The athletics director at Mississippi Valley State University and others attended a student retention seminar Tuesday on campus.
Lonza Hardy talked about keeping students at the Valley Tuesday night to alumni and others gathered at a rally for the Delta Devils' first home game.
"We have to make sure our students are successful and have a good experience at the university," he said. "A good football program helps recruit and keep students. That's the truth."
Whether it's strong academics or a stellar football team, Mississippi Valley's enrollment seems to have leveled off.
Preliminary figures for the Itta Bena-based university show it lost only 20 students from last fall's enrollment of 3,165, less than 1 percent.
Nobody was available in the admissions and recruiting office to discuss retention and the current figures.
The drop at Valley of less than 1 percent appears as a marked improvement to the 12.7 percent decrease in the fall of 2005.
Last fall, Dr. Roy C. Hudson, vice president for university relations and a senior adviser to the university's president, Dr. Lester Newman saw the dip as a leveling off of growth the university experienced for five or six years.
Overall preliminary fall enrollment figures at all of Mississippi's universities show an increase of 0.4 percent in student population. That translates into an overall total of 69,889 students compared to 69,588 students in the fall of last year.
Valley wasn't the only university to lose student population this year. Alcorn State University's student population dipped 0.1 percent or by five students; Jackson State University lost 1.4 percent or 154 students; and the University of Southern Mississippi lost 1.7 percent or 253 students.
Delta State University gained 2.4 percent - more than the University of Mississippi but less than the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus.
Delta State, behind three years of steady, solid growth, boasts a 10 percent increase over a five-year enrollment period. In 2001, 3,801 students were enrolled at the university, while this fall's enrollment figures stands as the largest tally in the institution's 81-year history.
"Delta State University is dedicated to serving the students of this region. We are equally committed to continual growth and today's numbers stand as evidence to that commitment," said Delta State President Dr. John M. Hilpert. "Much of the credit must go to the enrollment management team for their positive efforts and hard work."
