U Montana President Raises Concerns Over Latest NCAA Deal

University of Montana President Seth Bodnar dropped by our radio studios during the recent Board of Regents meeting in Billings.

We talked about the continued enrollment growth at The University of Montana, student housing, and more. We also got his take on this $2.8 billion NCAA settlement that Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) worries could significantly burden smaller schools here in Montana.

President Bodnar: "Our frustration is, as we think about this back pay- it's called the house settlement- that we want that to be equitable. We don't want that burden to fall more heavily on smaller universities like ours, where truly amateurism is alive and well at our level....we'd like to see that that distribution of how that pay is spent to be more equitable.

Bodnar says The University of Montana continues to grow and expects enrollment to be up again this year, "at least a few percent."

President Bodnar: "This will be our seventh straight semester of enrollment growth, which is fantastic and and that's a function of telling more students about what we're working through. It's also a function of more students being successful. We've really focused on not just bringing students to the university, but making sure that they're successful. Our retention rates have increased. Our four year graduation rate over the past five years, has increased by a third."

Click below for full audio of our chat with President Bodnar.