In ten to fifteen double-spaced pages, answer the following questions:
a. Research MacMurray College – both athletically and institutionally. Be sure to reference the numerous news stories surrounding the closing of the school, utilize the custom data feature from the Equity in Athletics Database (EADA, https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/), and research the conference MacMurray competed in upon closure. Include a description of the history of MacMurray College, including trends in overall enrollment, number of student-athletes on campus, and sport participation
b. Detail the reasons given for closing by the university. Describe the public narrative around the closing and the extent to which the evidence supports or contradicts the narrative
c. Detail the environment in which MacMurray operated. Which athletics conference did they compete in? How did they compare to the schools in their conference? How about to the schools surrounding them? Who were they likely competing against to recruit “general” students? What about student-athletes? Which of the described categories in the case could MacMurray realistically strive to join?
d. Begin to think critically about if and how MacMurray College could have stayed open through an increased emphasis on intercollegiate athletics participation. In this portion, use the EADA database and institutional websites to research the strategies used by schools MacMurray considered competition. This could be mechanisms like adding sports, increasing roster quotas, and moving conferences or divisions.
e. Identify and analyze the emerging sports in small college athletics. In 2020, these would be sports like cheer/stunt, women’s wrestling, bowling, eSports, men’s volleyball, women’s flag football, and beach volleyball. Compare the sport offerings, participation numbers, and budgets between MacMurray and the similar schools previously identified.
f. Finally, propose a plan for how MacMurray could have attempted to use athletics to survive. Include the following: (1) Financial analysis of adding each sport using the sample spreadsheet in the case. Students should have to consider how many athletes, and at what discount rate are needed for the sport to be profitable for the university. (2) Schedule for each sport that is added. For some sports, this will be obvious and they can play against other teams in their conference. For others, this will be more complicated and involve joining other conferences or governed leagues. (3) These changes should be phased in over a three to five-year time period. Students should propose a five-year plan for viability, with the aforementioned financial checks conducted
You should have a minimum of 10 external resources.
