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Boxing News: Lomachenko edges Ortiz » July 27, 2023 – Fight News
Unbeaten lightweight Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz (16-1-1, 8 KOs) nearly spoiled the long-awaited ring return of former three-division world champion Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday night before a crowd of 4,586 inside the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ortiz gave 25:1 favorite Loma all kinds of early problems with his speed and mobility. The former champ quickly had noticable bruising under his right eye. After six rounds, Ortiz was up by two points on one card and the other two were even. However, after that two of the judges had Lomachenko sweeping the final six rounds and all three had Loma pulling away to win 115-113, 116-112, 117-111.
“I’m happy. I’m happy to come back in the ring and make this a great show. Thank you to my fans for the support,” commented Lomachenko afterward. “You know what motivated me? Four belts! …look, I’m ready. I’m ready for any option.”
Undisputedlightweight champion Devin Haney was in attendance. “I think it wasn’t the best performance,” said Haney, “but I know if me and Loma were to fight, we’d see a better version on the night. Congratulations, and hopefully we can get it on.”
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum stated, “The fight to make in the lightweight division is Haney versus Lomachenko, and we will do everything we can to make the undisputed championship showdown that all fight fans want to see. They are the world’s premier lightweights, and it would be a fantastic battle.”
In the co-feature, WBO #3 featherweight Robeisy Ramirez (11-1, 7 KOs), a two-tome Olympic gold medalist), stopped late sub Jose Matias Romero (26-3, 9 KOs) in round nine. Ramirez dropped Romero in round one, then cruised for seven workmanlike rounds before wobbling Romero and getting a referee’s stoppage in round nine. Time was 2:20. Ramirez may now face #1 Isaac Dogboe for the WBO belt when current champion Emanuel Navarrete moves up to 130.
Unbeaten 2020 Olympian super heavyweight silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs) scored a third round KO against Ahmed Hefny (13-3, 5 KOs). Torrez dropped Hefny in both rounds one and two, then got the stoppage after another knockdown in round three. Time was 2:32.
Unbeaten 2020 Olympic silver medalist Duke Ragan (8-0, 1 KO) took an eight round unanimous decision against Luis Lebron (18-5-1, 11 KOs) in a jr welterweight bout. Regan survived getting buzzed in round seven to win by scores of 77-75, 78-74, 79-73.
Unbeaten middleweight Nico Ali Walsh (7-0, 5 KOs), grandson of all-time great Muhammad Ali, had to work harder than expected to take a six round unanimous decision over unheralded Billy Wagner (5-3, 1 KO). Scores were 58-56, 58-56, 59-55.
Unbeaten 2020 Olympian jr welterweight Tiger Johnson (6-0, 4 KOs) went six against Esteban Garcia (15-2, 7 KOs). Scores were 60-54 3x for Tiger.
Unbeaten 2020 Olympian middleweight Troy Isley (8-0, 4 KOs) defeated Quincy Lavallais (14-4-1, 9 KOs) over eight rounds by scores of 79-73, 80-72, 80-72.
Unbeaten lightweight blue-chipper Abdullah Mason (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Angel Barrera (4-1, 0 KOs). Mason dropped Barrera twice in round three and got a referee’s stoppage at :21 of round four.
Unbeaten jr lightweight Haven Brady Jr (8-0, 4 KOs) outscored Eric Mondragon (7-1-1, 4 KOs) over eight round by scores of 78-74, 79-73, 79-73.
Don’t think I’ve EVER seen a referee who was THAT strict when it came to clinches. Hefny tried to hold a few times when he was in trouble, and Mercante gave an immediate warning, then another, the a deduction. Just couldn’t wait to penalize the guy. I thought tying up in that situation was part of the game and that Hefny was doing the right thing. Kinda prefer the ref to just fade into the background once the fight starts. Mercante made himself the star of the damn show.
Agree. Mercante is a fool. He always thinks too much of himself during the matches.
Lima has only had 19 fights this being number 19 and he over the hill already? He’s not over the hill, he’s just fighting better fighters. Teo exposed his weaknesses. Lima is still the same guy, it’s just that he is facing better fighters.
Loma was past it when he turned pro. I followed a lot of his amateur career and his best stuff was there. Period.
Lomachenko started his career late because of his close to 400 fights as an amateur. All those training sessions and sparring throughout your career will take a toll on you no matter how talented. He’s 34 years old, which under natural circumstances, is the beginning of the end for most fighters. Plus he has not fought in well over a year and is going at it in at a higher weight.
Wow you know your boxing lol ! Loma is one of the best amateur/pro boxer ever and you are a fool to make such a statement.
He’s almost 35 and fighting guys bigger than him. The fact he has only 19 fights is irrelevant. He had basically 2 amateur careers. Age has gotten to him since he can’t go 12 rounds anymore. He rests and covers for a few rounds then comes on. A lot of guys he can get away with that. Not Haney
I totally agree with you about Loma’s size. He was an assassin at 130 and he surely could still make that weight. I thought Ortiz looked like a JR Welterweight . It’s amazing the difference that extra 5 pounds makes.
I think if Loma fought in his more size appropriate Division, then you’d see he’s not nearly as aged as some on here think. And, he always was a fighter who started slow and came on strong.
So every fight so far has ended exactly the way it was set up to do so. Its not only pro wrestling that the results of a match is determined BEFORE its happened.
The Ragan / Lebron fight was a joke. The scores were a joke. The officiating was a joke. Every time Ragan got popped, he spit his mouthpiece. That was the refs due to give him a minute to recover. Lebron needed to knock him out 3 times to get a draw. Shameful.
Lol!!! Hence the user name. Well done.
Loma no longer a top 10 P4P fighter. Gets hit way too much. Don’t think he can beat any of the better fighters at 135. Just my opinion.
Was thinking the same. Don’t think he has it in him anymore to get by Haney, which is probably next for him. Age is catching up with him…
Man Loma looked small.
@Dee Yes he did, especially next to Haney post fight. I thought Loma just squeaked by Ortiz…..the 115-113 card sounded about right to me. Haney’s probably peaking right about now, and Loma’s not getting any younger. Haney 8-4 or 9-3 wouldn’t surprise me.
If Loma looked to be his old self, Haney would have moved up to 140 before this thread even opened. If Haney does not extend his contract with Arum and I have no idea what’s going on with that situation, we might get Stevenson vs Haney, which will end with the same result: Haney moving up to 140. I say this because we get screwed out big fights with boxers avoiding big fights and promoters who try to keep the belts in-house.
Absolutely looked very small. Idk if he could take Tank’s power. He really got hit a lot tonight. I would pick Tank over him now for sure. I also see Haney using his size and length to win. His best option is probably a big money fight against Ryan Garcia. That to me is a more winnable fight for Loma but I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost.
He is too small for 135.
Forget about his P4P ranking but I agree he will struggle with e.g. Haney and probably lose.
Yes he is. How about the clear fact that Ortiz is good, and despite being great, Loma is human.
Loma ain’t over the hill yet, but he’s over the top of it, so it’s only downhill from there. This boy he fought tonight was OK, but not a puncher. Looked a lot bigger than Loma, but not as big as Haney looked. Haney will KO Loma, I believe. Loma’s just too small for these bigger framed guys. He won this fight rather easily though, I thought.
Loma was done at top level several years ago and tonight just proved that he’s not close to what he once was. Haney would have not only had a smaller Lomachenko in his prime, he’ll now have a small and shot version.
Shot?
@Ajay He had a ton of mileage on him coming into tonight, and just went through another tough 12 rounder. He had 397 amateur fights, and he’ll be 35 by his next fight. He’s certainly past his best, and is very small at 135. Haney will be getting a very shop worn version of Loma.
Thank you for explaining it to him. I don’t have the patience for low IQ people anymore. I’m spent
Shot implies a lot more than past his prime and old. Silly boy.
He’s not as far gone as Sugar Ray Leonard was against Terry Norris, but he’s slipped noticeably IMO
Lomachenko might as well step up and take the L from Haney. I KNOW that fight won’t happen now. People will say he was old but keep in mind Loma dodged a 20 year old Haney.
Dodged? Where are you getting that from? Let’s see if the fight happens. I believe it will.
Yes he dodged Haney, Haney was his mandatory and he petitioned to the WBC to be super champion which allowed him to not have to fight his mandatory.
Nope, no fighters have petitioned the WBC to come up with another belt. Stop making things up and spreading misinformation.
That’s not the point. Haney was Lomachenko’s mandatory and he dodged Haney. Why didn’t the fight occur if it wasn’t a dodge move?
To Chris the natural!!!! WOW) WBC PREZ ADMITS CANELO & LOMA REQUESTED FRANCHISE AND THEY’RE NO LONGER CHAMPIONS….. type that in on YouTube and you’ll here the WBC president Mauricio Sauliman explains they asked to be franchise Which allows them to not have to fight their mandatory
Devin Haney was his mandatory 3 years ago. Lomachenko wanted no parts of Haney. He dodged him. Do your research then talk to me.
So fighters that have not earned a title shot are dodged if not given one? I thought it was more along the lines of moving up in ranks and then earning the right to fight for the title.
How did he not earn a title fight if he was his mandatory? Doesn’t that mean he beat everyone necessary to be Loma mandatory?
The people mentioning Haney being dodged was a proposed fight 3 years ago. What had Haney accomplished 3 years ago besides daddy lobbying for him big time in the background? Nothing. The fight was pointless back then. In retrospect, sure, but retrospect is a mofo.
Its always “pointless” when your man is doing the dodging. It means the governing bodies have decided Haney is up next for a title shot. Lomachenko has never stepped aside from a mandatory and suddenly he decided to side step. Its not like he was moving up in weight. Post fight he was making excuses about Haney’s size when he was MUCH LARGER against Rigo and Axe-Man. Your man Lomachenko isn’t what you thought he was. He’s dodger until he steps up and faces Haney like he should have 3 years ago.
No, he did not. Haney tried to make that fight when Lomachenko already had the Luke Campbell fight lined up. But you’re going to have your racist narrative.
Stop playing the RACE CARD and making excuses. You’re literally the one who brought up “race.” Ok, what happened after the Luke Campbell fight that Lomachenko didn’t follow up with Haney? I’m sick of you people bringing up race whenever something doesn’t go your way. Lomachenko is a dodger. You can tell by his post fight interview he wanted nothing to do with Haney. He makes an excuses about “heavyweight” but had no problem fighting a much smaller Guillermo Rigondeaux. He dodged Haney 3 years ago because he knew he couldn’t win and he still knows he can’t win. What excuses are there now that Haney beat Kam and Loma won this fight? When was the last time you seen a champ chasing down opponents? Haney wants the fight CLEARLY.
Actually Loma is on video prior to the rigo fight saying he that he himself was too big for rigo and that rigo was not a challenge. Loma has done nothing except take on the biggest challenges since he turned pro including moving up in weight for harder challenges. You remind of the floyd haters!!
Talent is talent. Don’t hate appreciate. Loma is an all time great.
Loma now will not beat any of the top Lightweights nor would he had beat them a couple of years ago, just ask Orlando Salido and Teo Lopez.
Lopez has a legitimate victory but salido? Are you still banging that same racist drum you were many years ago? I guess you still haven’t gotten over the beating Loma gave your homeboy Gary Russell Jr, huh?
Bwaahaaahaaa!
Not sure what your talking about, Chris, but apparently you don’t know what racism is, nor do you know boxing. Using your logic and others that share a similar mindset to you, Russell was too small for Loma.
This fight was telling.
Always felt questionable about Loma in this weight class. His weight gain came far too quickly. The suit is too big. Also with the weight gain he has lost a lot of his speed and mobility.
If Loma is going to challenge the top in this weight class, he needs to be matched harder and have the absolute best quality of his sparring.
Loma is not ready for Haney, Tanks nor Garcia.
In addition, age, motivation and what is happening in his country may mean that he will never be.
this Russian hate is stupid. Nazis suck. He fucked up. His career is over.
kurtis B gaskin: Yep how dare the ‘Nazis’ live and defend themselves in their own country against the invading Russians.
You are an idiot.
I have Russian roots. I was 11 years old when I finally got another citizenship.
No I don’t hate Russia, nor the Russian culture, nor the Russian brave people but I strongly question the Russian leadership.
And why don’t you address the Nazi problems within parts of the Russian forces?
I think the invasion of Ukraine is wrong, not only wrong but illegal, I think the killing and all the rapes are wrong, as well as the constant threats to use nuclear weapons, as well as the use of military weapons which are illegal, I also think the constant threats to countries bordering Russia is wrong, as is the fact that Russian state television openly talks about invading other countries, or parts of other countries’ territory.
The fact that I criticize it and think that it is obvious that Ukraine has its right to defend itself does not make me a Russian hater.
On the contrary, I love a lot of Russia but am more than happy to criticize its villainous leadership, just as I criticized the leadership during the communist era without being called a Russian hater.
In conclusion, to be extra clear, I have also criticized the US’s illegal invasion of, for example, Iraq, and I am happy to point out how American foreign policy has destabilized the world.
This fact does not give the Russian leadership the right to behave as they are now doing in Ukraine.
Your post starts off with good enough intentions, but then you go off on this MSNBC style misinformation campaign rant like some scorned tik tok girl. Get a life kid.
For the record, I have never watched MSNBC, nor FOX, even though I know what these two channels stand for and represent in the US.
Dude you talk about “race” and make stereotypical comments toward other posters when you can’t win a logical argument. You’re a total hypocrite. You’re a racist giving someone a morality speech. The irony…
I assume that your comment was not for me, but if it was, please specify and I will try to answer
Loma is on the back 9 and should retire. Do something else with his life. He can no longer be taken seriously as a legitimate lightweight. His days are over. We all now know Loma is washed up, and Lopez is not all that and a bag of chips.
lifetime boxing fan…old guy…I agree. hate to but it is obvious.
Loma didn’t perform in his usual fashion this time after being absent for awhile, but will be back in excellent form when he takes on Haney.
loma is back for how long who knows he beat down ortiz a bigger stronger young prospect he is just getting ready for haney which will be a good fight ortiz should fight navarrete loma still has speed footwork motivation to beat haney in a close fight
Age has catch up with Loma and he’s too small for the division… I don’t wanna see him lose against guy’s he would’ve beat in his prime.. Take the fight against Haney for the paycheck and hang them up for good Loma..
I don’t think there’s that big of a paycheck for fighting Haney and at this late stage of his career, it’s not a winnable fight. I would like to see the Ukrainian retire now, but he won’t as he is stubborn.
Well since Loma has already achieved what no other fighter before has ever done,i’d say that is an AMAZING task in itself.now consider not even Robinson,Hagler,Leonard,Holyfield,Tyson etc has done what Loma has.Ask yourself who in the history of the game besides Loma has since his 1st pro fight fought and defeated champions and more champions? Now since the answer is ONLY LOMA,we now have to ask ourselves can Loma be a success in a division that is at least 3 divisions higher than when he started out? Haney,and other lightweights will most certainly be bigger, probably stronger than Loma,the real question is this, can Loma bring his incredible timing and boxing I.Q into this division of bigger,probably stronger younger guys? One thing is for sure, Loma will fight anyone, and he wants Haney for certain. Time will tell us what will be, and Loma will no matter what happens, go down as one of all time greats, a man who NEVER back away from fighting anyone.
Loma looked better than all these fake ass champs holding his belts. Haney is coming to run away. If he stays in the pocket loma slaps him up.
Lomo is slipping into Russian blah blah. The ukrain Nazis are shit. IF Lomo keeps this crap up he is finished. He looked like a regular fighter. Meh…he is done.
Always appreciate Lomachenko, and glad he was able to pull out this win against a tough opponent. He hasn’t been active because of what’s happening in Ukraine, but he’s the kind of humble, gifted, tough, smart fighter I appreciate.
Loma def won the fight, 115-113 but 117-111, please don’t let him/her judge a fight ever again, Ortiz def won 4 rounds
Loma is a natural featherweight. These guys are 2 big for him at 135. Look at the size difference when Haney was in the ring. He needs to drop down in weight. He cannot beat Haney or Stevens at 135. He can only go so far on technique and experience. He is also getting a little long in the tooth.
JUST WATCHED THE LOMO FIGHT REPLAY GREAT FIGHT BUT THE ADDS BETWEEN ROUNDS HAD THREE WORTHLESS RINOS BAD MOUTHING THE REPUBLICANS / NO POLITICS PLEASE
I have to imagine Haney will be a little more inclined to fight Loma now. I’d like to see that fight happen. I think it would be competitive and it would be a good measuring stick to tell where Haney and Loma are really at as well.
I think it was a masterful performance all things considered.
I agree with Chalf. Loma is just too small, not big enough frame to put on enough weight to compete with Haney and other top lightweights. His power is just not there to compete with these bigger guys, imo. I think he needs to drop back down in weight. Less money, but winnable fights.
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Is the Canelo Alvarez fight perfect timing for Jermell Charlo? Age … – Sporting News
Since putting on gloves at 13 years old, Canelo Alvarez has gone from red-haired rookie sensation to boxing royalty.
Born in Guadalajara, the Mexican star has won gold in four divisions and he’s the current undisputed super middleweight champion. He has beaten the best in boxing, including Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, and Gennadiy Golovkin.
Now 33, the battle-hardened Canelo has transitioned into the “veteran” category and some feel his best years are behind him. He now seeks to prove his doubters wrong when he defends his titles against Jermell Charlo on September 30.
“I always believe that I’m number one, my whole career,” Canelo said at a media workout. “You need to believe in yourself, I still believe I’m number one. But I believe there is more than just one fighter alone at the top, there are a few. I still feel young and fresh. I never think about the end of my career. I just train and fight year after year. I still feel that I’m at my best.”
The Canelo-Charlo fight takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a familiar home for Canelo, whereas Charlo is headlining there for the first time. The 12-round bout, plus undercard action, will air on Showtime PPV in the U.S. and DAZN in the U.K.
MORE: The best five years in boxing history revisited
Per Sports Interaction, Canelo is the -388 favorite, while Charlo, the undisputed super welterweight champion, is the +288 underdog. Despite those odds, Charlo, also 33, sees himself as the better fighter.
“This is the biggest fight in boxing, and I’m coming to leave it all in the ring like I do every time,” Charlo said. “I manifested this fight into existence and earned it with everything I’ve done in this sport so far. Canelo is a great fighter, but he’s gonna see what Lions Only is all about. When the fight’s over, people are gonna have to recognize that I’m the best fighter in the sport.”
Charlo is not worried about the weight gain, having to move up two weight classes to take on Canelo. Sparring big men and working alongside his brother Jermall, the WBC middleweight champion, Jermell believes this is the perfect time to fight Canelo.
Does Charlo have a fair point? Could Canelo be overlooking the supposedly smaller man?
Canelo already announced his intentions on The Breakfast Club to retire around 36-37. He even teased retirement if he lost to John Ryder in May, which is a fight he would go on to win by unanimous decision. A former pound-for-pound No. 1, Canelo has tough challenges ahead of him outside of Charlo, including David Benavidez and a potential rematch against light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
Boxing great Bernard Hopkins believes Charlo is a different challenge for Canelo, who hasn’t fought below super middleweight since 2019.
WATCH: Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo, live on DAZN
“His style is totally different from the styles that Canelo has fought. [Charlo is] younger, more determined to prove that Canelo’s time has been great, but it’s up,” Hopkins told Fight Hype via Boxing Social. “I just believe that Canelo will have to get him out of there early. The later the fight goes, the more Canelo will start showing not only his age but he’ll start showing the success he’s been enjoying for so long is starting to look different.
“I see hard-earned, skillful moments in that fight where [Charlo], who wants to prove himself, will come out and show us something that we knew he had, but he’s never had to show it till he steps in with Canelo. Canelo elevates Charlo. I just think he has the skills, and if he maintains that mentality, it can be really a nightmare for Canelo, based on style.”
Charlo was supposed to fight Tim Tszyu for super welterweight gold before a hand injury nixed a planned bout. He wants to become undisputed at 168, return to 154, and potentially take on pound-for-pound No. 1 Terence Crawford. Regardless of his upcoming plans, Charlo’s focus is solely on beating Canelo, the man who has had beef with both brothers.
Holding more gold and honoring family is enough motivation for Charlo. Though he has proven everyone wrong over the years, the current uncertainty surrounding Canelo may be the perfect time for the Louisiana-born Charlo to face the super middleweight king.
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Pa. public colleges battle for students and funding – Inside Higher Ed
Enrollment in the state has plummeted, but it has one of the highest ratios of institutions to students in the country. The result is fierce competition over a dwindling pool of applicants.
By Liam Knox
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Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, stands in front of a downward-trending graph showing state high school graduation rates in 2019. As enrollment nosedived across the state’s public colleges, Greenstein merged campuses in his system.
Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images
Pennsylvania has a numbers problem.
With nearly 250 colleges and universities, including over 40 public institutions, Pennsylvania has the fourth most higher education institutions of any state, after California, Texas and New York. It is home to four public multicampus institutions—Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE)—in addition to Lincoln University, an HBCU, and a sprawling, decentralized network of community colleges. That’s not even counting the 129 private colleges.
But while there’s no shortage of suppliers, demand for higher education in the Keystone State is nowhere near what it used to be.
While the more popular campuses are stable or growing, many of the state’s public institutions have seen drastic enrollment declines since 2010. Enrollment at Penn State’s University Park campus is up 8 percent since 2010, and Pitt Oakland is up by 1 percent. But when the numbers at the two institutions are considered, including all of their campuses, both have suffered drops of over 30 percent, according to public data from the institutions. PASSHE’s systemwide enrollment has also fallen by 30 percent in the same period.
Those enrollment declines are largely thanks to steep drops at the regional comprehensive universities, which in many cases are over 50 percent. Enrollment at Penn State Hazleton, for instance, has dropped by 64 percent since 2010; at Pitt Titusville it has fallen by 96 percent, leaving only 23 students on campus in 2022.
There are a number of usual suspects behind Pennsylvania’s enrollment crisis, chief among them a general demographic decline in the state. The entire nation is facing a projected demographic cliff in 2026, but Pennsylvania is on the bleeding edge, hemorrhaging residents faster than 46 other states, according to 2022 census data.
But Andrew Koricich, executive director of the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, said neither explanation tells the whole story. Affordability is the crux of the state’s enrollment woes, he said, not falling birth rates.
“The demographic cliff is a convenient scapegoat sometimes,” he said. “It allows lawmakers and college leaders to say, ‘Oh, well, it’s inevitable. There’s nothing we can do.’”
In 2021 Pennsylvania ranked 49th in the country in public funding for higher education per full-time student, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s higher education finance report. Pennsylvania state funding is tied to enrollment and retention outcomes, which, as has been noted, are on the decline.
As a result, the state’s public institutions are also some of the most expensive in the country. The average cost of attending a state institution for a Pennsylvania resident is $26,040, nearly 70 percent more than the national average, making it the third most expensive state for public higher education, according to a recent Education Data Initiative report.
PASSHE chancellor Daniel Greenstein noted that for many Pennsylvania institutions, his own included, the demographic drop-off doesn’t account for the extent of the enrollment declines. While the state’s college-going demographics have fallen by a little over 5 percent, most colleges’ enrollment drops have been well into the double digits.
“We’re the most affordable option in Pennsylvania, but that’s not a high bar. It’s really expensive to go to public college in this state,” Greenstein said. “Price matters a lot, and differentiating based on affordability matters now more than ever. That’s something we’re trying to focus on.”
For Koricich, this is the crux of the problem that he says lawmakers aren’t seeing clearly: less state funding means less affordable college, which in turn contributes to a vicious cycle of enrollment declines and student exodus from the state. Many of those students who might otherwise have gone to regional universities and remained in the area then also resettle after graduating, compounding existing workforce shortages.
“If you keep making college unaffordable to people, why would we be surprised that they want to leave?” he said.
Greenstein echoed those concerns, though he feels that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are willing to help buoy higher education when tied to workforce outcomes. But he said time is of the essence, as neighboring states with more public funding offer similar educational benefits for a fraction of the price—like New York, which offers free tuition for students whose family income is under $125,000 a year.
“When states around us are acting in a very deliberate and aggressive way, you’re gonna find our students leaving the state to get their education, and they don’t come back,” Greenstein said. “At this point we gotta boogie, because we’re not too far off.”
Last summer, PASSHE merged six of its campuses into two multicampus institutions in a process the system called “integration,” in order to cut costs and center student success, according to Greenstein, as well as maintain the system as a driver of workforce development and social mobility in the state.
Bashar Hanna, president of Commonwealth University—which is made up of the former Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Mansfield University campuses in the rural center and north of the state—said the integration process made a big difference. Not only did it reduce inefficiencies and expenses, he said; it also helped them make the case the case for the commonwealth to students from local school districts by allowing them to combine their resources for recruitment and student success.
Last year enrollments decreased at all three campuses, but Hanna said new student deposits for the fall are up by 8 percent this year.
“Rural Pennsylvania is not thriving … we wanted to make sure that our students were going to college locally, meaning within 75 miles of home, and then the likelihood of them staying after they graduate goes up exponentially,” Hanna said. “We’re not back to pre-COVID enrollment levels, but we’re certainly much better off than we were a few years ago.”
State lawmakers rewarded those efforts by approving PASSHE’s largest budget increase ever last year, at 16 percent. That was followed by another 6 percent increase in this year’s proposed budget, which is currently stalled in the General Assembly.
Other public institutions are still floundering. Penn State has been vocally lobbying for more state support, claiming that it has been comparatively underfunded for years. In September the university requested a 48 percent appropriations increase.
Lisa Maria Powers, Penn State’s assistant vice president of media and executive communications, said the university has had the lowest per-student state funding of any in Pennsylvania for over half a century. According to a university analysis, Penn State is funded at $5,600 per resident student, compared to $8,275 for Temple and $9,049 for Pitt; the national per-student average for state funding was $9,327 in 2021, according to a SHEEO analysis.
PASSHE is also the only state-owned system in Pennsylvania, with a Board of Governors entirely appointed by the governor with approval from the Legislature. Penn State, Pitt and Temple describe themselves as “state-related” and have much more leeway to operate as independent bodies. The majority of their governing boards are elected by alumni.
Koricich said that helps explain why PASSHE has taken on the task of consolidation and fat-trimming while Penn State has left its sprawling network of campuses largely untouched, despite many of them experiencing much higher enrollment declines. But he is not a fan of PASSHE’s integration plan. It has a bevy of critics, in fact, something Koricich realizes comes with the territory of making difficult decisions. He just doesn’t think those decisions were necessary—or that they’ll lead to enrollment increases.
“Now you’ve thrown six regional publics in front of a freight train, for what?” Koricich said. “To me, the state’s willingness to just let PASSHE kind of fall on the sword is missing the fundamental problem here, which is that the flagships are just sucking up all of the oxygen.”
Greenstein said the cuts associated with integration did not affect student services or popular programs.
“We did this to serve students better,” he said. “Somehow, someway, this problem has to be addressed or Pennsylvania higher ed is going to be in a bad state.”
Robert Gregerson, president of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, is working to mitigate the effects of a 27 percent enrollment decline in the past decade. He said that while the Pitt system was too small for mergers to be a consideration there, he understood the path PASSHE was taking.
“The era of continual growth is in the rearview mirror,” he said. “State institutions not only in Pennsylvania but across the Midwest and Northeast are going to have to figure out what rightsizing means for them.”
Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states with no state higher education commission or governing board to oversee its public universities; each institution has a highly prized and carefully guarded autonomy.
For Koricich, that’s part of the problem.
“There is no coordinating board, there is no governing board, there is no referee to say all of these different institutions in different sectors with different finances have to play nicely together,” he said.
Penn State, Koricich said, has benefited the most from this oversight vacuum. With 20 campuses across the state, it is by far the largest higher education presence in Pennsylvania; PASSHE had 14 before its integration plan took effect—it now has 10—and Pitt has five. Koricich said that without state intervention, Penn State has been able to eat away at a dwindling pool of in-state students looking to attend a regional public institution, exacerbating the enrollment crisis for some of the state’s most hard-hit colleges and universities.
“Some of [Penn State’s campuses] are within 30 miles of PASSHE schools; some of them are right on top of community colleges. One of those places has a brand name that everyone recognizes and the others don’t,” he said. “[State lawmakers] have let this behemoth just sort of run roughshod over higher ed in the state, and they haven’t done anything to control it.”
Powers, of Penn State, pushed back on this portrayal. She said the university’s branch locations are crucial to its land-grant mission, and that they serve primarily local populations of underserved students.
“Our Commonwealth Campuses have been around a long time, some nearly 100 years; and all of Penn State’s campuses pre-date the formation of PASSHE. In addition, almost all of our campuses were in place well before the introduction of community colleges in Pennsylvania,” Powers wrote in an email to Inside Higher Ed.
Some believe the current crisis requires more coordination between the disparate independent institutions and could lead lawmakers to explore the possibility of a central oversight body. Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat elected last year, called for a rethinking of the loose structure during a budget address in March.
“What we are doing right now isn’t working,” he said. “Colleges are competing with one another for a limited dollar: they’re duplicating degree programs, they’re driving up the cost and they’re actually reducing access.”
Some, like Greenstein, prefer incentives and market-based solutions to the issue; while PASSHE is consolidating campuses, he said the move may not be right for other Pennsylvania institutions.
But Gregerson said that if there were a time to experiment with statewide coordination, it’s now.
“There have been conversations about that in the past which didn’t produce any change. But I think we might be at a point now where folks will take it more seriously,” he said. “Whether there’s the political will for that, I don’t know. But I think it could be helpful.”
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