@cabbagedad posted:Francis, have you read the news the last eight months?
Colleges across the country (and beyond) are taking a huge hit with Covid. Pressure to reduce tuition due to less in-person classes, further lack of differentiation from competitors, diminished "experience" for students, added costs to implement Covid guidelines, related issues and concerns with employees, inability to roll out sports and other extracurricular programs and on and on.
I don't think there is any university in the country that isn't feeling the financial pain and looking to evaluate how to address the shortcomings. There will be casualties. Some colleges and universities will close all together. Some will drop some sports programs (and/or other extracurriculars). Some schools will look further out than just the next few months, knowing they will have to have answers for their nervous board members. Some are more financially set to weather the storm more than others. Many were in tenuous positions before Covid.
An added element to the recruiting process will now be evaluation of the financial viability of the college as well as analysis of the likelihood of continuation of the sport one participates in. You will hate this part - it won't be easy to determine and even if you do thorough research, there will be surprises.
Occidental in the SCIAC just dropped their football program yesterday. Not entirely surprising as the football program there was having issues as it was. Supposedly no other varsity sports will be effected.