Curtis explains ISU's decision to withdraw super regional bid

Mark Fitton, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
Updated ·4 min read

Jun. 6—Indiana State University President Deborah Curtis on Tuesday evening explained to members of the Vigo County Council how the school came to the decision not to seek to host the baseball NCAA super regional this weekend.

ISU was in line to host because its men's baseball team won the regional — which the university and Terre Haute hosted last weekend at Bob Warn Field — and the Sycamores are a higher seed than their super regional opponents: the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs.

So, the Sycamores will depart for Texas on Wednesday afternoon to play the best-of-three series at TCU.

Curtis was at the council meeting to discuss ISU's request for $3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding by way of the county. Also contributing to that Early Childhood Learning Facility at the university would be the city of Terre Haute for $1 million, a READI grant at $1 million and Lily Endowment grant at $1.5 million.

County Commissioner Chris Switzer told the council the county's portion of this particular ARPA ask was larger than the city's because the city had agreed to take on the lion's share of some other projects mutually beneficial to the city and county.

Council member Aaron Loudermilk said he had some concerns about the early childhood education project, including previous bumpy county-university partnership attempts.

The councilman specifically cited the Hulman Center renovation and the downtown convention center, which at one time was to be a jointly pursued and executed endeavor. In the end, though, the university and the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board went their own ways on separated projects.

Loudermilk also wondered if the early childhood education project might not be competition for private sector childcare providers. And he pondered whether funding for such work should be viewed as a government responsibility or if it is a private sector responsibility.

He also said he had concerns about the project's viability and the university's capacity to do it, and he referenced ISU's enrollment losses and how that might play out moving forward.

Then he referred to the Indiana Special Olympics, which are coming this weekend, and the now passed-upon NCAA super regional, which would have fallen on the same weekend.

Said Loudermilk, "Quite frankly — and its probably not popular to say this — I also have concerns whether or not this can be a success when we apparently don't have the capacity to host two events this weekend here on the university property."

Curtis said the Indiana Special Olympics — now passing 50 years in its relationship with ISU and Terre Haute — will bring about 5,000 visitors, roughly 3,000 of those athletes. And some events will be using some of the same spaces and personnel the super regional would have needed.

"It was a careful decision to be made where we determined if we could not do it well, we should not do it," the university president said. "And that was why the decision was made."

Curtis said the university looked at the NCAA's expectations, including housing, while knowing it would have nearly 5,000 visitors this weekend.

"We determined we could not do it in a way that this community should be proud of, so we made that commitment," she said.

And, Curtis said, "If in the future, nope, when in the future, we are at this spot again, we will likely not have a [Missouri Valley] Conference tournament running into a regional running into a super regional at the same time to contend with."

She added she was "really proud of the work athletics did to put on two phenomenal weekends of baseball, and we will maintain our commitment to Indiana Special Olympics to give them the support they deserve."

Loudermilk said he didn't doubt the university's commitment to Indiana Special Olympics and found it commendable.

And, he added, "I don't disagree the last two weekends were great, but a lot of people in this community hoped for a third weekend."

Said Curtis, "And that would have been our preference, but we had to make a choice to do it right, and that's the way we have chosen to do it."

Curtis also expressed gratitude to the Texas Christian University community, which she said was appreciative of ISU's relationship with Indiana Special Olympics and had, as of Tuesday afternoon, raised at least $23,000 from 500 donors by donating to the Indiana organization.

Tuesday's meeting of the County Council was a sunshine, or discussion-only, session; it next meets again June 13. Tuesday's meeting is available on Vigo County's channel on YouTube.

Contact Mark Fitton at 812-231-4333 or mark.fitton@tribstar.com.