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Thoughts on our Athletic Direct Hardt

UR's percentage of in-state students has generally been in the 15-17% range for at least 30 years. It dipped to 14% for the current first-year class, but not sure if that's the start of a trend, random variation, or some COVID-related effect.
I always thought it was 23% VA, 21% NY, 21% NJ, 21% PA, 14% elsewhere.
But that may have been 35 years ago...
 
Interesting to see some of the changes and lack of changes. Virginia share holding fairly steady, mid-Atlantic way down, south and international way up.

Entering class of 1989:

17.6% Virginia, 52.3% Mid-Atlantic, 10.9% New England, 9.6% South (excl. VA), 6.2% Midwest, 2.0% Southwest, 0.3% West, 1.1% International

Entering class of 2020:

14% Virginia, 31% Mid-Atlantic, 13% New England, 19% South, 6% Midwest, 5% West, 11% International

 
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I don't think UR does a great job of recruiting in state students, especially outside of the Richmond area. I'm an in state alum and I was the only one from my high school graduating class to attend UR - and only one of 2 who applied. I think for many the cost is seen as prohibitive because people aren't aware of the financial aid that UR offers. The academic standards are not an issue.

As for fan engagement, the issue is simple - just win and fans will follow. Most of the students I knew were just casual college sports fans, but if UR was making the tournament every year, I bet at least half of them would've regularly attended games instead of only showing up for VCU and top 10 opponents (2020 Dayton). Locals who aren't alums would be more invested too if the team was more successful
 
Interesting to see some of the changes and lack of changes. Virginia share holding fairly steady, mid-Atlantic way down, south and international way up.

Entering class of 1989:

17.6% Virginia, 52.3% Mid-Atlantic, 10.9% New England, 9.6% South (excl. VA), 6.2% Midwest, 2.0% Southwest, 0.3% West, 1.1% International

Entering class of 2020:

14% Virginia, 31% Mid-Atlantic, 13% New England, 19% South, 6% Midwest, 5% West, 11% International

Do you have a link to the factbook for 1982-1983?
 
UR is never going to get a ton of state kids because Virginia has a top-3 public school roster nationally. There are very high quality public colleges and universities in every corner of the state that cost a lot less than we do. Financial aid may be available but a lot of kids aren't going to go through the whole application process on the off chance they get some money.
 
I love Richmond. It is a growing city with a lot to offer in terms of amenities without the nightmare traffic and high cost of living associated with living in many metro areas.
VCU gave certain areas of the city a short lived shot in the arm, but it’s going down the toilet fast. When the stimulus money runs out, it will be a quick death. UR is a truly beautiful oasis in the area.
 
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Interesting to see some of the changes and lack of changes. Virginia share holding fairly steady, mid-Atlantic way down, south and international way up.

Entering class of 1989:

17.6% Virginia, 52.3% Mid-Atlantic, 10.9% New England, 9.6% South (excl. VA), 6.2% Midwest, 2.0% Southwest, 0.3% West, 1.1% International

Entering class of 2020:

14% Virginia, 31% Mid-Atlantic, 13% New England, 19% South, 6% Midwest, 5% West, 11% International

Anything north of Fredericksburg is considered New Jersey. 😂
 
Not sure I understand the rationale here. I think generally Richmond is a growing city with more people moving to it than away from it. High draw for food & beverage industry, particularly for tourism. Numerous large corporations that have relocated to or have large operations centers in the area. Wealth numbers going up and unemployment pretty low. I’m just curious where folks are getting their numbers from that it’s a city in decline. And if you think it’s in decline...which cities do you think are having success? Just curious the measurement points.
 
Why do you think so many people around the state and the city hate UR?
Who are these people you speak of? It seems to be a gross mis-generalization that people hate UR. In my experience, people think of UR as some quaint small liberal arts school with a decent but not elite academic reputation or more commonly, they don’t know UR at all.

I think you’re projecting a bit.
 
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VCU gave certain areas of the city a short lived shot in the arm, but it’s going down the toilet fast. When the stimulus money runs out, it will be a quick death. UR is a truly beautiful oasis in the area.
It’s a good thing you aren’t in real estate investment.
 
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Not sure I understand the rationale here. I think generally Richmond is a growing city with more people moving to it than away from it. High draw for food & beverage industry, particularly for tourism. Numerous large corporations that have relocated to or have large operations centers in the area. Wealth numbers going up and unemployment pretty low. I’m just curious where folks are getting their numbers from that it’s a city in decline. And if you think it’s in decline...which cities do you think are having success? Just curious the measurement points.

It doesn’t make sense because it’s not true. All localities across the region are growing.


 
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Ride down Monument Ave or Broad st between costco and MCV and tell me how the city of Richmond is doing. Also, watch out for the pot holes they have on every block that are never fixed. Enjoy!
 
I find most of the city of Richmond to be fine. A crazy amount of people my age are moving to Scott’s addition and seem to love it. Personally I love still living outside the city limits but being close enough to go down there if I have to. The only part of Richmond I find rough is south Richmond. That’s a pretty seedy, crime rides are a but they trying pretty hard to raise it up. The casino being put down there should help.
 
We need to stop playing JMU in football. 23-6 when is the last time we beat these guys? It seriously is like playing VCU in bball.
The last time was in 2015 when we spoiled their Game Day by 59-49. Jacobi Green scored 5 or 6 touchdowns for the Spiders!
 
Athletics raised a record $680,000 from more than 1500 donors on giving day.

I know basketball probably gave us a little boost, but people don't give money if they are not generally happy with the direction of the department.
 
I know that is a record for us - but to me that sounds kinda low - $680,000. Even after our hoops team made headlines because of the A10 title run and first round NCAA upset.

Does that sound low to anyone else?
 
It's only one day (36 hours, actually), and we've only done it for a few years.

And last year was a flop after they had to delay it because of the naming controversy.
 
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Canisius, a school that needs money far more than we do, raised $509,000 overall (not just athletics), from 1900 donors. I think we did very well.
 
I wasn’t aware that our AD was both Irish and a Links course golfer.Glad that he could give strategic pointers to our Mens team on how to handle the Irish Sea winds and fairway undulations.The pre-tax benefit for such a trip for 2 amounts to $15,000,at a minimum.

God bless America.God bless the UR endowment.God bless the SAF contributors.

 
I wasn’t aware that our AD was both Irish and a Links course golfer.Glad that he could give strategic pointers to our Mens team on how to handle the Irish Sea winds and fairway undulations.The pre-tax benefit for such a trip for 2 amounts to $15,000,at a minimum.

God bless America.God bless the UR endowment.God bless the SAF contributors.


Hardt's handicap is now up to 54
 
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VCU gave certain areas of the city a short lived shot in the arm, but it’s going down the toilet fast. When the stimulus money runs out, it will be a quick death. UR is a truly beautiful oasis in the area.
Have you been to Scott's addition recently or Manchester, both of those areas are booming. The fan/museum/Cary Street areas remain great places to live and play. Lots of building going up all around town. And yes, VCU has revitalized all of the areas that are around it. City has seen an 11% increase in population over the past decade, reversing a trend in the 70-90's of population decline. I don't see any signs of that slowing.
 
Have you been to Scott's addition recently or Manchester, both of those areas are booming. The fan/museum/Cary Street areas remain great places to live and play. Lots of building going up all around town. And yes, VCU has revitalized all of the areas that are around it. City has seen an 11% increase in population over the past decade, reversing a trend in the 70-90's of population decline. I don't see any signs of that slowing.
I agree. As much as I despise VCU from a basketball perspective, the University itself has done a lot to improve and beautify areas downtown that before were not very pleasant at any time of the day.

The one concern I think - and this is a concern for most Universities, is that many Universities and colleges seem to spend their money on new buildings, dorms, classrooms etc. A lot of capital projects with construction. BUT - the wave of the future seems to be less students coming to those buildings, or at least not coming for a full 4 years. So when does that issue arise where all these years you have been building, building and building - but then realize - we don't need all of this because students are moving to shorter programs and online learning.
 
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I agree. As much as I despise VCU from a basketball perspective, the University itself has done a lot to improve and beautify areas downtown that before were not very pleasant at any time of the day.

The one concern I think - and this is a concern for most Universities, is that many Universities and colleges seem to spend their money on new buildings, dorms, classrooms etc. A lot of capital projects with construction. BUT - the wave of the future seems to be less students coming to those buildings, or at least not coming for a full 4 years. So when does that issue arise where all these years you have been building, building and building - but then realize - we don't need all of this because students are moving to shorter programs and online learning.
If VCU spent as much time and money on building dorms instead of admin buildings and athletic facilities during their land grab, their enrollment numbers wouldn’t be in decline.

Its hard to find a cheap place to live here any longer and most those students pay their rent in student loans. Back in the day VCU used to be cool with all the quirky hipsters from the counties, with nothing better to do after graduating high school looking for street cred. Now it’s just a bunch of rich kids from Loudon/NOVA riding around downtown on their crotch rockets they bought with daddy’s money.

The irony is never lost on me when they make fun of our student body mostly being from New Jersey.
 
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