THAT DEFLATING COLLEGE SPORTS BUBBLE.

It has long been the Cold Spring Shops position that institutions of higher education think of themselves as in the same business as the Ivies, and conduct themselves in such a way that matriculants get the intellectual challenges that develop strong minds.

There are a lot more students enrolled in upwardly mobile Compass Point State universities than there are in the Ivies, or the Catholic institutions with or without basketball or football, or in the state flagships. Notionally, the policy within each state is to ensure a place somewhere in the state university system to graduates in good standing of the high schools in the states, and the upwardly mobile and converted teachers' colleges ought not be viewed as consolation prizes for high school seniors who didn't make the cut at their state's flagship institution. The athletic department might view football as the front porch to the university. What goes on in the kitchen and the rumpus room and the study also matters.

Over the past sixty or seventy years, that "upwardly mobile" has been a way for empire-building administrators to convert state teachers' colleges and former seminaries into universities.  On the academic side, sometimes that translates into additional graduate and professional schools, and on rare occasions grant-getting and the indirect cost returns therefrom, the better to be plowed back into fancier development offices.  More commonly, though, the students attracted by the concept of a university disengage, perhaps inspired by careerist professors playing the Glass Bead Game rather than competing in their disciplines.

And then, there's sports.  If you call yourself a "university" you have to field a "varsity," right?  "When you run out of money, keeping up appearances and carrying on traditions isn't so easy."  So a former Presbyterian seminary now calling itself Lindenwood University recently found out.  "After a comprehensive evaluation, Lindenwood University has made the difficult decision to discontinue ten athletic teams at the conclusion of their respective seasons this academic year. This decision is a result of a thorough assessment of our athletic department's sustainability, aligning with our commitment to upholding the high-quality academic and athletic experiences that define our university."

Translation: we're broke, but we still have the latest in corporate communications wordnoise to spin it.  Farewell, most of the boutique sports.

"Today, and for the near future, it will be challenging as the decision to better align our athletics department with our peers also results in many of our student-athletes learning that they will no longer be able to compete in the sport they love while at Lindenwood," said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Jason Coomer. "As an Athletics Director, this is not a decision you ever want to have to make. Unfortunately, it is critical for the long-term sustainability of the department. I understand there will be considerable hurt felt by the ten teams impacted as well as by our staff and coaches."

What's telling about that "align with our peers" is that Lindenwood are relatively new to Division I athletics, something I found out incidental to their appearance in DeKalb, losing to what appears to be a not-very good women's basketball team.  "The Lions, in their second year of reclassification from Division II, were 2-24 last season and 1-17 in the Ohio Valley Conference."  Apparently peer review has not gone well for Lindenwood basketball.

The university moved to NCAA Division II from NAIA in the 2013-14 school year. When the move to Division I was announced in February 2022, the university said it had used Collegiate Sports Associates to conduct an external study and internal financial analysis that demonstrated the move was a viable option.

Upon moving to D-I, the school had more than 1,400 students who participated in sports, including more than 700 in NCAA sports.

They've been retrenching for some time.

Lindenwood shut down its Belleville campus in 2020. Nearly 80% of the 1,100 students were playing sports with discounted tuition. At that time, some athletes made the move to the St. Charles campus to continue competing.

"Viable option" was state-of-the-art consultant speak 40 years ago.  Neither the Belleville campus nor men's lacrosse nor women's field hockey turned out to be viable; now they are no longer an option.  Viability, though, seems to be in short supply among Missouri's small colleges.  "Earlier this week, Fontbonne University in Clayton announced it would cut 21 programs and 19 faculty positions amid a budget shortfall."