USC UPSTATE MUST GO!
Whether it’s sex scandals or, um … whatever this is … the University of South Carolina-Upstate hasn’t exactly distinguished itself this year.
The Spartans’ year of distinction continued over the holiday weekend when the USC-Upstate women’s basketball team was throttled by Kentucky. Final score? 100-34. That’s right … 100-34.
“Spartans Struggle at No. 9/8 Kentucky” a press release from the school’s athletics department observed.
Um … ya think???
So to recap, taxpayers are shelling out $87.8 million this year to fund USC-Upstate, which for reasons surpassing understanding not only exists but fields a friggin’ women’s basketball team. Not only that, over the weekend we paid to send that women’s basketball team, its coaches, trainers and support staff to Lexington, Kentucky – where they played slightly better than a bunch of geriatrics in wheelchairs.
Finally, taxpayers paid some public relations flunkie-turned-aspiring-athleticrat to put out a press release describing the epic beat down as a “struggle.”
Every day this website argues for cutting government – and rebating those savings back to taxpayers. USC-Upstate’s $87.8 million budget is a prime example of what we’re talking about. In fact it’s past time that all of our government-funded institutions of higher learning pursue their destinies as private institutions.
South Carolina taxpayers simply cannot continue to subsidize failure …
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20 comments
Love Women’s Basketball.
There’s more fussin, fightin’ hair pullin’, knock downs and drag downs that a wrestling match. None of this boring men’s b-ball slam dunk, slam dunk slam dunk and nothing else. Cuz after about the 100 th slam dunk, it’s all boring. But not with the women. There we get to see the nails come out. Let the blood-letting begin.
Mighty pretentious for a man that flamed out at PC. PC!
So, let’s cut their entire budget because they have a women’s basketball team that sucks?
How much of those funds, if any, go into that team?
Now FITS, while I agree in principle, give all the facts. How much did Upstate get paid by UK to play them?
good question
I heard that it was 20 cases of “Ultra Gel”
Good point.
Plus, USC-Spartanburg playing Kentucky is like me getting in the ring with Tyson when he was in his prime – What do you expect???
We have gone over there on occasion to watch women’s volleyball from time to time and it is a good way to enjoy watching post high school sports without breaking your wallet.
And yes, I posted USC-SPARTANBURG on purpose. As a long time resident of Spartanburg, I (and lot of others) refuse to say USC-Upstate which was a marketing gimmick by the previous head of USC-Spartanburg just like that shit renaming Spartanburg TEC into Spartanburg Community College (they got together on that one)
I attended USC-Spartanburg one summer (I was attending college out of state and saved some serious money by attending summer school there) years ago and it ain’t a bad school FOR what it is… Their nursing program is pretty good (NOT as good as Greenville TEC’s which is the finest in South Carolina) as is some of their other programs.
I think it has grown too fast but again that was due to the past administration’s “smoke & mirrors” strategy – the guy was a master bullshitter.
I had a lot of friends go there back in the 70’s (as have my kids friends 4-5 yars ago) and it is a good way to save some money by sending them there for the first two years ESPECIALLY if they are going to the main campus in Columbia later (God knows who would want to stay more than 2-3 days in Columbia though – but then again, if you’ve lived your whole life in GSP, I suppose Columbia and the college party scene does have some attraction to an 18 year old)
All in all, I think branch universities are a good “bang for the buck” – especially if your kid can work part-time to help with tuition.
Worked for me (that and the “old” GI Bill when I was paying out of state tuition).
Easy on the Columbia hating there Sparkle. USC Upstate had to change its name to “USC Upstate” from USC Spartanburg because NO ONE wanted to go to school in “Spartanburg”.
I agree with you on the idea of branch universities, SC had a good system of branch campuses.
I always think it’s amusing how someone from Spartanburg would look down his nose at Columbia. LOL.
And I like Spartanburg, BTW.
One other thing………
For profit universities like Stryker “University”,Phoenix “University”, and Virginia “University” are doing shit-hot these days aren’t they?
All above are either cutting back/closing campus’ or under some sort of investigation at present.
Dayum son – If USC-Columbia would stop admitting so many dayum mouth-breathers, schools like USC-Aiken and Upstate would have more of a reason to exist. But, when 1 outta 4 of the undergrads at the state’s “flagship” institution can’t make a dayum 1090 on the SAT, how the hail are dem satellite schools supposed to compete for students.
And for you folks who took the SAT prior to 1996 (when scores were padded, um, I mean “re-normalized”), a 1090 math/verbal on today’s SAT is the equivalent of 970 on the pre-1996 SAT. Think about that, 1 out of every 4 students at our “flagship” institution can score a dayum 970 on the real SAT. I say pack dem 5,000 or so mouth breathers in Columbia up and send half to Aiken and half to Upstate.
Dont send them to Aiken we already have enough DUMBASS YANKEES
I’ve got news for y’all:
I don’t hate Columbia.
All I’m saying is as far as great cities in the US (or even the south for that matter),there ain’t much to it.
I’ve lived as a tax-paying adult in other parts of the South including the suburbs of Charlotte & Richmond,Va and have been to most of the major cities in the US on business (civilian or military) and/or pleasure (not to mention a number of cities in Europe and South America on Uncle Sugar’s dime) and I can assure you that Columbia,SC ranks REAL damn low on my list of cities I like to visit either on business or pleasure. It’s a place to pass through on the way to the coast that’s about all.
Y’all got a nice zoo but that’s about it.
So yeah, someone from Spartanburg can talk smack about Columbia. Especially if they’ve had the living experience to back it up.
Only time I’ve seen anyone have a jones to go to Columbia,SC was because they hadn’t lived anywhere else BUT Spartanburg and that was so they could get away from mommy & daddy and party at University of South Carolina.
There’s good people people in Columbia (believe it or not EVEN Fayetteville,NC has its share of good people – at least now days anyway…….)
But it ain’t the center of the universe. it’s the center of the state of South Carolina, I’ll give you that but damn……..
But then again, there goes that South Carolina pride again.
Sure wish I had thought of printing those “palm tree” decals some of y’all are fond of sticking in the back windows of your cars & trucks……….
@Colonel;
Yep, the branches priovide a good “bang for the buck”
Like I posted, especially if you’re a working adult or want to save some money by sending your kid there for a year or two before they go somewhere else especially if it’s the main campus in Columbia.
Now (IMHO) the crown jewel of South Carolina’s post high school education is the network of Technical Colleges (Greenville TEC & Trident TEC being the best of the best) in the state.
Talk about getting the best “bang for the buck” – SC’s Technical College system is among the best (if NOT the BEST) in the nation.
That is why I was so torqued when Spartanburg TEC decided to go along with USC-Spartanburg in “rebranding” themselves. It was a bunch of marketing BS and that is all there is to it.
“Spartanburg Community College” brings visions of basketweaving to your mind – don’t it??? Try transfering THOSE credits why don’t you??
A couple of legislators threatened to yank a lot of state funding away from Spartanburg TEC after the name switch and I don’t blmae them one bit for threatening to do that and they should have followed through.
I’m an alumni of Greenville TEC and went on to a state university out of state to get my 4 year degree (a lot of my G-TEC courses piplined with the BS program and some were more advanced than the 4 year program due to them being technical in nature). I had to go out of state because this fucking state did not offer a BS degree in my field of study. Damn near went broke doing it but thanks to the “old” Vietnam era GI bill I made it.
So see there, South Carolina has done something right and has something to be proud of (but it took a visionary Democrat; i.e. Fritz Hollings) to make it happen.
FITS, just for the record, the USC Upstate gym was recently renovated with private $’s that were donated by an alum. There are significant private $’s feeding the program.
All the state’s public universities should go private?
Really, Will? That’s pretty intense.
The Chancellor, his wife and the AD all go to the Final Four and it is all paid for by the university. Ask how many country club memberships are paid for by the school.
According to USA today, USC Upstate spent $6.5 million on sports last year that brought in only $600K which means $5.9 million is from the taxpayer.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2012-05-14/ncaa-college-athletics-finances-database/54955804/1
Why should $6 million of our taxpayer’s money go to underwrite sports programs that nobody goes to?
At USC Upstate, if you discuss the athletic budget, your job is at risk. Just ask about 30 former members of the athletic department that have “left” over the last 3 years. Numbers and rumors have been going around campus for years. Greenville students are disgusted at paying the $1,000 athletic fee when they are never on the Spartanburg campus.
When President Harris Pastides was speaking to the USC Upstate faculty last week, he stated that he was not president when the decision was made to elevate the focus to athletics at USC Upstate, and it could be up to 30 years before the impact of athletics could be measured.
Chancellor Tom Moore commented that all faculty could go to the school gym for free, and something about the University of Maryland having moved to Iowa. Supposedly that was humor, but there is nothing funny about students working minimum wage jobs to pay tuition where $1,000 goes to sports. Faculty and staff also find no humor in going 4 years with no raises, with hiring freezes, while watching the athletic budget triple.
Sounds like a story for 60 minutes, or fits.