Lindenwood U. pool program shutting down

[Geosnooker]

I played Snooker throughout high school and university. We organized games ourselves.

Why is this a formal program to begin with? I’m not American and don’t always get the connection between activities and a college. In my country university students are adults...not children. Other 18 year olds In society work, play billiards, take dance lessons, go hunting, get a drivers license, etc. They don’t do it as some formal college activity.

 

[couldnthinkof01]

I played Snooker throughout high school and university. We organized games ourselves.

Why is this a formal program to begin with? I’m not American and don’t always get the connection between activities and a college. In my country university students are adults...not children. Other 18 year olds In society work, play billiards, take dance lessons, go hunting, get a drivers license, etc. They don’t do it as some formal college activity.

Most are adults. High schools have programs where
kids can earn college credits by going to a smaller
community colleges and high school simultaneously.


As far as activities and school, when you get a four
year degree you are made to take electives that are
classes that have absolutely nothing to do with
your degree. I think they make you take them to
broaden your horizons or some such thing.
Sports or activities can count for these.

Sports (big sports like basketball and football)
bring in huge money for universities. So they offer
free or subsidized education for many of those
players.

 

[Black-Balled]

I played Snooker throughout high school and university. We organized games ourselves.

Why is this a formal program to begin with? I’m not American and don’t always get the connection between activities and a college. In my country university students are adults...not children. Other 18 year olds In society work, play billiards, take dance lessons, go hunting, get a drivers license, etc. They don’t do it as some formal college activity.

It certainly isnt a primary need for the students, but certainly there is a benefit it provides to them.

It is understandable that such an extracurricular activity would be early on the cut list that would result from financial tightening.

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1855/College-Extracurricular-Activities.html
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, many colleges and universities have a broad educational mission: to develop the "whole student." On college campuses, extracurricular involvement is a key tool in this personal development. For the majority of college and university students, involvement in extracurricular activities plays an integral role in the collegiate experience. Students become involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills. A wide and diversified range of extracurricular activities exists on U.S. campuses, meeting a variety of student interests.

 

[Saturated Fats]

Lindenwood University has decided to shut down Mark Wilson's billiard training program there. This is really hard to understand considering how successful the program was -- six straight national titles in both men's and women's divisions.

I don't know how this program worked. Who did they play and what is happening with their opponents' programs?

 

[SFC9ball]

I don't know how this program worked. Who did they play and what is happening with their opponents' programs?

They played other colleges like SIUE, Missouri S&T, Indiana, Purdue, Miliken, Wisconsin, Wisconsin White Water and a few others.

SIUE and Missouri S&T's programs are still going, they are not a school program they are student led. I coach Missouri S&T and I can tell you that starting the program, scheduling plus all of the other road blocks we ran into the first year was daunting.

 

[dnixon]

Wow that’s A shame.

 

[Geosnooker]

They played other colleges like SIUE, Missouri S&T, Indiana, Purdue, Miliken, Wisconsin, Wisconsin White Water and a few others.

SIUE and Missouri S&T's programs are still going, they are not a school program they are student led. I coach Missouri S&T and I can tell you that starting the program, scheduling plus all of the other road blocks we ran into the first year was daunting.

The way it should be. Good experience for all. These are not children but adults.

 

[Bob Jewett]

The way it should be. Good experience for all. These are not children but adults.

I'm not sure I understand this comment. Why is it good for the school bureaucracy to oppose a student recreational/competitive activity? Should they do the same for football and basketball? Well, maybe they should.

It used to be that Student Unions at many schools provided students with benefits, such as a place to play pool or table tennis or have a pottery class. That seems to have gone away with a new attitude of "if it doesn't make the bureaucracy some money, to hell with it."

 

[lakeman77]

Mark is a great guy. He's done more for college billiards than anybody on the planet. Thank you!!!!
Ticket revenues to watch the tournaments small at best.
Most student players on scholarships.
Bottom line thing. Unfortunate.

 

[Scott Lee]

Bob...A ton of those Union game rooms were transposed into computer labs many years ago. It's fairly rare to see a college or university with a great gameroom these days. U of M (Ann Arbor MI) closed their gameroom that had operated continuously for over a century...and they did NOTHING positive with the space!

Mark Wilson's program at Lindenwood represented the best of the best in student collegiate billiards anywhere in the world, and it's a damn shame it's being shut down because of bureaucracy.

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National School Tour

I'm not sure I understand this comment. Why is it good for the school bureaucracy to oppose a student recreational/competitive activity? Should they do the same for football and basketball? Well, maybe they should.

It used to be that Student Unions at many schools provided students with benefits, such as a place to play pool or table tennis or have a pottery class. That seems to have gone away with a new attitude of "if it doesn't make the bureaucracy some money, to hell with it."

 

[Island Drive]

Marks gotta be 71 now. Time eventually has it's say in life. He's accomplished allot. Enjoy your later yrs young man. :thumbup:

 

[Joe_Jaguar]

Sad news in a long article in this month's Billiards Digest.

Lindenwood University has decided to shut down Mark Wilson's billiard training program there. This is really hard to understand considering how successful the program was -- six straight national titles in both men's and women's divisions.

Lindenwood declined to comment for the article.

It appears from comments made in the article that the school was not seeing enough financial return from the program. The scholarships that the top players got evidently were only about 10% of the annual fees of about $30,000.

This seems to have been a while coming as the funding for the program had already been considerably reduced.

The way they went on and on about it sure made it sound like more than 10% :speechless: