valley Conference sports. Correct me if I'm wrong but of the ten sports cut (7 men 3 women) none were members of the OVC. They are over the NCAA requirement of 16 teams with the NCAA minimum of six men's teams and 13 women's team.
The move to D1 means Lindenwood would need to fund over 60 additional scholarships if they want to offer the maximum number allowed to the remaining teams.

Might save them $4-$7mm a year between net revenues and opex to run the programs. That’s a lot for them.

(I’m assuming they net $20-$25k of sticker price for $1.2-$1.5mm, figure nine programs have to probably average $300-$500k-yr to run which is $2.7mm-$4.5mm. And I’m assuming you can backfill the lost tuition paying athlete attendees at no incremental cost)

assuming they can backfill attendees at no additional discount is a wild assumption in my opinion..nonetheless someone screwed up along the way, and the mens lax program has to pay for it.