Critics Of New Hampshire Scoreboard Growing Louder

[superman7515]

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/15/critics-question-spending-librarians-donation-scoreboard


It sounds too good to be true -- a University of New Hampshire library cataloguer thriftily munched Fritos and microwave dinners and drove a 1992 Plymouth while slowly amassing a $4 million fortune, which he bequeathed to his longtime employer and alma mater.

Depending on whom you ask, though, the story ended up being too good to last. Upon his death in 2015, New Hampshire cataloger Robert Morin donated his $4 million estate to the university from which he graduated in 1963 and where he worked for nearly 50 years. News outlets (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/09/01/longtime-unh-librarian-leaves-million-school/ww2ivoRweb8wmI0zKgJepI/story.html?s_campaign=8315) across the country published glowing accounts of his donation.

But to hear some tell it, the glow has faded.

That’s because of the way New Hampshire decided to spend Morin’s gift. The university dedicated $2.5 million to an expanded, centrally located career center, it said when it announced the gift two weeks ago (http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/frugal-life-generous-gift). It put $100,000 toward the Dimond Library, where Morin worked, fulfilling the only specific spending request he attached to his donation. And with much of the remaining gift, the university wrote a controversial check.

It put $1 million toward a video scoreboard for its new $25 million football stadium.

To many, the football scoreboard seems out of sync with the life of a library employee with a reported passion for movies and books, one said to have read 1,938 books published in chronological order from the decade starting in 1930. Others have argued it is simply wasteful spending, funneling valuable unrestricted money into athletics instead of important academic pursuits.

The university has sought to bridge the gap between the image of the tweed-wearing librarian and that of the macho athletic donor by saying Morin was a football fan by the end of his life. He started watching football games on television while living in an assisted living center in the 15 months before he died, university officials said, learning the rules and names of players and teams. University officials have also pointed out that Morin specifically did not give them instructions on how to spend most of his gift, except for the $100,000 for the library, trusting them and their priorities.

But that hasn’t prevented backlash. One particularly blistering blog post (https://www.theodysseyonline.com/how-the-university-of-new-hampshire-chose-to-waste-an-alumnis-4m-gift) by New Hampshire graduate Claire Cortese -- illustrated by dollars being tossed into a toilet -- says the scoreboard spending shows the university needs to check its priorities. Cortese details what she sees as high student debt among alumni and questionable university spending in recent years on amenities such as a light-up table for a dining hall and a new logo. She goes on to argue that the $1 million for the scoreboard could have been spent on research grants, student meal plans or scholarships for students -- she points out the sum is enough to pay for four-year full-ride scholarships for 14 in-state students at New Hampshire’s quoted tuition and fee level of more than $17,000 per year.

“Ultimately, the school’s administrative decision to spend a quarter of Morin’s generous donation on a inconsequential trinket for the athletic department is a complete disgrace to the spirit and memory of Robert Morin,” Cortese wrote. “As a Wildcat, I feel deeply saddened and honestly completely ashamed of my alma mater for this.”

Some social media comments were critical as well...

[kalm]

Scoreboards are a revenue center.

[Catamount87]

I'm curious, is it a very vocal few with good connections in the press, politics and social media making a fuss or is it just about everyone in and around NH with any passing interesting in UNH making a fuss?

It looks like UNH has a pretty darn respectable endowment balance, over $300 million. So, they aren't in dire need of endowment funds like a number of other colleges and universities.

[Catsfan90]

I'm curious, is it a very vocal few with good connections in the press, politics and social media making a fuss or is it just about everyone in and around NH with any passing interesting in UNH making a fuss?

It looks like UNH has a pretty darn respectable endowment balance, over $300 million. So, they aren't in dire need of endowment funds like a number of other colleges and universities.
This is the first I'm hearing about this, I'm going to take this with a grain of salt.

Although I do see both sides of this. The university stated that the scoreboard was paid for with a donation, they never said where it came from. Upon hearing this, I see why the other side is so upset. The video board is amazing, and it ties the stadium together, but it also wasn't neccesary. We had a fairly brand new scoreboard to begin with.

But yah, its mostly blog posts i assume. I haven't even seen this on local news yet. But I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that no one knew.

[Daytripper]

The donor should have been more specific with how his money would be distributed.

[Catsfan90]

The donor should have been more specific with how his money would be distributed.

I agree with this. But the University also made it seem like this came as a last minute gift from someone who specifically wanted it used for the scoreboard. I just feel like they could've been a bit more transparent.

[PantherRob82]

After seeing the section about New Hampshire on Triumph the insult comic dog election special on Hulu, this whining does not surprise me. There seems to be a lot of entitlement in the 35 and under demographic in this country. The guy left his money to the university to do as they saw fit. As someone else mentioned it's a $1000000 scoreboard, but it's also a revenue generator. He could have easily said that the money could only be used for academic Pursuits if that was his wish.

[Mattymc727]

For those of you who dont know much about NH, it is one of the most fiscally conservative states. Starting with the motto "live free or die" not a lot of money gets tossed around for suprlative things. There is no sales or income tax, and most of the state is of the libertarian mindset.

UNH has to battle that every year. UNH gets so little amount of money from taxes for this very reason, which is why UNH has some of the highest in-state tuition. Its incredibly rare that UNH has any money to do anything, because everything thats given to it runs the bare bones of the university (Much like the state is run). It took 80 friggin years for UNH to find the money to upgrade froma a high school stadium to an FCS one, and that still caused a stirr with the aging population about "priorities". We kept hearing "If UNH keeps crying about not having any money, why are they spending it on sports blah blah blah". This man died and left his fortune to university he loved and let them decide what to do with it. The Dimond library is already very nice, and he did portion 100k to it. If UNH saw more value in a 1M dollar scoreboard (its fantastic btw), then they had every right to.

This is a classic case of internet hardos coming out of the wood work to find something to complain about.

In reality, these people should buy season tickets to help the school create more revenue, which in turn could be invested in other school activities!!!

[WrenFGun]

I say this in the nicest way possible, but **** every single one of these morons who are deciding to use this decision as the one they'll make a stink about in 2016.

[UNHFootballAlum]

This is why it took 80 years to get a new stadium built. If it were up to people such as this blogger, there would be no intercollegiate or intramural sports at UNH that are funded by the university. UNH has added and upgraded numerous academic buildings and housing over the past 15 years and no one was critical of those funds being spent as unnecessary or frivolous.

[Sycamore62]

If people were trying to identify themselves as douche bags by making a big deal about this, they could have just saved everybody the time and just announced in a press conference or twitter or facebook that they are douche bags. I dont know why they are always trying to beat around the bush

[CappinHard]

most of the state is of the libertarian mindset.

Seems like most of the state is of the librarian mindset as well. xrotatehx

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[RootinFerDukes]

It's New England. Everyone hates college sports there because it's always "a waste of money". Call it the Harvard effect.
It was not allocated for anything specifically so the university was free to use it how they wanted.
There are some at every school that will bitch about any money that touches athletics and refuse to acknowledge that it's the largest marketing arm of a university.
When we hosted college gameday, a woman alumni I'm friends with on Facebook went on some page long rant about how she starved through college some nights because her "tuition was being wasted on stupid sports parties like this". Never mind most costs are covered by ESPN, they pay the school for some costs related to hosting and that not a single one of her or anyone else's tuition dollars paid for a damn thing related to it. Fees perhaps, tuition? Nope. I had to hold back from arguing with her.

[kdinva]

It's New England. Everyone hates college sports there because it's always "a waste of money". Call it the Harvard effect.
It was not allocated for anything specifically so the university was free to use it how they wanted.
There are some at every school that will bitch about any money that touches athletics and refuse to acknowledge that it's the largest marketing arm of a university.
When we hosted college gameday, a woman alumni I'm friends with on Facebook went on some page long rant about how she starved through college some nights because her "tuition was being wasted on stupid sports parties like this". Never mind most costs are covered by ESPN, they pay the school for some costs related to hosting and that not a single one of her or anyone else's tuition dollars paid for a damn thing related to it. Fees perhaps, tuition? Nope. I had to hold back from arguing with her.

xthumbsupx xnodx xbowx

[Go Green]

It's New England. Everyone hates college sports there because it's always "a waste of money". Call it the Harvard effect.


Harvard has been pretty serious about athletics for about 10 years now. Maybe not Ohio State serious, but a lot more so than they used to be.

[UNHWildcat18]

most of the people complaining are young liberal minded fruit cakes without a thought about how schools invest for the future and how any kind of renovation will benefit generations. Instead they blabber about how 1 million dollar could pay for ten kids tuitions and 200 meal plans for x amount of time. Full blown basket cases .

[Catsfan90]

most of the people complaining are young liberal minded fruit cakes without a thought about how schools invest for the future and how any kind of renovation will benefit generations. Instead they blabber about how 1 million dollar could pay for ten kids tuitions and 200 meal plans for x amount of time. Full blown basket cases .
Yah, those are the arguments that get me "could've funded x scholarships" instead of creating more women's studies majors that nobody needs, we should invest in improvements to actually draw in revenue. I just think it was shady that they weren't very forthcoming about where the money came from. I was under the impression it came from a donor who specifically wanted it for the scoreboard.

[Terry2889]

The people who complain about these things are the same people who played magic cards in the dorm study rooms until 2 am and spent their time LARPing in college. They are an accursed race.

[Catsfan90]

The people who complain about these things are the same people who played magic cards in the dorm study rooms until 2 am and spent their time LARPing in college. They are an accursed race.
I think you meant still play.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

These people never acknowledge how much money Athletics brings in to a university. I've returned to my Alma Mater over the years since my graduation only because I've attended athletic events. Even the reunions I've attended were in conjunction with football games. Because I've stayed in touch, I've donated money. As I've gotten older and have more time on my hands, I've increased my attendance and my donations. If all goes well financially, there will be a scholarship in my name when I pass away. Without attending athletic events, especially football games (Homecoming), the university would not be in my consciousness and none of this donating would have occurred. I'm sure All the students who attend football games today will be more likely to attend as Alumni and more likely to donate in the future. I'd venture to guess that the donations from people who stayed tuned into their Alma Mater because of football will repay that $1MM many times over in the coming years.

This group of people should direct their angst at the State of New Hampshire which woefully funds the university system. NH usually spars with Alabama for 50th place for support to higher education. Out of State enrollment has gone from less than 20% when I attended to around 50% today in order to balance the budget. The NH populace has made it clear they care more about lower taxes than educating their citizens.

For the record, the new video board is amazing!! I caught myself watching the action on the board rather than the live play because the resolution was so good and the screen so large.

[Go Green]

These people never acknowledge how much money Athletics brings in to a university. I've returned to my Alma Mater over the years since my graduation only because I've attended athletic events. Even the reunions I've attended were in conjunction with football games. Because I've stayed in touch, I've donated money. As I've gotten older and have more time on my hands, I've increased my attendance and my donations. If all goes well financially, there will be a scholarship in my name when I pass away. Without attending athletic events, especially football games (Homecoming), the university would not be in my consciousness and none of this donating would have occurred. I'm sure All the students who attend football games today will be more likely to attend as Alumni and more likely to donate in the future. I'd venture to guess that the donations from people who stayed tuned into their Alma Mater because of football will repay that $1MM many times over in the coming years.
.

This pretty much summarizes the "happy bottom quarter" theory of college admissions. And its true everywhere.

On average, the students who play and/or follow athletics are going to be more active alums and give more in donations than the students who live in the library.

[ST_Lawson]

The people who complain about these things are the same people who played magic cards in the dorm study rooms until 2 am and spent their time LARPing in college. They are an accursed race.

Hey now...not all of us magic card-playing LARP-ers are against college sports.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

Wait...we had a library?

[Thumper 76]

Wait...we had a library?

See, at least $1 mill went to something everybody on campus knows exists xlolx

[MacThor]

Why would they want a quieter scoreboard?

[Terry2889]

Wait...we had a library?

Diamond is actually beautiful

[Gater]

Terry, stay on topic.

Man if you guys only had a library.

[CappinHard]

Why would they want a quieter scoreboard?

Ha, I like it. Noone laughed at my joke either. A bunch of stiffs on here.

[Bill]

This pretty much summarizes the "happy bottom quarter" theory of college admissions. And its true everywhere.

On average, the students who play and/or follow athletics are going to be more active alums and give more in donations than the students who live in the library.

Go Green, UNH_Alum -

I agree with you both points - and there is quite a bit of data to back it up. I actually did my dissertation on the topic...and the data holds from D1 all the way down to DIII!

[Daytripper]

This pretty much summarizes the "happy bottom quarter" theory of college admissions. And its true everywhere.

On average, the students who play and/or follow athletics are going to be more active alums and give more in donations than the students who live in the library.

Never thought about it quite that way but it makes perfect sense.

[Go Green]

Never thought about it quite that way but it makes perfect sense.

You can also throw in band members and staff for the student newspaper. Maybe they aren't as gung-ho alums the way the athletes are, but they are a lot more active than the kids in the library.

Of course, you need the kids in the library to promote the school's academic reputation. So there is a balance to be met.

[CenMEBlackBearFan]

This is much to do about nothing. Maine would kill to have a video scoreboard worth watching. Both our hockey and football scoreboards resolution are terrible. Good for you guys to have something worth looking at. Can't wait to go to Durham next year and sit on your old side of the field, sure beats those High School 6 rows of bench seatsxlolx

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

UNH response:

http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2016/09/16/unh-statement-decision-fund-stadium-scoreboard

[PantherRob82]

UNH response:

http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2016/09/16/unh-statement-decision-fund-stadium-scoreboard

Well stated.

[Thumper 76]

UNH response:

http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2016/09/16/unh-statement-decision-fund-stadium-scoreboard

You guys had to wait for 80 years for a renovation and still they bitch. Just shows that some people will scream whether they are justified or not.

[RootinFerDukes]

Good job by UNH to promptly put that to bed where it belongs. I'm glad to see CAA teams improve their facilities and make efforts to attract larger crowds. It will only build the CAA football brand.

[PantherRob82]

I see this is trending on Facebook.

[PantherRob82]

Why does UNH not just put out a revenue projection for scoreboard advertising?