Newspaper Takes on Local College

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently published a commentary which recommended San Diego State University drop its football program.  The school and its president were outraged, and now the paper has published select reader responses.  Many have questioned the loyalty of the local paper, which begs the question: do major media outlets owe their local universities loyalty in their coverage?

Mark Zeigler authored a commentary that suggested San Diego State should finally drop their football program, in a December 28 article published by the U-T.  The Aztecs have not been to a bowl game since 1998, and have not won one since 1969.  The glory years of Don Coryell are long gone.  Attendance has dropped precipitously, to the point where games draw a measly 1,000 students - and tickets for students are FREE.  Alumni donations are reportedly way down.  Fees to fund athletics are being imposed on students without going to a vote first.

Zeigler goes on to write about how the sparse crowds make recruiting nearly impossible.  Averaging 17,000 fans (a generous figure) in a stadium that holds 70,000 generates echoes.  Worse, Qualcomm Stadium is a few miles from campus, further reducing students' incentive to head over to games (see: drinking) to watch a 2-10 team that has lost to D2 Cal Poly twice (at home!) in the last three seasons.

He quotes SDSU faculty who feel they have been snookered by broken promises and hypocrisy.  Zeigler also points out that cutting the football program would mean they could also cut other non-profitable women's sports that are required by NCAA rules which demand equal attention for women's and men's sports.

Zeigler's most pointed criticism of the program is a matter of accounting.  He quotes accountants who discredit the university's claim the program is a money-maker, claiming accounting tricks have been made left and right.

The UT notes that it offered SDSU President Stephen Weber the opportunity to respond in print, but could not afford him "equal space" to defend the program.  Instead, Weber responded on the school's website.  And Monday, Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel's response was printed by the UT. Reader reactions to the Zeigler's article also made the paper.

The timing of Zeigler's article was strange, indeed.  Angry alumni in the community have clamored for changes to the program, or possibly even dropping it, in recent years.  When head coach Chuck Long was fired in November, that may have been a more appropriate time to raise this question.  Why wait until December 28th, after new head coach Brady Hoke had already inked a contract?  The university dismissed it as a ploy to sell newspapers.

Ardent Aztec supporters have long accused the UT of being unfair in their coverage of the Aztecs.  Because student-athletes are unpaid, many suggest that local papers have a responsibility to be as supportive as possible of them and their programs.

The question is: did the Union Tribune cross the line?

Comments

[Joe Moag]

This whole thing reminds me of the issues, debates and uproars that surrounded Northwestern University's football program in the 70s and 80s. The student newspaper, the local big papers (the Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, etc.) were constanlty calling for NU to either cut football or get out of the Big Ten, etc...

At the time, NU held the longest losing streak in Division One...I was at the game where they snapped the streak, and literally rode the goal post from the stadium down to Lake Michigan...

NU didn't listen, and, by the mid-90s, had turned the program around. It's amazing what some winning seasons can do to squash these sorts of tempests...

[Noneya]

I graduated from SDSU in 1998 and was a big supporter of the program but the students there would much rather get drunk at the beach or in TJ than go to the games. As much as it pains me, they should drop football. If the support comes back they can bring it back but right now it's a cash suck....

[JD]

I think the media does play a HUGE part in perception. I have been to a dozen or so games at San Diego State and the attendance is pathetic. It is not even close to a high school game day atmosphere. The visiting team usually has more fans in the stands. It is beyond me how San Diego State can not be a power house in all sports considering the weather and the location. As far as the San Diego Union-Tribune goes, I think that the papers do have an obligation to support their local universities. The same problem exists in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review Journal is HORRIBLE in covering UNLV football. In fact they cover BYU football more so that the Rebels due to the large Mormon community in Las Vegas. Now, basketball is a different story as the Rebels are successful. But very few people complain about the lack of football coverage which amazes me here in Sin City. I agree with Joe, winning changes everything!