George Arroyo Jr

Starting this thread where I document His blessings in my life. As someone who works in college athletics, the yearly grind makes it tough to see all my blessings. Yet, they are there- everyday. I just need to pause, look and give thanks. – at Ohio, USA

While I don’t disagree with some of what was said, this just isn’t the time or place to do it. To say last year was a “fantastic season” and built an “amazing team” is simply wrong. We were terrible last season and again this season. Sure, the top executives aren’t helping, but the players need to take much of the blame. Performances on the pitch are poor and players should look at themselves before anything else. It’s the UNITED badge… that is motivation enough. He said what most United fans are thinking. Unfortunately this puts more pressure on the squad, the new players brought in this summer, and creates an even worse culture in the locker room. #MUFC

I understand the concern, but having led athletics at smaller colleges, I’ve seen how much falls on an SID: writing, photography, video, graphics, stats, historical records, website management, student workers, event setup and cleanup, and more. Hiring more staff would help, but that isn’t always financially possible. A tool like @fanword can provide support, provided the SID retains editorial judgment, verifies accuracy & preserves the student-athlete’s voice. There’s also a meaningful difference between helping an overwhelmed staff member and using “efficiency” to justify eliminating positions or reducing investment in people. If a tool gives an SID more time to build relationships with student-athletes and tell stories that might otherwise go untold, that’s worth considering. With tight budgets, we often ask one person to do the work of an entire department.

Another Christian institution facing difficult realities in higher education. Preserving Christian higher ed will require both mission conviction and operational discipline. We need strong, steward-minded leaders willing to make strategic but difficult decisions before crisis forces them instead.

How does Christian higher education fit into this conversation? It’s not immune. Declining enrollment, rising costs, and unsustainable models are real dangers across all of higher ed. This should be a wakeup call for Christian institutions as well. Difficult decisions surrounding finances, academic programs, athletics, staffing, enrollment strategy, and long-term sustainability will continue to grow. The danger for Christian institutions is either becoming purely corporate and losing mission, or refusing operational reality in the name of mission. The schools that survive will likely be the ones that hold both together well: strong mission clarity with disciplined operational leadership.