Posted on Intermat:

Baker University to add men’s wrestling, women’s bowling
DATE: 5/7/2008 5:11:00 PM
By Steve Rottinghaus
Baker University

Men’s wrestling and women’s bowling will be added to Baker University’s athletic department starting in fall 2009, increasing the Wildcats’ total varsity sports offerings to 21, Baker athletic director Dan Harris has announced.

A head wrestling coach will be hired in fall 2008 to recruit, schedule and market the program throughout the wrestling community.

Baker will become the third four-year university in Kansas and the third school in the Heart of America Athletic Conference to offer wrestling. Fort Hays State and Newman University are the other Kansas schools with wrestling programs. Other HAAC schools with wrestling are Lindenwood and Missouri Valley.

Baker plans to hire a bowling coach in spring 2009.

Very good news for this part of the state. Good educational and athletic opportunities for kids in the eastern part of the state.
There is demand to get more 4 year programs. The state wrestling program has the supply side with the kids and high school programs well established. Go Baker!

This is awesome. I think Baker is in a great location to be a successful NAIA program. Mo Valley has built great teams off KS and OK wrestlers. Baker has the opportunity to do the same.

This most definately gives me leverage with Ottawa, seeing how OU and Baker are heated rivals and OU usually doesn't want to be outdone by Baker!!!

Who will be the coach??? Kit Harris, Eric Aiken, Luedke?

This is great news. Hopefully Ottawa, KCK Comm College and St. Mary's next.

nice!

Brilliant!!

Nice work! I know Kit Harris has been laying the ground work for that move for many years. It finally paid off, that's great.

OUTSTANDING!!!

Akin as coach? Rock on.

Sounds like a winner to me, he has the contacts, he has the credability, and he is homegrown. An East Kansas College couldn't do any better.

Coach Peterman

Akin would be a great coach for this program

Here Here to Akin, ...no doubt Eric can get a lot out of his athletes !

Eric Akin as coach, can you say instant recruiter guru

While I will say that any addition to the wrestling ranks is great news… has anybody ever priced Baker University? Baker is by far the most expensive school in the State of Kansas. I would willing to guess that even with a scholarship, it will still run close to $20,000.00 a year. This is the cost right from their web site

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
2007-2008 DIRECT COSTS

Comprehensive tuition. . . . . . . . . . ..$18,750
Matriculation Fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$80
Room and Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,150
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 24,980

I would be real curious to know what kind of monies they are willing to put on the table for the kids being an NAIA affiliate.

parkwayred,

You are correct that is expensive but I also read that more than 90% of Baker's students receive financial assistance in the form of scholarships and grants. I don't know exactly what an incoming wrestling recruit could expect but with other financial grants and scholarships it is definitely worth considering. On the same website below where you found the costs that you listed there is a link that shows what they describe as a typical financial package:

http://www.bakeru.edu/index.php?module=articles&func=display&aid=453

Sample Award Letter for Current Academic Year
Cost of tuition, fees, room, and . . . . . meals for 2007-08. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24,980

Kansas Comprehensive Grant for in-state . . . . . . . . . . Out-of State Grant for others:. . . . . . . . . . . $2,000*

Foundation Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000

Academic Leadership Scholarship . . . . . . . .1,000

Talent Participation Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000

Outside Scholarship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500

Federal Pell Grant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500**

Federal SEOG Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100***

Federal Perkins Loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000***

Federal Work Eligibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,400

Fed. Subsidized Stafford Loan . . . . . . . . . . . 3,500

Total Aid = $21,000



Additional options available to cover balance due::

Interest-free payment plan

Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS Loan)

Private educational loan - credit-based


*Ranges from $200-3000 per year; need-based

**Ranges from $400-4310 for 2007-08; need based

***Need-based and amount depends on funds available

I wouldn't say it is by and far the most expensive, it is approximately $1,000 more than Tabor which I as a homeless kid at the time attended and graduated from. My daughter attended Southwestern in Winfield, graduated, and their total costs per year are around $26,000 per year, actually more than what is listed for Baker. Bottom line she also graduated from there. The NAIA gets a bad rap because of the costs, yet there are ways for kids to attend these schools and graduate. I will also state, the quality of education, as presented by various research groups is second to none. Personally, the education offered through an NAIA school is worth the cost, and when taking advantage of the various options provided, very possible.

Parkwayred,

Thank you for supporting our efforts to add a collegiate wrestling opportunity in the state of Kansas, this has been many years of effort finally come to fruition.

As to your comments on the school's tuition, let's think logically about your statements. If it really cost that much money out of pocket for a student to attend school at Baker, don't you think their enrollment would be...zero? (or at least too small for the school to remain open). How many families could really afford that type of an annual fee for their child's college education?

The average financial aide package for a Baker University student is $18,000. That is an average, so many students earn more, while others might earn less. That package can be in a variety of formats (loans, grants, scholarships, etc.). But for most BU students, much of that is money they are not paying back as a loan after they graduate. In other words, for a large number of BU students, they are attending school for right about what they would be paying at an in-state public university. As I said before, what private school could exist if that was not the case.

Kansas is full of small private universities (Ottawa, MidAmerica Nazarene, Benedictine, Sterling, Kansas Wesleyan, Kansas Newman, Southwestern, Tabor, St. Mary's, Bethany, Bethel...and others?). They most all operate in a similar fashion. Did you research your comment: "Baker is by far the most expensive school in the State of Kansas." I have not, but I would be suprised if most all of these schools are not in the same boat in terms of financial arrangements. And again, many BU students are paying for their college education a similar amount to what they would be paying at a larger public university.

As for your question about scholarship money for wrestling, I can tell you that students will not get a large financial aid package for being a great wrestler alone. BU (like most small private universities) are able to award the true "student-athlete." The typical BU student has strong academic credentials and qualify for much financial aid (need, scholarships, dual sports, etc.). Or they are just simply wealthy enough to pay the tuition amount.

Baker, like many other schools, tries to base itself on a solid academic foundation, helping students to obtain a great, personalized education. And if a student has aspirations to also achieve great things (national championships, All-American, etc.) in the athletic arena while they are at it, the greater the financial aide package they are likely to be able to earn.

Whoever is hired as the university's first head coach will have to understand this aspect of the recruiting challenge as they build the team towards national titles....like all small college coaches do.

The school has rich history and is a quality institution, and is well worth looking into as a possible college choice for a lot of students, primarily those who want to work hard in school and on the playing field.

I just wanted to provide some helpful data to hopefully avoid any confusion to the Kansas wrestling community, I felt this was important.

The program has only been started because of years and years of work at convincing and persuading. Some people put their necks out and provided strong and bold promises that it will be successful. The program NEEDS your support to help make this happen. Please consider "joining the cause" to help this program soar. This is critical.

GO CATS!

Kit Harris
Baker University, Class of '95
Head Wrestling Coach, Baldwin High School

Kit,

Great post. There was some good information in it for all of us. I think we are all very grateful and excited about this new opportunity for Kansas wrestlers. I believe it will be supported well by the Kansas wrestling community.

Thank you for that post and for working so hard to help bring the program into existence.