The importance of non-athlete student participation in the athletics prgram My point earlier was that sports aren't the only outlet to drive school spirit (and down the road bring in donations) and enthusiasm around the school. How much did we spend on the Mondavi Center for the Arts? How many of us have been to a performance?
I wear my UC Davis College of Engineering pullover very proudly. That's what makes me proud to be an Aggie, not the results of our athletic programs. I went to a lot of football games in college since we had a bunch of guys in our fraternity on the team (and other sports, too). But, do you think I could drag any of my old friends or my family to a game against Dixie St., or pretty much anybody else on our schedule besides Stanford or Cal? Nope. I'll always cheer for the Davis athletic teams, but not because they are winning. What makes me passionate about our sports programs is that they draw true student athletes. I love hearing a player's position, followed by their major. To me, that's what makes Davis so great; that we attract really smart kids. That some of them can also compete at a high level in sports is pretty awesome.
Anyway, just my two cents. I don't have any understanding of the athletic program's budget, and how that impacts the school. Riverside, Irvine, Modesto, San Diego, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara all don't have football teams. Are they failing universities? Probably not. Do Davis, Cal and UCLA attract more students because of football and other sports? I'd argue that Cal and UCLA probably do, but I don't think it applies to Davis. As agalum said in the other thread, "Bob Dunning seems to think poor student attendance is the result of being FCS," and I'd agree with that statement.
For me and the friends that I have that are sending their kids to Davis right now, it has little to nothing to do with the athletics program, and most of them might only go to one football game in their 4-5 years. But, that it's an option is awesome. Just like so many other activities in college. I just think the sports programs have very little to do with attracting the majority of students that apply to Davis. But I'm glad the athletic program exists so that kids who do want to continue playing sports have the option.
Long story short, Go Ags, and looking forward to crushing Dixie St. Saturday night!