For those of you interested in getting your colleges involved, I offer my help. Having sponsored a team for 12 years, WPI's commitment is pretty secure. It remains that way because the university sees that the connection makes good business sense (certainly a compelling argument for any private school). For continuing, enthusiastic support, I believe you need to go beyond a student activities type of organization. You need to convince the faculty, Provost, University Relations, Alumni Activities, and especially Admissions that this is a good deal for the school. And it really is!
The WPI/Team 190 model may not fit every team, but I would be happy to talk to anyone interested in the data that compels our administration to continue sole funding of the team, running our annual BattleCry@WPI, providing annual $100K+ scholarships, and conducting the rest of our 12-month program schedule.
Ken
Manager of Academic Initiatives
WPI
stafford@wpi.edu
508-831-6122