Fug, I respectfully disagree. I took some PE at Davis (golf- basically driving balls on the IM field)and archery (best way to meet the girls!). The instructors were for the most part just going thru the motions. Very little gained- except for the gals!. Daughter went to UCD as well and had the same experience. She took bowling to meet the guys. In those days there was no ARC and no real campus recreation program except for IM teams (which I loved). Now it is completely different and if we have to have some budget cuts to endure then let it be here and not with ICA sports or campus recreation. If the state legislature has the time and interest to weigh in on UCD’s PE program we are all in big trouble!

I’m sure mileage varies. In my time, PE classes were no pickup spot. The eye candy was at the ARC and PE classes were more nearly the awkward kids who didn’t know which end of the racket to hold. Several of my friends took squash with Bob Biggs and said it was the most profound class they took. But I’m sure some instructors phoned it in and I’m not really trying to make the case for PE so much as criticize the decision process. A transparent policy process exists to cut programs and the admin disregarded it (and said this cut was planned before the pandemic). My issue is they expect students, faculty, alumni, and visitors to respect every policy to a tee, but then they ignore it themselves when convenient and even try to obscure who in particular is making said decisions. And since UCD charges by quarter, not per unit, a 0.5 unit PE class is basically included as a free offering, where it will now be an up-charge through Campus Rec. One more step in the long walk of lowering value for each tuition dollar paid. In my view, a public university is owned by the taxpayers and tuition payers, and the admin are simply the hired help to serve at our pleasure. Somehow they have gotten the mistaken idea that the university is a corporation for their private benefit and that the collective public is something between a customer and indentured servant obliged to offer them tribute for whatever services they see fit. If the Coffee House has to hold public comment sessions when deciding to switch from fresh to packaged guacamole (yes, a real thing), certainly more important issues deserve transparency of process in broad daylight without the decision makers hiding behind a cloak of anonymity. While I agree that the legislature shouldn’t be concerned about one squash class, I think they should be concerned about the broader narrative of the admin sitting on back room decisions and then moving to implement without warning so as to avoid organized opposition.

Why done in the dark shadows?

No transparency, breaking established processes. Who drove this one-off decision?

I took a weightlifting class with Mike Moroski. I didn't even know he was a football assistant. He made no mention of it or his NFL career. I remember it being a very hands-off experience. He would sometimes talk briefly at the beginning of class, but we were mostly left to our own exercises.

But they had a walking class back then. Thought that sounded like a waste. It would be one thing if it were a class for people rehabilitating from serious injury, but you'd usually see a physical therapist for that. Just walking for exercise, no. Walk around the campus or to class from your apartment.

Large article in the Davis Enterprise.

"...In recent years, between 7,000-8,000 UCD students (nearly 20 percent of the undergraduate population) have enrolled in about 200 PE classes held annually..."

A rich history

"...During the late 1950s, PE professor Dean Ryan contributed to the nationwide explosion of sports psychology through his studies on the psychological aspects of performance....

"While internal figures from PE department classes in recent years paint a contrasting picture, also indicated among reasons for the program’s elimination was a “steadily declining enrollment in PE over the years.”

"The statement likely came as a shock to PE program director Barbara Jahn who earlier this year had pointed out that lecturers leaving or retiring from the program were not being replaced, even while campus enrollment swelled and classes remained popular.

“Just because other schools might not offer academic credit for fitness classes, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t,” Jahn had said. “We’ve always been different and that’s part of what’s always made UC Davis stand out.” ...

"When Vanderhoef defied its recommendation the Senate reconvened, later deciding to require that the eight principles of ‘The Davis Way” — the college’s commitment to historical values — be included in the administration’s filing to the NCAA to describe how UCD would run its intercollegiate-athletics program.

"Among those principles, on which the athletic department based its mission, the eighth and final foundational guideline included that “the athletics department at UC Davis must maintain a formal connection to the mission of the university, including preserving the current teacher/coach role.”

"Moreover, in a letter to the campus community following his decision, Vanderhoef noted the leap to Division I was “not about the coaches, the Intercollegiate Athletics administration, or Student Affairs suddenly being gripped with aspirations for “big time” athletics.

“Nor is it about “entertainment” or “business,” the chancellor went on. “Rather, we are seeking, in an evolving landscape, firm ground upon which to continue and enhance a program that is centered around the student-athlete and the teacher-coach. Our program is an uncommon model of intercollegiate sports (and) our plans to preserve it are similarly uncommon.” "

https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/uc-davis-to-discontinue-100-plus-year-old-physical-education-program/

Interestingly, the “declining enrollment” period coincided with major construction at the ARC, pools, and bowling alley. I bet sections were cancelled due to facility availability rather than lack of real demand.

On the subject of generational differences, daughter just texted me this: what the hell dad is wrong with you? going to a PE class to meet up with people is a very good college experience. You are so lame.. well. Maybe I am just that. Or did I get it in that dumb PE class? Great subject to discuss. I would invite the state legislature and Governor to come to the ACR and do some active workouts. You know, work off some of those French Laundry calories you put on. . . .

The Davis Enterprise did a 3-part series on PE Department recently.

Apparently women's Coach Jahn (?) said as older teachers / coaches retired, they didn't replace them. She said new classes would fill immediately, and seemed to imply there was a big unmet need.

I took "Exercise Walking" my first quarter at Davis. While I still can't believe it was an actual class, it was a nice way to see parts of West Campus (pre-development) and learn the area. Coach Zalesky was great and you could tell he enjoyed walking and talking with us. Great guy. I'm not sure if he's still at Cal Baptist or not.

I also took Bowling with Nunes. I hated my Racquetball course though. I don't remember which coach taught that (this was around 10 years ago). I bought a fancy set at the ARC for the class and hated the sport and I thought the coaching was boring. I think I stopped attending after the first month and had a NP. I gave the equipment to a friend who used it often.

Anyway, PE should be kept, but they can't force the coaches to teach it. That said, most coaches may enjoy teaching a sport they like in their free time (and additional money in an expensive area helps).

Apparently the coaches won’t lose any pay even though they won’t be teaching classes anymore. Thus the students are angry since they’re still paying for ICA (in their fees), but won’t be getting the classes offered they used to. I agree exercise walking sounds stupid. But to take a tennis class or a basketball course from a college coach sounds like a unique opportunity.

I took squash from a Basketball Coach when I was an undergraduate. As soon as I started scoring on him he wooped on me. He took it up several notches. I think his last name was Clink.

He’d say “if a racquetball hits your eye, you’ll get a black eye. If a squash ball hits your eye, you’ll lose your eye. Wear you goggles”.

I think an exercise walking class's merit would really be in getting otherwise lazy first year students to start working off the freshman 15 they got from the DC. Mainly getting you started so you think about more aggressive exercise. That's not without its place I suppose. Students can get lazy if they live on campus and bike to class. What health benefit are you really getting out of a five minute bike ride ?

Wasn't Zalesky the wrestling coach ?

If the issue was that assistant coaches didn’t want to teach a couple PE classes anymore, I would question whether their commitment is to teaching their craft or personal prestige, in the same way I take issue with professors who feel teaching undergraduate classes is below them. Exercise walking would be a silly class for someone who’s already works out but I can tell you places like the ARC can be intimidating and unapproachable for someone new to fitness. There’s also value in being well rounded, taking unusual classes unrelated to your major, that I think the bean counters lose sight of.

If I were a student, I'd be disappointed. My flag football class with Mark Johnson was just about the highlight of senior year.

This is a weird move from a purely philosophical side of things to me, because just a few years ago the university was really buying in to the "provide services that create well-rounded students" strategy. Although at the same time, there was also a push to make it more data-driven, which makes me wonder if the "numbers" (GPA and retention outcomes) didn't look that good for PE classes somehow.

I'd further speculate that the school may have been aware of and even concerned about the fact that some PE classes were so competitive that all spots would be grabbed on the first day of registration by honors students, RAs, seniors, etc. (Or even exchanged or sold.) But that's a university-wide problem, not a funding problem IMO.

My speculation might be that they want to get rid of classes seen as tangential to core academics so they can maybe push people out the door a quarter sooner since that plays into rankings. I also wouldn't be surprised if there was some level of lobbying from Campus Rec to transition PE to paid recreation. They did a major renovation on the ARC from 2017-19 and I might guess increasing class revenue was part of the performa.

You other point about priority registration is well taken as a campus-wide problem. There are some classes you won't be able to take until your last quarter or maybe never at all if you are not part of a "priority" group. Definitely a supply and demand mismatch for a lot of courses. For all the talk of data, I think there are still a lot of non-data points that go into course offering. Plenty of professors declare they will only teach specific quarters, at specific times, or in specific rooms. I experienced dumb things like room changes because a professor didn't like the light switches in a particular lecture hall, with little concern given that the change impacted the capacity of that and other classes.

Are you implying a half-unit PE class slows down graduation? Not clear.

I'd think violating the 8 Core Principles of Aggie athletics would be key, the teacher / coach model. Maybe w FB & BB HCs not currently teaching a class (?) started the slide. Our poor health as a nation, along w being well rounded, should be considered. At 40,000 or more students, we should be adding PE classes.

I can see the win-win money issue. Campus Rec gets more $$ and power, and the Chancellor gets some funding for possible new majors.

Does ROTC tie in?

Personally, no I don’t think PE or other “fun” classes like tractor driving impede academic progress, and I do believe they have intrinsic value as part of the university experience. What I was getting at is that US News and WSJ type rankings include elements of “cost efficiency” in their algorithms and shaving a few units here or there to possibly get a few people out in 3.75 years may manipulate that a fraction of a point. Personally, I think requiring multiple classes in chemistry, calculus, and foreign language for majors with no practical application is a much bigger waste of time than anything else.

Looking ahead I'm thinking this may be the first step toward sports actually being cut. I thought we were looking at maybe 1 women's and 1 or 2 men's programs; however, it could go deeper than that-especially if other conference schools also do so. I was focused on baseball and field hockey, but we could start seeing some unexpected ones.

My thinking is that, in the "real world" when your employer starts taking resposibilities away from you without giving you any replacements it is often a sign of upcoming pay cuts and/or layoffs.

65% of our ICA funding still comes from student fees. Right?

Doesn't this PE elimination violate the student fee agreement? It also seems to violate our carefully crafted 8 core principles. We likely miss the leadership & connections of Sochor, Singleton, Gill Fischer, Will Lotter, & others.

I agree, cutting funding and positions isn't a good sign. I think there were many positives, including chemistry majors interacting with sociology majors... often cross cultural. Don't forget social dance.

I think that square dancing was a PE class back in the day.

Wasn't Zalesky the wrestling coach ? — Goags20172

He sure was. He and Derek Moore (2007 national champion) teamed up and coach down at Cal Baptist now, and appear to be developing a pretty solid program.

I thought it was a greater percentage that came from student fees. I suppose that whether or not it is a violation really depends on what the written explanation of the fees actually is. The University of California no doubt has to have it in print (and accessible to the public) an itemized accounting of what specifically the student fees are used to fund, as well as supporting documentation supporting the allocations, not just a vague summary on websites. In other words they're accountable to the taxpayers. If their justification for any parts of the fee involves funding programs for the physical well-being of students then there is a big problem here.

We all like our favorite sports teams, but if keeping them afloat has to come through the students getting the shaft I'd just as soon have all sports canceelled at UCD.

Exercise walking aside, the merit of these courses is teaching students to be safe. That was the main benefit of the weight-lifting courses-I recall Moroski didn't really lecture- but he did but he did spend the majority of the class walking around making sure everyone was being safe. Weightlifting at the ARC should require enrollment in a free course.

agree on introductory ARC classes. Outside of classes, I remember it as a meat market with coeds on the ellipticals making sure everyone saw their midriffs and bros on the weight racks making sure everyone heard them grunting and slamming weights, not necessarily safely. And if you had a question, the ARC staff would disappear faster than a Home Depot employee.

Are the ways in which student fees are spent locked in or are they more advisory in nature? I know with donations there is always fine print that the chancellor can reallocate to other uses without your consent if they wish (and occasionally they do).