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Budget Woes of the Illinois Schools

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Penguin Nation:
While four MVFC schools have pledged FCOA scholarships (NDSU, SDSU, USD, and UNI), the three MVFC schools in IL are facing a growing fiscal crisis.  Cuts to athletics, namely FB, are not currently being openly discussed.  However, it would seem probable that at some point it will surface in the next few years.  Things may get interesting. 

Re: SIU (remember Randy Dunn?):

"The Southern Illinois University system will take a $40 million cut next year if Gov. Bruce Rauner’s fiscal year 2017 budget proposal is enacted — a fact that SIU President Randy Dunn said could lead to a “wholesale ending of programs” at the university’s three campuses."

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu/dunn-rauner-s-fy-budget-proposal-will-lead-to-wholesale/article_b7c1727b-f10c-533a-b4f0-fa4b1eceafad.html

"Randy Dunn, president of the Southern Illinois University system, is asking staffers at the system’s three campuses to find ways to cover a potential loss of $49 million in state support."

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu/siu-system-to-consider-million-in-cuts/article_d86c4e0d-711b-5899-81a0-140eae78a403.html

Re: WIU:

"Western Illinois University announced Friday it would cut $20 million over the next two fiscal years, including cutting 100 jobs, as a result of the state budget impasse and probable reductions to state funding for higher education.

President Jack Thomas says the university has reduced $5 million from its budget for fiscal year 2016, but to meet operational expenditures for July and August, the university needs to cut $4 million more by June 30."

http://www.wgem.com/story/31327994/2016/02/26/local-university-to-cut-100-jobs-in-20-million-budget-slash?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_Jennifer_Tapley_-_WGEM_News

The others:

"An epic budget battle in Illinois led Moody’s Investors Service to downgrade the credit rating of three of the state’s public universities late Wednesday, the latest setback for schools that have been starved of funding for eight months and now face possible accreditation challenges.

Northeastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University had their credit ratings lowered to just above junk status, while Eastern Illinois University’s rating is now below investment grade. That means analysts consider revenue bonds issued on behalf of the school to be a credit risk for investors.

“The downgrade is driven by EIU’s increasing vulnerability to the ongoing state budget impasse given its thin liquidity, declining enrollment and high reliance on state funding,” Moody’s said in a statement. “Liquid reserves are expected to be exhausted by the end of the fiscal year.”

Moody’s has held a negative outlook on all eight Illinois universities it rates since the fall because of their diminishing cash flow. Analysts said there was no indication that Illinois would allow its public universities to borrow money during the budget impasse, despite the strain the ordeal has placed on their operations.

Universities in Illinois have not seen a dime from the state in eight months..."


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/25/illinois-budget-battle-leads-moodys-to-downgrade-several-state-universities/

"All that is a glaring failure on the part of state leaders over several administrations. A college student who mismanaged things this badly would be on academic probation.

Understandably, college administrators and legislators right now are focused on the budget meltdown in Springfield. Because of the deadlock that started July 1, public universities aren’t getting their state funding, and they also have to cover for students who aren’t getting their income-based scholarships from the state.

Eastern Illinois University has already laid off staff. Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas is trying to postpone a plan to cut 50 of 632 full-time faculty positions. Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn says this year’s underfunding is creating a crisis.

But patching together a state budget for this fiscal year won’t be enough. Illinois higher education resembles infrastructure that’s been jury-rigged with duct tape because of years of disinvestment. Professors aren’t getting raises, fewer classes make it harder for students to meet graduation requirements, employees have been laid off."


http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/7/71/1205546/editorial-illinois-higher-education

Penguin Nation:
Chicago State cancels Spring Break.  pitiful.

"If students at Chicago State University weren't aware of the the budget crisis in Illinois yet, they are now. The school just canceled spring break as a way to save money.
An eight-month-long budget impasse at the state level has tied up funds usually earmarked for Illinois' public colleges. The resulting cash crunch has forced some to take drastic measures just to get through the spring semester, including laying off employees, eliminating faculty travel budgets and -- now -- shortening the semester."

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/25/pf/college/chicago-university-spring-break/

guinpen:
Randy Dunn, Randy Dunn, where have I heard that name?

go guins:

--- Quote from: guinpen on February 28, 2016, 12:30:29 PM ---Randy Dunn, Randy Dunn, where have I heard that name?

--- End quote ---
OH yes, where oh where have I heard that name???

On a serious note, I don't know where this is all headed, but when universities are running deficits running to 10's of millions, something is seriously wrong and what happens in IL will be an issue in OH soon enough.  Paladin not withstanding, they dumbest posts on this blog are the guys calling to move up to 1-A football which would make this many millions worse for YSU.

Wick250:
Without much publicity, a number of small, private colleges have disappeared over the past three decades.  I would not be shocked if Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois had the distinction of being public universities that joined them.  They don't serve metropolitan areas and their student bodies could easily be absorbed into the other state schools in Illinois.

Based on the information provided by Penguin Nation, you really have to wonder if Illinois State and Southern Illinois, both basketball schools, can sustain scholarship football programs that don't generate much revenue.  I realize that both schools renovated their stadiums recently, but with drastic cutbacks in state funding and no reliable revenue stream, football might become too much of a burden.

And where would that leave us if the MVFC programs east of the Mississippi disintegrated?  We have kicked this topic around just for fun, but perhaps now is the time that YSU should determine if there is any interest in us as a football-only member of the CAA.  I would much rather be affiliated with schools in the corridor from metro Philadelphia to Virginia than being stuck in a league located almost entirely west of the Mississippi.

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