Seriously everyone this is dumb. If the policy pisses you off that much just go. Why sit here and dwell in the past? What good does it do? I always say either fix the problem or live with it. Do not just complain and do nothing. If you do not have the power to fix it you have to get the power, live with it, or move on.
Having a sense of reasoning is not dumb. What is dumb is expecting vastly different outcome when all inputs remain the same and no hope of change in the foreseeable future. If one wants a different flavor of cake, one must change ingredients. Same goes with leadership and decision styles. Getting power is a gargantuan effort. However, the effort and expense must be worth it. I respect an individual's decision to spend their money and time to a cause; after all, no one is compelled to be a fan of MT, UT, VU, WKU, Duke, or Princeton. But, those who love MT (like myself) have life long affinity through regional geography, working relationships, graduation and matriculation, family, friends, and sense of community pride to make Murfreesboro a better place to live. I want to see MT succeed, but investments must be soundly made.
Until something really changes in leadership at Cope or Murphy Center, very little will get done towards progressing the cause and mission of Middle Tennessee State University. In 2019, we are at status quo and slipping backward. I am disappointed in our new governing Board of Trustees. Our law school fiasco is “Exhibit A”. Our membership in Conference USA is Exhibit B, and current state of athletic accountability is “Exhibit C” by virtue of rubber stamp mentality. Exhibit D is the fading influence in sports media and intermittent community engagement. At this point, what really separates us from membership in the Ohio Valley Conference? FBS Football. We can brag about 30 wins over four years. But look at our quality wins like UTEP, Charlotte, and ODU?!? Zero outright championships produced (and haven't had one since 1992). One East Division Championship produced. An impressive bowl win over Arkansas State (amounts to a Sun Belt Conference game). In basketball we're were knocked off the championship path and hopefully we will return in 2 years, maybe/maybe not? C-USA isn't getting single digit seeds or multiple teams in Tournament like the first generation of the conference with Memphis or Cincinnati. Our baseball was generally better back in OVC and Sun Belt days. Now the rest of the conference has taken a backward step now that Rice has fallen from their ranked days a few years ago. Everything else appears similar to 2005 or one could argue 1995, although our baseball field looks nicer and we finally caught up in facilities from years of desperate need. But, so has Austin Peay and Murray State made improvements over the last 25 years, so that isn't a grand accomplishment in terms of prestige as we like to think.
Using an investor mindset, I'm sad to say the current leadership cannot be trusted to run an IGA Supermarket, much less a world class university. I see why people refrain from making investments and monetary contributions and can't blame them. Character wise, our Board of Trustees may be outstanding community pillars, but I’m truly disappointed at the lack of political influence and leadership that has been demonstrated in this new governance arrangement. In the big picture, we casual fans and alumni have limited power and ours resides in the pocketbook in buying tickets, merchandise, contributions, and showing up to games. Our sphere of influence in the media or being verbose don't get much and the fear of getting left behind in the haves/have nots world of major athletics is upon us. That is what we are facing shrinking funding while the rest of the world moves onward. Maybe this 20 year FBS football project has run its course. I hope not. But, we have to confront reality of what's next: maybe it will take us to what UAB did in disbanding; maybe FCS is a better fit given our attendance of less than 10,000; maybe we are proactive and do housecleaning in Murphy Center and Cope. Hopefully investors will make the right call.
Many of us want to see MT a world class public university. I would like for us to be in the same conversation of a University of Cincinnati, Syracuse University, Kansas State University, or UCLA in many disciplines. Instead, too many who are in power have the "little middle" vision because its requires little effort and additional money and the ones on the payroll keep cashing their checks with minimal accountability to get better...why rock the boat when they are enjoying a comfortable life?
Many hands make light work, but we need many hands to make a success. And, we won't get many hands if we keep making shortsighted calls, like this Policy. This Policy does not upset me, but this could have been handled better as with many other things at the University lately.