The Role of the Athletic Department in the Business of the University: How Lindenwood Utilizes This Strategy
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Start Date
24-4-2025 12:00 AM
Description
When Lindenwood almost shut its doors in 1988, Dennis Spellmann was brought in and transformed the entire ecosystem of Lindenwood. He boosted enrollment, introduced numerous athletics teams, aggressively grew the footprint of the campus, as well as other factors to bring Lindenwood out of its financial hardships. This mindset would stay with the university long after Spellmann as Lindenwood continued to make athletics a priority. Historiography from other scholars such as Murray Sperber and Jaroslav Pelikan look to back this claim up, as well as resources from the Mary E. Ambler Archives. Most scholarship has focused on how larger universities, both public and private, have used athletics in a business sense. But in doing so, the scholarship overlooks the smaller-school population that Lindenwood University falls into, and this paper looks to expand on that category. This paper examines Lindenwood University as a case study of the relationship between academics, athletics, and fiscal policy at a midwestern liberal arts university. In doing so, it shows that changing policies generated debates on campus about the mission of the university, the role of athletics, and the future of academics amidst change.
Recommended Citation
Withinton, Adam, "The Role of the Athletic Department in the Business of the University: How Lindenwood Utilizes This Strategy" (2025). 2025 Student Academic Showcase. 2.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/src_2025/Oral_Presentations/oral_presentations/2
The Role of the Athletic Department in the Business of the University: How Lindenwood Utilizes This Strategy
When Lindenwood almost shut its doors in 1988, Dennis Spellmann was brought in and transformed the entire ecosystem of Lindenwood. He boosted enrollment, introduced numerous athletics teams, aggressively grew the footprint of the campus, as well as other factors to bring Lindenwood out of its financial hardships. This mindset would stay with the university long after Spellmann as Lindenwood continued to make athletics a priority. Historiography from other scholars such as Murray Sperber and Jaroslav Pelikan look to back this claim up, as well as resources from the Mary E. Ambler Archives. Most scholarship has focused on how larger universities, both public and private, have used athletics in a business sense. But in doing so, the scholarship overlooks the smaller-school population that Lindenwood University falls into, and this paper looks to expand on that category. This paper examines Lindenwood University as a case study of the relationship between academics, athletics, and fiscal policy at a midwestern liberal arts university. In doing so, it shows that changing policies generated debates on campus about the mission of the university, the role of athletics, and the future of academics amidst change.