Brian Ewart, bold as he is, reached out to the biggest voice at Villanova recently. And lucky as he is, Father Peter Donohue was kind enough to reply to the questions that Brian posed. It looks to me that this is pretty much all the concerns that we've been over, but it is great to hear it from the horse's mouth:
The study is covering a range of areas. It was surprising to me how many factors are actually involved and one decision naturally impacts others. There is a massive amount of information that has been compiled and it would be difficult to share it with everyone. However, I assure that it is comprehensive. Some of the areas we are examining are the following:
- On our present Strategic Plan
- On our Academic programming and the ratio of Athletic spending to Academic spending
- The positive or negative effect on the question of National exposure
- What effect it might have on our Basketball program
- The need to upgrade playing and practice Facilities
- Financial issues:
- Our endowment in comparison to many who participate in the FBS
- The increased cost of salaries and personnel
- The necessary upgrade of women’s sports due to title IX requirements
- Potential expenditures and revenues
...Again, this is really nothing new for me - we all knows the risks (of both going and staying pat), and we certainly all know the rewards of going...
...The most disappointing part for me is that this is now a spring decision...