ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë

The illusion of the PR potential of ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë athletics

July 30, 2019

University Relations

I would like to write a rebuttal to the chancellor's Cornerstone post about athletics at ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë. I grew up here, have received 3 degrees from ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë, and I have not been to a ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë sporting event since I was 14. My best friend throughout high school was a jock who played multiple sports who, as far as I know, never once attended a ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë sporting event. I have worked with the public for more than a decade, and, in my experience, the number of non-athlete students for whom athletics was a motivating or deciding factor to attend ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë is under five. True, Nanook athletics could be a resource for recruitment, retention, and communication, but what the Nanooks are and what they could be are two very different things.

In general, athletics at a university is, at best, an accessory: a nice thing to have, but not a requirement, and never, ever at the cost of academic programs. When the public assesses athletics as little more than a very expensive PR tool, which is exactly what the chancellor is arguing, it becomes a rather obvious target for cuts. If we close a single department but maintain full funding for athletics, then all the critics are right: we are wasteful and selfish, and deserve the cuts, because we clearly can’t manage our budgets. Continuing to fully support athletics demonstrates that ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë’s loyalty is to UA and our institutional idea of what a university should be, not to Alaska and its people.

I agree that we should all fight for the pieces of UA and ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë that we believe in, and, yes, that can include athletics. However, I think the chancellor or any senior administrator coming out so strong in favor of a superfluous program (look in your heart, you know it to be true) at this time is foolish and bad press. If you don’t believe me, try publishing that exact same opinion piece on athletics in the News-Miner or in the Anchorage Daily News and see how people react. If athletics is the hill anyone wants to die on, feel free, but realize such talk molds public perception, and that's where we've been hit hardest since long before this most recent round of cuts.