An Important Direction for Our University Tuesday, December 3, 2019, at 9:35 a.m.

Dear 杰克逊维尔大学 教师 and 工作人员:

Greetings, and welcome back to campus from the holiday break. 我希望你们都喜欢 time with family and friends.

It’s an exciting time of growth and vitality at 杰克逊维尔大学. 全球网络赌博平台不断地 examining the best ways to continue investing in our long-term future as a premier 私立大学. We’re focused on programs that support our faculty and staff, and that help our students grow, thrive and contribute on campus and after graduation – while delivering an exceptional student experience.

With that goal in mind, 杰克逊维尔大学 and our 体育运动 Department, with input from several experienced, independent consultants, conducted a data-driven evaluation of Division I intercollegiate athletics. This is an early pillar of our ongoing University-wide 战略规划工作. For more than a year, we have explored a variety of options designed to strengthen the体育运动 Department, benefit the entire University, and position us for ongoing excellence.

We set out to assist our athletes in their goals to compete, to excel, and to graduate. We know this type of investment fuels a virtuous cycle: excellence and improvement 相互依存. It helps us recruit top-quality 本校 and coaches, which allows us to compete at the next level. And our athletes are frequently among our top-performing students and, later, committed and engaged young professionals.

The virtuous cycle supports our mission to enhance the student experience, and recruit, develop and graduate engaged global citizens who are job-ready. 这种投资 requires detailed analysis, realistic planning and – occasionally – difficult decisions to help drive us forward to sustainable excellence.

After careful thought and thorough analysis, I am announcing 今天 that Jacksonville University will no longer play football, effective immediately.

This was a difficult and complicated decision. Our football 本校 and coaches are talented, tenacious and hard working. 全球网络赌博平台非常尊重他们. 通过全球网络赌博平台的评估， we determined football is not a long-term strategic fit for 杰克逊维尔大学: the enormous (and increasing) resources required to fully support the program outweigh the benefits to theoverall 体育运动 Department and to the University as a whole. Reinvesting these resources into our other programs and across our University helps us improve the experience for all 4,000+ students -- including our 450 Division I 本校.

Let me be clear: our commitment to each football player and coach continues well beyond 今天. They are friends, classmates and colleagues. They are all an important part 海豚家族的成员. We understand some of these 本校 will look for opportunities to play football at other schools. We respect that decision and will support them in that process. If our football students-athletes choose to stay at 杰克逊维尔大学, as we hope they do, we will support them with full tuition scholarships until they graduate. Additionally, we will honor theemployment agreements of our head football coach and each of his assistants, and we are offering them enhanced resources to assist in their job search.

Attached to this email are answers to frequently asked questions to assist you in addressing some of the questions that may arise in your important role as a campus 领袖. We also have assembled a talented team of experts from key areas of the University to immediately assist impacted students. I know you’ll join me in offering support and encouragement to our football 本校 and coaches in the days and weeks ahead as they pursue the next steps in their academic, athletic and professional careers.

I thank you for your continued support and hard work as we dedicate ourselves to excellence.

真诚地,

蒂姆成本
总统
杰克逊维尔大学
1981届毕业生