For our anti Buffalo fans

[UAalum72]

Closing campuses - not politically possible.

 

As I understand it, politics and education in NY pretty much was controlled by the private colleges, which is why SUNY wasn't even established until 1948, without endowments (which doesn't affect formerly-private Buffalo), and was supposed to be dependent on state aid, so it wouldn't compete with the privates for donations, and why there's no tradition of donating to the state U. Meanwhile the privates now can complain there's too much state aid and that tuition should be higher so it could pay for everything.

[scrabbleship]

It goes way beyond athletics IMO. Compared to other state systems, SUNY is way way behind. Binghamton is the #1 SUNY, yet ranked in the low 80's according to US News. Top 100, great- but when you look at the California system it's paltry. The problem is that there are too many colleges. Do we really need a Fredonia, a Plattsburg, an Oneonta, a Buffalo State, Oswego, etc etc. Sure, a case could probably be made for each, but those colleges are diverting funds away from the top performing schools and University centers. NYS either needs to close a sizeable number of campuses, or make a serious $$ commitment to transform SUNY into a true competitor to the likes of California, Michigan and Virgina.

 

As much as UAalum said it would not be politically possible, I think that some campuses could be consolidated. There is a lot of redundancy in the SUNY system and a I think the mergers of a few schools (Oneonta/Delhi, Potsdam/Canton, UB/Buff State, Stony/Farmingdale, maybe Old Westbury too) could be done as long as the other sites were kept as satellite campus; same goes with the community college systems. I think making some community colleges associate institutions of 4-year schools could work (eg: Ulster CC with New Paltz), but would it be feasible?

 

Some of the schools should stay for the sake of the anchors of the local economy that they are (Fredonia, Plattsburgh, the Rochester-area schools as much as merging Brockport and Geneseo would make $en$e), but some of the redundancy can be reduced.

 

Why the disconnect? SUNY is simply not enough of an attractive college experience for many. And unfortunately for us, Albany (the state government) is so defunct and so politically charged that none of the necessary changes will ever happen IMO.

The two problems need people to vote them out. In the opinion pages of the TU lie ideas that a charsmatic Democrat in Rensselaer County could "easily" beat Bruno and that any established Asian businessman on the Lower East Side could "easily" unseat the "out of touch" Silver (the latter was the idea of someone else, not me, and was actually printed). Get those two out and we're fine, problem is that Suffolk kept Bruno in his key seat.

 

There are bright spots for sure, especially for UA. SEMATECH, the nano-program, and our success in athletics will definitely transform our University for the better, as long as Spitzer and NYS dont fvck it up....and we NEED a Football stadium, period.

 

I am not as hopeful about Spitzer, and I think this board should begin a public awareness campaign for the stadium. I'm up for a letter to the editor in the TU and making a facebook group, who wants to seriously join me? The dynamics of FCS mean that the stadium isn't on the mind of Joe and Jane Average of Guilderland, trying to get it on their minds can be better than doing nothing.

 

And to respond to the rest of UAalum's post, when your state's land-grant school is a private school (which is 2/3 out-of-state in its student body) and the three most powerful people in the state are on their board of trustees ex officio, that goes to show how much public education mattered then and how there might be a disconnect now. Would the situation be different if our most powerful persons didn't sit on Cornell's board?

[alum73]

 

I agree whole heartly with Scrabble. SUNY is desperate for a flagship. What state doesn't have a flagship for god's sake?

 

California?

[ATL_DANE]

 

I agree whole heartly with Scrabble. SUNY is desperate for a flagship. What state doesn't have a flagship for god's sake?

 

California?

 

Don't shoot the messenger because you don't like the message. Despite the sarcasm, I'll answer with a dignified response. It's called 'Cal', California or just plain UC Berkely. Cal and UCLA are the pillars of California. California then has a number of other schools for a range of student abilities.

 

Other examples for folks who don't get out much....

Georgia - Georgia / GT

Florida - Florida / Florida State

Texas - Texas

Maryland - Marlyland

Virginia - Virginia / Virginia Tech

New Jersey - Rutgers

Penn - Penn State

Ohio - Ohio State

Conn - UConn

Vermont - Vermont (Though they're liberal nature bars them from funding football)

Michigan - Michigan / Michigan State

Hawaii - Hawaii

Deleware - Deleware

Maine - Maine

California - Cal / UCLA

 

notice a trend here???

 

The point has been made at nauseum. I agree with Scrabble on this point but I'm tired of this topic as much as everyone else is. Drop it already and focus on the Fordham game. I'm looking forward to a 'W' this week.

[alum73]

I guess my point was CA, GA, VA, MI, FL have 2 or 3, so why can't NY have more than 1?

[UA_MA_2000]

And THIS is what will hold SUNY back and will harm the schools. SUNY needs a flagship and is stupid for not doing so. We need to improve to be more ACC or SEC or Pac 10 or BigTen rather than America East, just that the elites meeting between State and Washington don't give a damn.

 

I agree whole heartly with Scrabble. SUNY is desperate for a flagship. What state doesn't have a flagship for god's sake? $3.5 billion from NYS is buying us a 'huh?' when we say 'SUNY'. I'll take Buffalo if I have to... but NY needs a presence of some sort in the big-time college world. God I wish it was Albany but hey I'm a realist.

 

Sometimes I think you and I are the only only ones on this board who see the sobering truth that NYS doesn't seem to want SUNY to be at the best of its potential and looks to be treating Albany as an afterthought, at least athletically. New York is a big time state, why not have a big time state school system? Perhaps it's the apathy of downstaters in their D-III and D-I/Non-football cocoons (Fordham, Stony, Wagner, LIU, and Columbia notwithstanding) who don't realize what people in most other states do, I mean downstate is the hub of college sports apathy with little to show outside of the success of St. John's in basketball.

 

As far as Albany has come, they still have a long way to go. Sad thing is does NYS want them to go any further or are they fine where we are now and want to arrest our development? Some food for thought...

 

It goes way beyond athletics IMO. Compared to other state systems, SUNY is way way behind. Binghamton is the #1 SUNY, yet ranked in the low 80's according to US News. Top 100, great- but when you look at the California system it's paltry. The problem is that there are too many colleges. Do we really need a Fredonia, a Plattsburg, an Oneonta, a Buffalo State, Oswego, etc etc. Sure, a case could probably be made for each, but those colleges are diverting funds away from the top performing schools and University centers. NYS either needs to close a sizeable number of campuses, or make a serious $$ commitment to transform SUNY into a true competitor to the likes of California, Michigan and Virginia.

 

New York State (especially downstate) has some of the best public secondary schools in the nation. I believe more students from New York are Intel/Westinghouse Science winners than from any other state. New York has the second highest percentage of seniors taking the SAT in the country. New York leads the nation in the percentage of high school students taking Advanced Placement tests and scoring 3 or better. Yet many if not most of these students are going to school elsewhere. Why the disconnect? SUNY is simply not enough of an attractive college experience for many. And unfortunately for us, Albany (the state government) is so defunct and so politically charged that none of the necessary changes will ever happen IMO. There are bright spots for sure, especially for UA. SEMATECH, the nano-program, and our success in athletics will definitely transform our University for the better, as long as Spitzer and NYS dont fvck it up....and we NEED a Football stadium, period.

 

On another note- Michigan falls out of the top 25. LOL

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...wsdate=9/4/2007

 

Having grown up in Ann Arbor a few blocks away from the Big House (and then moving to Albany), Saturday was a very painful day for me (34-32, App. State; 13-11, Colgate).

[UAlbany09]

And THIS is what will hold SUNY back and will harm the schools. SUNY needs a flagship and is stupid for not doing so. We need to improve to be more ACC or SEC or Pac 10 or BigTen rather than America East, just that the elites meeting between State and Washington don't give a damn.

 

I agree whole heartly with Scrabble. SUNY is desperate for a flagship. What state doesn't have a flagship for god's sake? $3.5 billion from NYS is buying us a 'huh?' when we say 'SUNY'. I'll take Buffalo if I have to... but NY needs a presence of some sort in the big-time college world. God I wish it was Albany but hey I'm a realist.

 

Sometimes I think you and I are the only only ones on this board who see the sobering truth that NYS doesn't seem to want SUNY to be at the best of its potential and looks to be treating Albany as an afterthought, at least athletically. New York is a big time state, why not have a big time state school system? Perhaps it's the apathy of downstaters in their D-III and D-I/Non-football cocoons (Fordham, Stony, Wagner, LIU, and Columbia notwithstanding) who don't realize what people in most other states do, I mean downstate is the hub of college sports apathy with little to show outside of the success of St. John's in basketball.

 

As far as Albany has come, they still have a long way to go. Sad thing is does NYS want them to go any further or are they fine where we are now and want to arrest our development? Some food for thought...

 

It goes way beyond athletics IMO. Compared to other state systems, SUNY is way way behind. Binghamton is the #1 SUNY, yet ranked in the low 80's according to US News. Top 100, great- but when you look at the California system it's paltry. The problem is that there are too many colleges. Do we really need a Fredonia, a Plattsburg, an Oneonta, a Buffalo State, Oswego, etc etc. Sure, a case could probably be made for each, but those colleges are diverting funds away from the top performing schools and University centers. NYS either needs to close a sizeable number of campuses, or make a serious $$ commitment to transform SUNY into a true competitor to the likes of California, Michigan and Virginia.

 

New York State (especially downstate) has some of the best public secondary schools in the nation. I believe more students from New York are Intel/Westinghouse Science winners than from any other state. New York has the second highest percentage of seniors taking the SAT in the country. New York leads the nation in the percentage of high school students taking Advanced Placement tests and scoring 3 or better. Yet many if not most of these students are going to school elsewhere. Why the disconnect? SUNY is simply not enough of an attractive college experience for many. And unfortunately for us, Albany (the state government) is so defunct and so politically charged that none of the necessary changes will ever happen IMO. There are bright spots for sure, especially for UA. SEMATECH, the nano-program, and our success in athletics will definitely transform our University for the better, as long as Spitzer and NYS dont fvck it up....and we NEED a Football stadium, period.

 

On another note- Michigan falls out of the top 25. LOL

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...wsdate=9/4/2007

 

Having grown up in Ann Arbor a few blocks away from the Big House (and then moving to Albany), Saturday was a very painful day for me (34-32, App. State; 13-11, Colgate).

 

 

Over the past few years though, SUNY schools have seen a massive increase in the number of applications received. At places like Albany and Binghamton, you have the most academically talented freshman classes that the schools have ever seen coming in. For example, at Binghamton, their acceptance rate dipped below 40% putting it in the Top 5 or Top 10 of the most selective public schools in the nation. My feeling is that trend is going to continue.

[GODANESGO]

Don't let scrabble hear that optimism from you '09!! How dare you use statistical facts to back up your statements!

 

Glad to see some people are able to see the progress right in front of their eyes and are not just hustling the 'grass is always greener...' talk.

[Clickclack]

I've been largely silent on this issue partly because I feel I have something to learn from others here regarding where we are going etc. When I see progress stall at the University is when I'll join the likes of scrabble otherwise I'm damn proud of where we are headed not only in athletics but also in other areas of the University.

[scrabbleship]

I've been largely silent on this issue partly because I feel I have something to learn from others here regarding where we are going etc. When I see progress stall at the University is when I'll join the likes of scrabble otherwise I'm damn proud of where we are headed not only in athletics but also in other areas of the University.

 

I know some people will think this is out of the ordinary, but I feel that we've come a far place even in the last few years. The type of student coming in seems to be a lot different than that of even earlier this decade, the sports teams are doing very well considering their newness in D-I, and I'm proud of UA for the most part. The limbo the stadium is in due to SUNY dragging its feet/the change of governors/lack of a president/lack of someone coordinating fundraising is disconcerting though given that we've more than outgrown our current facility and the SUNY heads that gave Edward Durrell Stone his orders on design 45 years ago probably never dreamed competitive football would be played on that field.

 

A couple of weeks ago I was speaking to someone who dropped out several years ago and she never felt a connection to the school; she came only because friends of hers were and when her friends got into Stony/Hofstra/Adelphi/etc. she was out because UA was "just a school". The less of these types we have, the better it is for our future.

[UA_MA_2000]

Just an interesting note here for those interested in SUNY football:

 

The University at Buffalo football team lost to Baylor, 34-21, in front of a paid attendance of 22,676 at UB Stadium on Saturday night, despite having a season-high five turnovers (three of which were converted into 13 Baylor points).

 

from the UB Bulls Weekly Insider Release

[ATL_DANE]

Just an interesting note here for those interested in SUNY football:

 

The University at Buffalo football team lost to Baylor, 34-21, in front of a paid attendance of 22,676 at UB Stadium on Saturday night, despite having a season-high five turnovers (three of which were converted into 13 Baylor points).

 

from the UB Bulls Weekly Insider Release

 

The attendance figure doesn't surprise me.

 

I think there is enough interest in Buffalo to carry UB football. I think Albany is even more starved for something to call their own. After all, we don't have the Bills. The city of Albany may be small but the larger metro is a million or so folks. More than enough to attract 15k or more fans. There isn't anything within 100 miles of Albany. Yankees, Giants, Syracuse etc... all long drives to support other city's teams. I've heard it many times that New Yorkers don't follow college football. My view is they haven't had a chance... no local rivalries or traditions at a bigger scale... "big time" scale. Snobby private school non-scholly football doesn't count. New Yorkers pick up college football pretty fast when they move to areas that support it.

 

Build it and they will come. Trust me