12:00 How colleges are preparing for a possible enrollment plunge
1:00 The Bills are going to win the Super Bowl right before moving into a new stadium
American birth rates fell after the great financial recession of 2007. Eighteen years later, there are fewer young adults who might go to college. For some schools, it's a crisis: the pandemic has combined with this smaller population of students to significantly cut the incoming freshman classes. In Western New York, some schools have already shut down. So what's next? How can higher ed deal with this challenge? How can they appeal to more students? Our guests discuss it.
In studio:
- Brian Sharp, investigations and enterprise editor for WXXI News
- Amy Storey, president of Keuka College
- Ian Mortimer, president of the Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship
Then in our second hour, the stars are aligning for the Pegula family, when it comes to their Buffalo Bills: the new Bills stadium will open in 2026, and the team could be coming off their first Super Bowl win. Just imagine: the hottest team in professional sports, sky-high demand for tickets and seat licenses... and prices are already soaring! We predict that most fans will pay any increase happily if it follows a Super Bowl win. And we don't believe in jinxes -- the Bills are winning the Super Bowl this year. We'll discuss it with our guests.
In studio:
- Scott Pitoniak, best-selling author, nationally honored journalist and longtime sportswriter
- Joe Sayre, Bills season ticket holder
- Sandy Wright, Bills season ticket holder and superfan
"Connections with Evan Dawson" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
