I have not posted in a long time, but I thought this might be a useful moment to do so. Zack Plyant’s recent tweet reporting that Chancellor Diermeier refused priority registration for student athletes is not correct. It is correct to say that student athletes do NOT currently have access to priority registration. And, as so many have correctly pointed out, this is bad policy and just makes no sense. Any student or group of students that has trouble getting access to the classes they need due to conflicts with University sanctioned activities should be eligible for priority registration. The current rules are a relic from prior times, and are under review. Both the Chancellor and the current AD support priority registration. Happily, we have a new Provost who is herself a tri-athlete and more open-minded on the subject. Don’t expect some big announcement, but I hope that Chris can report in the coming months that a change has happened here.
While I am typing, I wanted to also say that the Vandy United campaign is going well. A $15 million gift was finalized within the last week, and several other 8-figure opportunities are being worked. Of course, gifts of all sizes are welcome and needed, but we will never get to $300 million without a few more of the really big ones.
Works continues on the design of major facility improvements for football and basketball, and the designs also touch baseball….positively. My understanding is that these will be made public once the designs are finalized and approved. In the meantime, major renovation of basketball locker rooms have been approved and there will also be another nice surprise awaiting fans who come to basketball games this Fall/Winter.
There is clearly a lot to do, and I know many will stay skeptical until they see shovels in the ground. And, that is understandable. But, in my lifetime, I have never seen more facility work funded and on the way than now. I cannot wait for the plans to be finalized and shared with all of you and the public at large.
