Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/50077
2011-12 FUNDRAISING Troy: How many Cornell athletes were able to enjoy the benefits of the new financial aid matching program? Noel: Our current freshman class is the first cohort that was impacted by the program. We yielded 72 athletes who initially received a more generous financial aid package from another Ivy school or from Stanford, Duke or MIT. Troy: What was the cost in year #1 for the 72 athletes? Noel: The cost was approximately $750,000. The exact amount is being confirmed by the Office of Financial Aid. Troy: How many of these athletes would have been lost to our competition had we not been in a position to match? Noel: The exact number is very difficult to determine but I suspect that it is approximately 85% of our total. We did take the time to research the specific financial considerations in the sport of football which provided a larger sample of recruits. Coach Kent Austin attested to our finding that 23 of the 26 football program matriculants (88%) would not have been yielded without the new match (AMI) initiative. The more options a particular recruit has in terms of need-based offers and/or scholarships, the higher the likelihood that the match program will be a determining factor. Troy: This program has made quite an impact in its inaugural year. How will the difference in financial aid be funded? Noel: Two ways. First, current use dollars will be raised each year to fund the cost of the program. Dollars generated above and beyond the annual cost of the program will be placed in the Long Term Investment Pool (LTIP) managed by university staff. The principal of this fund will generate an increasingly large payout as the corpus grows. Additionally, we have received a number of large gifts that are not required to cover the first year of this financial aid program. Therefore, they may be invested with the hope that the annual payout provides an increasingly higher percentage of the annual cost of funding this crucial program. Troy: This sounds like it will be a difficult priority to accommodate once a full cohort of students - freshman through seniors – require support in a given year. Noel: Mike, you are correct. But, this initiative is absolutely required if our Cornell teams are to compete successfully within the Ivy League. I am thankful to have the opportunity to help raise the necessary funds so that our coaching staff and athletes have an equal chance to achieve excellence within the Ivy League construct. Without it, we are likely to lose our best staff and our ability to challenge for Ivy championships. Troy: Are you including the three sports that historically have enjoyed the most success in your prediction? Noel: I certainly am including men's ice hockey, wrestling and lacrosse. It would take a few more years for these teams to sink to the bottom half of the Ivy League but it would happen. Without equal financial aid during the recent past, men's hockey dropped from the top of Ivy and ECAC standings to 5th out of six teams in the Ivy League in 2011. I attribute this decline to the difference in financial aid packaging within the Ivy League. Mike Schafer just matriculated his most talented freshman class in years and is back to #1 in both the Ivy and ECAC standings. He has been a terrific coach all along. Now, because he is able to compete on more equal footing, our Big Red men are back. Troy: How have our women's ice hockey team been able to earn a berth in two consecutive Frozen Fours with a chance to return again this year without the match program? Noel: I realize that my explanation does not fit with our current success in women's ice hockey, wrestling and men's lacrosse. However, these three sports are anomalies for different reasons. Lacrosse teams have athletes that tend to be more affluent and are able to weather the financial aid storm better than nearly all sports, particularly at Cornell where such a powerful tradition has been established. We have lost "difference makers" in recruiting in recent years specifically because of the previous difference in financial aid packages within the Ivy League. Cornell Wrestling has achieved a position in which some athletes are willing to accept less generous financial aid to be part of the team. Some no-need athletes will choose to pay Cornell's significant tuition and fees for an opportunity to combine a world class teaching and research environment with a nationally prominent team. But, wrestling will decline in time without the match program. Women's ice hockey exploded onto the national scene due to a confluence of elements including a major upgrade of our women's facilities from decent to great and the leadership provided by the most effective women's coach in the NCAA. Troy: So, to summarize, you have placed a #1 priority on seeking support for the AMI – Award Match Initiative. Noel: Yes, certainly but I remind you that this effort must be considered side-by-side with our annual fund raising effort. We hope that our alumni, parents and friends will continue to support our Big Red Fund for Athletics as well as our financial aid match program. Both are critical. Troy: Thanks, Andy. Noel: Thank you, Mike, and a personal thanks for providing a significant portion of our AMI funding requirement for year #1 and for your generous annual gift. I am pleased that you recently accepted the leadership role as president of our Athletics Alumni Advisory Committee (AAAC). I look forward to working with you and the committee and hope that alumni, parents and friends help us fund these two key funding priorities. VISIT WWW.CORNELL.SKORFANSHOP.COM SPIRIT! MAGAZINE SPIRIT! MAGAZINE 7 19 PRIORITIES 2015