It is argued that Division I-A status raises the overall profile of the
university, putting it in a category with other prestigious universities.
For example, in his Fall 2002 presidential address, President Caret
argued that most of the prestigious public universities in the nation had
Division I-A status, and that it would be better for SJSU to be compared with
these universities rather than those without Division I-A status.
It is true that many articles regarding football appear
in the local media and raise the visibility of at least one part of the
university. However, it appears
that the majority of these articles cast SJSU in a negative light rather than
a positive one. Because the
football team loses far more games than it wins[i],
most of the news about the game of football itself reinforce � rather than
combat -- the image of SJSU as a school that is struggling to compete with its
neighbors, such as Stanford and Cal, rather than a school that has achieved
parity with them.
In addition, many articles appearing in the Mercury
News about the football program (as opposed to articles about the
team�s performance on the field) portray the university in a negative light.
For example, in 2000, the SJSU football team had its most winning
season in a decade. Unfortunately,
the main focus of media attention that season was the controversy regarding
the decision not to extend the contract of Coach Dave Baldwin, which portrayed
the athletic department (and the university administration) in an unfavorable
light (Killion 2000). As another
example, when the university was considering eliminating the men�s soccer
program in 2001, a raft of negative publicity and a public outcry was the
result.
In short, we agree that Division I-A status generates
publicity about SJSU. We simply
disagree that this publicity is, on balance, beneficial.
By contrast, the academic programs at SJSU do generate positive
press about the university. For
example, in 2002, U.S. News and World Report ranked SJSU the 4th-ranked
public school in the West in the Masters Category.
It also ranked the College of Engineering as 16th in the entire
nation.[i]
President Caret is justly proud of the strides that SJSU
has made since his arrival. He
often points to 2 surveys of public opinion regarding SJSU.
In 1994, the adjectives that the public used to describe SJSU were
�good value for the money,� �under-appreciated,� �misunderstood�
and �struggling.� In 1998,
the public�s perceptions had improved, with SJSU now being described as
�good value for the money,� �under-appreciated,� �changing,� and
�offers a real-world education.�[ii]
This improvement in the public perception of SJSU happened during a
period in which the football team lost about 2/3 of all the games that it
played. Therefore, SJSU�s image
has improved despite the football program, not because of it.
To the extent that money can be shifted from athletics to strengthening
our academic programs, more such positive publicity will result.
[i] http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/univmas/umwest/univmas_w_pub_brief.php
[ii] http://www.sjsu.edu/pres/speech/ann00.html
[i] In the last 10 years, SJSU
football has had only one winning season. In 2001, the team was 3-9 (Hamm
2002b). Since 1994, the
team�s record has been 39-79, (Sabeda 2002).
Killion, Ann. (2000).
�Coach Deserves Fat Raise For Rebuilding�.
San Jose Mercury News November
7. 1d
McAllister, Sue. (2002). �Low
Turnout, High Hopes at SJ State�s First Fiesta.�
San Jose Mercury News
Sept. 29, 1B.
Sabedra, Darren (2002).
�Reunion with Coach Recalls Spartans� Past.� San
Jose Mercury News Sept.
21. 1D
San
Jose Mercury News. (2002). �Can This Sport Be Saved?�
San Jose Mercury News
Sept. 27. p. 10B.