Oct 31, 2014
7:03:48am
7:03:48am
Thoughts from BYU Pres. and VP of Advancement (over Athletics)
Never posted before, but have also never spoken personally with President Worthen or the VP over Athletics. They are out in TN for the MTSU game (and fundraising for a new engineering building). At a small gathering last night the VP over Athletics asked how we had sold so many tickets to the game (over 4,000) and to our tailgate (2,000+). I told him aside from general word of mouth, we had posted links on Cougarboard- the BYU fan site. Upon hearing this definition he raised his eyebrows and stated, "Is it really a fan site though? Based on the past month of comments I'm not sure about that". I laughed and agreed that a more appropriate definition is that it is a 'BYU affiliated' message board. For whatever it is worth, he (or his kids), or some other surrogate is aware of the comments and activity on the site. He's also keenly aware of the volatility of fan loyalty amongst vocal fans that bother to visit sites like this.
In a Q&A, President Worthen was asked about his view on BYU athletics. He laid out a clear vision and agreement with the positive role sports play in creating positive experience for students involved (although programs are too expensive to be justified just on the benefit for participants), creating University culture and affinity, spreading the name and visibility of BYU, and also as a missionary tool. He noted all of these are only effective when a team is winning. Otherwise no one cares. He delved into lawsuits that will increase costs and "professionalize" college sports. He indicated that college presidents are very interested in preserving the unique college sports model and that government intervention may be required to preserve it. He then paused and said, "I want to phrase this next bit carefully because it will probably end up on Cougarboard or something...If college sports become professionalized, that is not something I nor the Board of Trustees are interested in participating in. None of us want it to go that way."
I figured since they both are tuned in to Cougarboard to some degree, may as well spread their message.
In a Q&A, President Worthen was asked about his view on BYU athletics. He laid out a clear vision and agreement with the positive role sports play in creating positive experience for students involved (although programs are too expensive to be justified just on the benefit for participants), creating University culture and affinity, spreading the name and visibility of BYU, and also as a missionary tool. He noted all of these are only effective when a team is winning. Otherwise no one cares. He delved into lawsuits that will increase costs and "professionalize" college sports. He indicated that college presidents are very interested in preserving the unique college sports model and that government intervention may be required to preserve it. He then paused and said, "I want to phrase this next bit carefully because it will probably end up on Cougarboard or something...If college sports become professionalized, that is not something I nor the Board of Trustees are interested in participating in. None of us want it to go that way."
I figured since they both are tuned in to Cougarboard to some degree, may as well spread their message.
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After reading some of the overwrought responses to this post... (El Jefe, Oct 31, 2014 at 10:42am)
BYU Admins don't respond well to criticism (mudpupper, Oct 31, 2014 at 9:53am)
i will say it again...for the 148th time...where do you stand BYU BOT and LDS (nashty, Oct 31, 2014 at 9:09am)
Let's clear up one thing about CB being a fan site (Y05, Oct 31, 2014 at 9:05am)
For the record, if BYU ever pulled the plug on football, I would not encourage (UNLVcougar, Oct 31, 2014 at 8:04am)
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