This is unfortunate but the current model of higher education is moving toward one where the residential on-campus experience is a luxury and due to inability or unwillingness to control student housing costs, more and more students are online, satellite campus, or hybrid. This isn’t all bad, because it opens college up to people doing career reboots or caring for children. But I think it is eroding the personal connection people have to their university and willingness for alumni and communities to remain engaged. Except at the P4 level I think it is difficult to find appreciable direct revenue. So the question becomes is the strategic value worth it? For many CSU campuses the answer may be no. Sonoma State isn’t trying to be a household name on the east coast and I think increasingly people are just seeking a teaching credential, CPA license, etc. through the most economical means they can, which for many might mean limited time on campus. And I think for that type of student, once the degree is awarded, the transaction is complete and they don’t really desire alumni engagement, athletics or otherwise.

admittedly I have not been to an Aggie hoops game in a long time. I caught a few minutes of one on ESPN+ recently and it looked pretty dead with some sort of roped off area on the floor where the band and Aggie Pack overflow used to be. And as far as expensive? Nothing is expensive when it’s someone else’s money!

I liked the old configuration better too. My guess is that the new configuration better suits Campus Rec uses. Until the 2000s, the Pavilion/Rec Hall housed all functions of the ARC under its roof. They found a way to use every square foot and its size and scope were light years anything our D2 contemporaries had in the 1970s. It’s been nearly 50 years and it’s still probably one of the more capable venues in the Big West. Probably bottom third of MWC. Open question if it is worth a major renovation or if it makes more sense to fully absorb it as part of the ARC and build a new major venue in the next 10-15 years.

this is a venue I worked on designing. I drew some inspiration from the Pavilion actually, but replaced the loge seats with a flexible suite/box level, stacked a fixed upper bowl on top, and moved the concourse behind the seating. It’s about 8000 seats. Not sure if the Pavilion has the vertical clearance to rework like this. We determined in this case it was more cost effective to narrow the function of the arena and build a 100,000sf expo hall adjacent than to add more transformable elements.

Not sure what “talent pool” we are talking about… Folsom HS or Folsom State Prison? Since it they are already building the reputation of shopping for “second chance” dudes.

I agree it makes good sense for CSU campuses to have satellite locations co-located with JCs to be more accessible. My point is it seems like immature leadership to consume all the oxygen in the room on Combat U, Sac12, and the plan to attract out of state students to pay for it while hardly promoting the real work that educators are doing.

setting aside the weird stuff, they are working a sizable satellite campus in Placer County with Sierra College and are leading a research group looking at AI uses in education. Not sure why he doesn’t talk about those things more.

Katehi may have survived the pepper spray incident had she immediately emptied out UCDPD. It was the coverup. Remember the multimillion dollar consultant to scrub her personal image on Google? Aside from that, she also hired family members with reporting relationships that reeked of nepotism, moonlit on unapproved corporate boards and took kickbacks from a textbook publisher. An accomplished electrical engineer, promoted beyond her competence, who should have never been an administrator or manager.

I mean, in certain fields, if you want to be an elementary teacher, marriage therapist, or accountant, Sac State is a good school, perhaps more relevant than Davis. Social scientists can be scholars and I have every expectation that the leader of a CSU campus would be one. Not all scholars are good leaders (see Katehi) but this guy’s qualifications to lead a major university are squishy and I read his 23-point strategic plan and almost all of them are either DEI or athletics/fundraising related, with a few nonsense items like Combat U. His top priority academic plan is creating a “general studies” certificate.

his BA/MA from Sac State, PhD from Arizona State and was a professor at San Diego State. His major was Ethnic Studies and his thesis involved interviewing 28 college students where he identified themes such as focus, family, motivation, employment, attendance, and completing homework as important factors to success of minority students. I’m not saying social sciences are unimportant but come on the premise of this thesis is kind of like asking 28 people if the world is still round. How would that defense go any way other than golf clapping in an echo chamber? The Wood brothers seem like narcissistic self-promoters who thrive on suspense and drama. They have found a successful business model to peddle this, so good for them I suppose. Though it is probably more appropriate for Six Flags to tease next season’s new ride than a university president. His thin-on-specifics braggadocio reminds me of someone else. I bet I could draw him into a twitter debate on hand size.

Around 2008 a game publisher hired the Aggie Band to provide crowd noise tracks. We had a whole recording session in the Pavilion. I don’t recall the game but pretty sure it was affiliated with EA. Wonder if those tracks are still incorporated in games.

the NFL is an entertainment venture. Winning is the best and most profitable entertainment. But all other things equal, unique stories like steer wrestling make for good television.

I’m going for MSU. Time to see someone new win.

Montana State takes it over Yotes 31-17. So Cats and Bison going to the final.

While no such thing as a moral victory, we were the Cats’ only one-score win.

Oh I got it… they could hire Ron Gould! You know got them PAC12 connections.

Macon would be closer to my house but oh well. In addition to New Orleans you can also check flights into Northwest Florida Beaches airport, a smaller airport but does have Southwest. Biloxi casinos are nothing special. Depends on what you want to see in the gulf… New Orleans or the Redneck Riviera. Or just Waffle House after dark.

I don’t think age always has to be a disqualifier. Kevin Blue is about the same age and was very qualified at AD. From what I understand on the Sac forums, Wood, like Blue is more accessible than most university executives with personal replies and remembering interactions. But my take on his interviews is similar to others— car salesman. And I think he shows insecurity when he tries to argue with people on twitter who question his agenda. I think the Wood brothers are more invested in boosting themselves (which they are very good at) than the university and I think Sac State is just enjoying a ride in fast car. But like all joyrides, you eventually crash or get kicked out when the adults get home.

if the Wood brothers are 41, that places them as student body president around the time of the PAM incident, so make sure that ends up in the 60 Minutes episode.

This is like if Sac State was a contestant on a reality tv show and the producers are like we can get this guy to do anything for the camera.

better have Aggie Hosts keep an eye on our kickoff dog. Other articles from today saying he is in talks with Norfolk State. A convicted felon would be so appropriate for Sac State though.