https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/wright-state-moves-to-hire-company-to-look-at-athletics/XZ5QNKRKABG6DNSYHZQNLBROVA/

Wright State moves to hire company to look at athletics

A committee looking into the future of Wright State University athletics has decided to move forward with an outside company to examine the athletics department and make recommendations.

The Wright State athletics department will now move forward with negotiations for the project, which will include surveys where alumni, community stakeholders and students will be able to have input, trustees said.

Wright State is considering three companies - MRJ Advisors, College Sports Solutions and Collegiate Sports Associates – to work with.

ExploreWright State athletics committee will hear from a trio of possible consultants

The Wright State Special Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics is considering the role of intercollegiate athletics for the university and its students. The trustees also want to understand how the pandemic has changed college sports both financially and in terms of participation.

Trustees on the committee said overall, any of the three would do a good job, but Doug Fecher, one of the trustees on the board, said he would prefer to see the board work with College Sports Solutions or MRJ Advisors.

"I think MRJ and College Sports Solutions could do this job really, really well," Fecher said. "I would probably give the slight edge to MRJ because I really liked their boutique approach that we would be their focus and I find that to be important."

At a meeting on June 1, officials said the project ranged between $30,000 and $60,000. Trustees said they had more precise and updated numbers at the meeting, but the university did not share the exact cost..

Chair of the committee Marty Grunder noted College Sports Solutions had come in at about $13,000 higher so far than any of the others, but he said, "the resumes were awesome."

ExploreWright State review of athletics comes as overall spending under scrutiny

Grunder said he also liked MRJ, noting the company had an athletics director on its committee, which the Wright State Athletics Department representatives in the meeting said was a common practice if the directors were doing the work in their off time.

Fecher said it's important to make sure the company they hire can listen and consider all sides of the issue.

"There are strong emotions on all sides of this issue," he said.

Wright State is slowly emerging from a financial crisis from a few years ago and is currently dealing with decreases in enrollment. Earlier this year, the university announced 113 faculty members would be cut due to falling enrollment.

After trustees formed the Special Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics earlier this year, the trustees who sat on the committee realized that the scope of the work they had undertaken may be too much for them to handle in the time period allotted and began to explore options to hire an outside firm.

The committee will meet again on Aug. 3 at 11 a.m., when the Wright State athletics department said they expect to have completed negotiations.

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