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2025 Visionary Plan

If you have questions or comments, or suggestions, please send an email to 2025@k-state.edu

Feedback for Theme 7: Athletics

Thematic Goal
Strengthen the interconnectivity between intercollegiate athletics and the campus community that prepares our student-athletes for success in school, in sport, and after graduation and benefits our university, community, and state.

What is missing that should be added?
What activities or outcomes are no longer needed?
General suggestions and comments

What is missing that should be added?

The University needs to take their % off the top of the Athletic donations just like they do the research contracts. If the Athletic department receives a donation the University needs it's % off the top.

What activities or outcomes are no longer needed?

None listed.

General suggestions and comments

"Enhanced integration between academics and athletics" needs more focus and improvement. Focus more on academics as we are students first.
Yep... this is the ticket.. Let's give our athletes all of the opportunities and facilities to make them world class. Wait... that has already happened!!! Do we need to build another new stadium?   Face it, athletics is the tail that wags the KSU dog...
When the athletes have better facilities than employees (at all levels) & regular students, something is amiss. I get that there's an arms race in athletics. Trying to lure 17 and 18 year olds requires new & shiny toys. I just want to be sure that all boats are rising, not just the boats for the athletes.
This makes sense, however a part of me keeps seeing athletics as a distraction form academics.
Really? Athletics is its own entity. They are and act as completely separate from the academic side. This strategic initiative is good to have but not really achievable compared to other areas that might actually be achievable.
1. Why are athletics even mentioned re: 2025? 2. One of the intermediate objectives is, "create a world class student-athlete experience." Is this language meant to be taken seriously? If so, please clarify what on the face of it looks like meaningless spin, actually means. 3.   This is most important concern: many, myself included, have come to regard collegiate sports as a form of unjust exploitation of student-athletes. Universities are in collusion with the NCAA, which is about as corrupt an organization that exists this side of the law. K-State could really get ahead of the impending collapse of the current model of exploiting student-athletes by proactively: a) challenging the NCAA, and b) making the case that reform is essential, otherwise the system will collapse under the forthcoming weight of serious opposition to the status quo.
I think there needs to be more going on with the #8 activity. I hear lots of grumbling among university employees about athletics and all their money, etc. I don't think they realize the positive impact that a strong athletic program has for the entire university. They need to know that athletic scholarship money goes right into the academic side, and that the donations to athletics means increases to the academic side. We have a self sustaining athletic program and very few schools have that. We aren't paying anything to them and we are getting a lot FROM them.