If a proposed bill is enacted into law as written, we can kiss Louisiana post-secondary athletics as we know it goodbye.
Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, introduced HB 971, which would require all non-LSU schools whose athletic programs are not basketball or football to be confined to competing within a 375-mile radius of their institutions.
That is, unless the game is “a playoff or championship competition or an athletic competition hosted by an opposing team, and the team’s school pays all travel and associated costs on behalf of the institution.”
The merits of this bill are duly noted.
In Louisiana’s current fiscal crunch, the state needs to find innovative ways to curtail spending, but that should not come at the expense of the exact kind of people this state claims to be in the business of helping.
For many undersized universities, sending their student athletes across the country is the only way for them to advertise their institutions. They can’t afford to boast on their own anymore because their budgets are smaller than they once were.
Furthermore, some players come from small and rural communities across Louisiana. Making the roster may be their only chance to see and experience life outside of their wee homesteads.
Much of the talk in education circles today is about pushing people into STEM jobs or making sure that every waking moment spent at college ensures one is fit for the working world — the ultimate goal of attending college.
However, college is also the time and place to see and do new things. College is not just supposed to be about cramming young minds full of knowledge to be regurgitated, or to increase some company’s year-end profits down the line. Education should mean more than a paycheck.
Aside from the points mentioned above, supporters of this bill seem to have a hidden agenda that cannot be overlooked.
It is no secret that certain people both inside and outside the Capitol have been eyeing for years to close some higher-education institutions around the state.
From claims about falling graduation rates to expedited merger plans, there are some justifications for putting schools on the chopping block. These proposals never gain much traction, though, because alumni love their institutions, and state politicians love to keep them in their backyards.
However, this bill nudges the state in this direction, hoping to slip beneath the radar among the much louder calamity of budget deficits and hospital closures.
If a school can be geographically constrained from playing other teams, why can’t it be downsized into a community college? Better yet, merge it with another school and save the taxpayers money.
Principled leaders and residents can have a reasonable discussion about whether Louisiana has too many colleges and universities. But we must have that discussion in the open, and everyone, regardless of personal feelings, must be willing to listen and not just talk.
This action may be the first big chop in the right direction, but a much louder discourse on the issue is necessary.
Garrett Hines is a 21-year-old political science senior from Monroe, Louisiana.