FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 30, 2000 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 DRAKE UNIVERSITY TO RETAIN ITS FOOTBALL TEAM Drake University will maintain its Division I-AA football program, Drake President David Maxwell announced today. The future of the football team had been uncertain since early October, when the University's Administrative Program Review Steering Committee recommended to President Maxwell that the University conduct a study of whether the football program's continuation was appropriate, both in terms of the cost of the program and its impact on gender equity in the University's intercollegiate athletics programs. That recommendation was part of a campus-wide review of all of Drake's administrative and academic programs. President Maxwell said his decision to retain the program reflects the deliberations of Drake's Review and Priorities Advisory Committee (RPAC), and took into account the results of an independent consultant's study of the non-scholarship football program and its impact on the University. The RPAC discussion regarding the football program emphasized the mission of the University as well as cost and comprehensive and comparative measures of quality. President Maxwell stressed that the football program was not reviewed in isolation, but in the broader context of the University's athletic programs. He indicated that the forthcoming Program Review report will contain detailed recommendations on the athletic program as a whole, focusing on academic performance standards, recruitment, costs, and oversight and accountability. The consultant, Dr. Elizabeth Alden, submitted a detailed study that indicated that eliminating football would have a negative effect on the University's overall gender balance, student recruitment, diversity, tuition revenue, and alumni and community support. "The main issue was the cost of the football program," President Maxwell said. "The Administrative Program Review Committee asked precisely the right question: 'In the context of the University's priorities as an academic institution, is the current level of support for athletic programs from the University's operating budget appropriate?' After lengthy discussion, it was the decision of RPAC - with which I concur - that there are more productive and strategic responses to this question than the elimination of the football program." President Maxwell also said it's important to recognize that athletic programs - including the Drake Relays - have a long tradition at Drake and play an important role in how Drake defines itself as an institution. "The real issue we need to address," he added, "is how we do Division I athletics in a manner that is consistent with the mission and fiscal priorities of an academically elite institution."