In John Moriello's blog today, he is talking money and sports.
New York has already lost the Empire State Games as Hudson Valley said there was no way they could host the game this summer if athletes are going to be forced to play $300 each to participate and there will be cuts in some of the "smaller sports".
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association is also looking into cuts, a story that was broken on The Batavian. There is talks of regionalizing state games, eliminating the amount of games played in the regular season and post season for some sports and cutting down on the amount of champions in individual sports.
Moriello thinks that the NYSPHSAA is moving too fast:
More often, however, issues are resolved incrementally and painfully. Quick, easy fixes just do not exist.
That's where the state of New York stands today. The economic downturn has shredded the economy, and elected officials in Albany face a deficit in excess of $15 billion in next year's budget. Among the casualties is the education budget, with proposed state aid being pared back considerably from what local school districts were anticipating when they started the annual planning process in the fall.
And that has everything to do with why the executive committee of the state Public High School Athletic Association will vote on more than a dozen cost-cutting proposals at its quarterly meeting at the end of the week.
The NYSPHSAA officials are trying to be proactive in dealing with financial issues. They rightly recognize that cuts are coming in virtually all aspects of the education budget and want to take the initiative in setting priorities and finding solutions lest someone not as well informed try doing it for them. That's their right, and I would even say it's their responsibility.
Moriello also talks about the cost of teams that travel to our border states for games. It is a good read, well worth checking out.
This is an outstanding
This is an outstanding read. Not only does it "slow the roll" and try to dampen some of the hysteria, some of his comments have application beyond state level budgets and high school sports, specifically. " Some of what's being proposed can damage sports and athletes in both the short and the long term. Other measures to be voted on are, quite frankly, questions that should be decided at the local level. I fear that the executive committee will approve them for reasons having to do with style rather than substance. Simply put, the measures look more fiscally prudent than they actually are."
I agree. How would cutting
I agree. How would cutting the amount of teams in sectionals for basketball be a good move?
They charge people $4-5 for early round games. Basketball and football makes money for the NYSPHSAA.
I think they are trying to make people think they are doing something for high school sports, but it really isn't going to make an impact. Other than taking away some great non-league rivalry games.