The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

I've long speculated that X began its downward recruitment spiral because they decided to use basketball as an advertising medium to generate more public awareness and applications. X lost me when they dropped their principles to recruit good players over good people, while maintaining their air of moral superiority.

I don't know that Dayton is all that much wealthier than X, but I do know that X isn't exactly brimming with cash, and they are in a tough position.

If X were a top-notch academic institution that can command high tuition (ie Georgetown) that would be one thing. Unfortunately for them, X is merely decent. As the model for higher education changes, many schools will fail to remain competitive, and I've pondered whether X will be able to keep up.

edited to add: X's endowment is $144M, according to their website. That's fairly small. UD's is around $400M. Not exactly huge for a private institution, but a lot better.