In NCAA, athletics are the tail that wags the dawg
Last week, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics released the results of an 18-month study into the finances behind college athletics (”Restoring the Balance: Dollars, Values and the Future of College Sports”).
Among other findings, it reported that “expenditures in big-time college sports grew 38 percent – nearly twice as much as spending on academics – from 2005 to 2008.” It also predicted that athletic budgets at each of the ten biggest-spending public institutions would exceed $250 million, on average, by 2020, up from $98 million in 2009.
With university and state budgets suffering due to the economy, the commission warns in its transmittal letter, “this financial arms race threatens the continued viability of athletics programs and the integrity of our universities. It cannot be maintained.” The report itself warns that educational activities are in danger of being compromised to sustain ever higher sports funding.
As the chart above demonstrates, the Southeastern Conference is by far the biggest-spending conference in the country, even though most of its member schools represent states with some of the nation’s lowest household incomes. As the commission also reports, “According to a USA Today analysis, just seven athletics programs generated enough revenue to finish in the black in each of the past five years.”
UPDATE: In the USA Today analysis cited in the report, the seven programs to make money in each of the last five years were Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Last year, just 14 major-college programs made money for their schools; every other program in the country had to be subsidized by taxpayers, and the subsidies are rising as costs soar.
“The nation’s highest-profile college athletic programs drew a greater percentage of their revenue from student fees and their schools’ general funds in 2009 than they had in any of the previous four years, a USA TODAY analysis of new college sports finance data finds.
More than half of athletic departments at public schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision were subsidized by at least 26% last year, up from 20% in 2005. That’s a jump of $198 million when adjusting for inflation and includes money from student fees, university support and state subsidies.”
BTW, Michael Adams, president of the University of Georgia, was among those signing the commission report.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
105 comments Add your comment
joe matarotz
June 22nd, 2010
12:04 pm
Time for a spending cap. How hard is that?
USinUK
June 22nd, 2010
12:05 pm
“Among other findings, it reported that “expenditures in big-time college sports grew 38 percent – nearly twice as much as spending on academics – from 2005 to 2008.” It also predicted that athletic budgets at each of the ten biggest-spending public institutions would exceed $250 million, on average, by 2020, up from $98 million in 2009.”
you can tell a lot about a country by looking at its priorities.
good grief.
Peadawg
June 22nd, 2010
12:10 pm
The thing is, the university Athletic Association is almost a separate company from the rest of the University. UGA’s AA donated 2 or 3 million to the university this year and last.
kayaker 71
June 22nd, 2010
12:10 pm
The SEC is in first place in their quest to use athletes while they are in college for the big bucks, then toss them aside when they graduate and don’t make the NFL draft. College theme papers written by other students, pud classes that most do not attend and grade curves that benefit that offensive lineman. But the bottom line is that the athlete graduates from college with a substandard education and finds a job selling cars after not benefiting one bit from all of the gazillions of dollars that the colleges have made off of him during his tenure. War Eagle.
Peadawg
June 22nd, 2010
12:16 pm
“Time for a spending cap. How hard is that?”
You have any idea how much athletic associations make? It seems like they get it right…something the gov’t hasn’t. Take in more than you spend. That’s how they’re able to donate money to the rest of the university.
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
12:19 pm
Eliminating silly sports like female basketball and others that have no future outside of college is the way to go.
WNBA…how silly.
Matti
June 22nd, 2010
12:20 pm
Kayaker 71,
War Eagle! I only let a football player cheat off my test once. When he got a better grade than I did, via comparison shopping, I decided that was a bad idea. He ended up dropping out and selling drugs anyway. I did manage to graduate, for whatever that’s worth. I agree that those who profit treat it as a business, and the guys that do the knee-crushing work are not only not allowed to profit too, but they’re tossed aside when their usefulness to the profiteers is over. Hmm….
Did someone tell Norma Rae? Perhaps some union rabble is the answer! ;->
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
12:23 pm
I heard yesterday that Quinnipiac University discontinued its women’s volleyball program in favor of cheer leading Apparently, the cheer leading team makes more money than the volleyball team did. A federal court may decide whether cheer leading is a sport.
Well, I suppose if there is money in it, a Tiddilywinks scholarship is next.
jt
June 22nd, 2010
12:30 pm
Because of your friendly benevolent Federal government, any college sport that is popular and a proven money maker (think football) HAS to be mirrored by a ridicul%us sport that no one watches(think women basketball). It is called Title IX.
Basically, colleges are COERCED into spending TWICE the money for some pie in the sky social engineering.
Anything wrong in this society always has a common denominator. And that denominator resides in Washington District of Crooks.
Thank you and have a good day.
TaxPayer
June 22nd, 2010
12:33 pm
What would we do with educated athletes.
stands for decibels
June 22nd, 2010
12:33 pm
the Southeastern Conference is by far the biggest-spending conference in the country, even though most of its member schools represent states with some of the nation’s lowest household incomes
NO! really?
RB from Gwinnett
June 22nd, 2010
12:33 pm
These athletes whom you claim are used for profit and then cast aside have been given a golden ticket to a free college degree; something many would kill for. If they CHOOSE to squander that opportunity and end up selling used cars with no degree, it’s as a result of the choices THEY made while there. Just like pretty much everybody else.
And what do you think would have become of the no useful degree student if they hadn’t gone to college at all? You think they would have magically become a doctor if the evil SEC hadn’t wanted them to play football for a profit?
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 22nd, 2010
12:41 pm
I’m for the NFL and NBA financing their own minor leagues, as baseball does.
If we’re not going to do that, drop the student/athlete charade and pay the players. They seem to be the only ones not making big bucks from all this.
stands for decibels
June 22nd, 2010
12:42 pm
I’m for the NFL and NBA financing their own minor leagues, as baseball does.
If we’re not going to do that, drop the student/athlete charade and pay the players. They seem to be the only ones not making big bucks from all this.
Like he said. Every word. Squared.
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
12:45 pm
RB, you only have choices when there is something to choose from on the menu.
Before I enlisted in the Air Force, I was required to take a battery of tests in engineering, administration, mechanics and general subjects. An insufficient score in any of the four areas would have precluded me from joining the Air Force. Once Basic Training began, I was given career field choices. Only those with the highest scores could choose from virtually any career field. Those with lower scores saw limited choices.
This procedure reminds me of the SEC. You have lower academic expectations, attract athletes with lower scores, and, therefore, they are much less likely to achieve anything other than in athletics.
Matti
June 22nd, 2010
12:50 pm
RB from G at 12:33,
I totally agree with you!! They DO get what skinny, awkward, financially-challenged would-be college students don’t get, and that IS worth gold! And yes, absolutely, I’ve known athletes who made the most of that, and athletes who chose to squander it. Their choice.
That does not negate the reality, though, that many (but certainly not all) of these programs push the kids to excel in their sports while coddling them academically. When the Auburn-Alabama game is coming up in a few days, are these coaches & trainers — often the strongest parental figures some of these kids have ever had — riding them hard about “getting” the chemistry or math unti they’re currently struggling with? Are they staying up all night with them to get the Trig homework done or the term paper written? No, they’re hollering at them to run plays. And if the poor kid takes a few bucks for Momma & ‘nem back home who [often] have nothing, it’s scandal time.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all FOR college sports (for girls too, you he-man woman haters), but academics should come first.
Southern Comfort
June 22nd, 2010
12:53 pm
These athletes whom you claim are used for profit and then cast aside have been given a golden ticket to a free college degree
Many of those same students when asked, will spell dog as c-a-t. You can’t get a degree if you don’t have the aptitude to do the work. Listen to professional athletes do an interview. Many can’t string together a coherent sentence.
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
12:53 pm
Womens tennis sure..WNBA = money loser.
Southern Comfort
June 22nd, 2010
12:54 pm
Also, that War Eagle tasted like Thanksgiving Turkey last year.
ROOOOOLLLLLL TIDE!!!!!
Jefferson
June 22nd, 2010
12:54 pm
If the atheletes had to get into college 1st, then go out for sports they would truly be student atheletes. Now they are just dogs and ponies.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
June 22nd, 2010
12:57 pm
We don’t need no stinking edumacation. All I want to know is, is our football players out of jail yet? I wouldn’t give a plug nickel to watch a bunch of pin-headed Norman Einsteins walking around with their pocket protectors and calculators. Bunch of pansies! But football? Now there’s something I’m willing to pay big money for. No sirree, you’ll never go wrong with sports. I say fire all the teachers and use the money to hire more coaches.
Far as I’m concerned, these colledges are putting the money on the right people. They may be blockheads, but they’re OUR blockheads!
That’s my opinion and it’s very true. Have a good p.m. everybody.
Recovering Jock
June 22nd, 2010
12:57 pm
I’m not even going to take the time to read the posts. Forget about spending on athletics over academics, PAY THE ATHLETES. And spare us the “they get a free education” crap. SO does ANY University of GA employee (of family memeber), and they (employees) still get paid. The librarian can attend classes for free, but she still gets paid. The guy who cuts the grass on the quad can send his kids to school for free, but he still gets paid. The problem is; the universities don’t want to add 120 “employees” to their payroll (payroll tax, workmen’s comp premiums, legal liability for wrongful termination, etc.). The NCAA needs to end the hypocrisy and eliminate athletic scholarships all together and pay coaches as they pay any instructor/professor), or come clean about the true nature of intercollegiate athletics (pro sports franchises, which in the case of public universities were initially funded by taxpayers). Or, eliminate practice of separating the Athletic Department (financially) from the school, and have all revenue end up in the general scholarhship fund, to be used by all departments.
@@
June 22nd, 2010
12:58 pm
I AM ALL FOR DOING AWAY WITH SPECTATOR SPORTS!!!!!
Did I say that loud enough?
Matti
June 22nd, 2010
12:58 pm
SoCo,
Great! Beating the laundry soap every single year was getting boring. The rivalry is much more fun when they don’t suck. (Of course, I’m from here, so my true loathing lies a few miles to the east, and I’d be happy if they sucked every year.)
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
12:59 pm
OGK, you are part of the problem. It should not be about the money. Moreover, have you noticed that our women’s basketball teams have kicked butt in international events (like the Olympics) of late? There are some excellent student/athletes in women’s sports, and they deserve to have support just like the men’s teams enjoy.
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 22nd, 2010
1:00 pm
These athletes whom you claim are used for profit and then cast aside have been given a golden ticket to a free college degree
I’ve always wondered how much $$$ UGA made off Herschel.
Matti
June 22nd, 2010
1:01 pm
AtAt,
As long as you don’t yammer while we’re watching the game, nobody cares what you think. Now fetch us some sandwiches and cold beers before you head out shopping for the day. Don’t feel like you need to hurry back, either. There are games on the west coast until the wee hours, and yes, we’ll be watching.
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
1:06 pm
Recovering Jack said The NCAA needs to end the hypocrisy and eliminate athletic scholarships all together and pay coaches as they pay any instructor/professor)
College coaches will agree to work on a teacher’s salary? lol.
@@
June 22nd, 2010
1:06 pm
Matti:
we’ll be watching
and I’ll be playing, couch potato.
Not going shopping…I’m off to have my pool water tested. This morning? Four miles on the track, followed by thirty laps in a cloudy pool.
How wide is your A$$?
josef nix
June 22nd, 2010
1:08 pm
I find it interesting to listen to an almost unanimous pillory of the college athletics programs and all matter of disparaging remarks about the intellectual prowess of the athletes and, yet, try prying our couch potato, beer guzzling butts from in front of the screen as we cheer on some university we’ve never even been on the campus of against another of the same. Then there’s the professionals. Super Bowl Sunday is all but a national holiday. Just where do we think those players come from? We put the money there for a good reason. It’s big business and it draws attention.
I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but it is the way the game is played so to speak. Po Dunk Hollow State is where we grow the pros and it costs money to do that.
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
1:08 pm
@@, my school will give you an athletic scholarship.
Go DAWGS!!!!
June 22nd, 2010
1:09 pm
IF THEY DIDN’T SPEND THE MONEY, THESE ATHELETES WOULD NOT GET THE CHANCE TO COME TO COLLEGE.
GEORGIA SHOULD SPEND THE MONEY ON THESE ATHELETES SO THAT OUR STATE REMAINS ON TOP ATHELETCALLY AND SCHOLASTICALLY.
GO DAWGS!!!
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
1:10 pm
“There are some excellent student/athletes in women’s sports, and they deserve to have support just like the men’s teams enjoy.”
If there money to be made then yes…
larry
June 22nd, 2010
1:10 pm
Pay the athletes. These colleges make billions, yes billions from these students , but these students have to rely on Mom and Dad, to get money to buy a coke or get a cheeseburger from McDonalds.And most of these players’ parents , with some exceptions, come from working middle class families.
And for those of you who think women’s basketball is a waste of money, i invite you to Athens or Knoxville on a cold Feburary night. You will find either place will be packed.
GOOOOO Dawgs !!
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
1:11 pm
OGK, you are a Ferengi.
Peadawg
June 22nd, 2010
1:13 pm
“Pay the athletes.”
They are. It’s called a free college education.
Matti
June 22nd, 2010
1:13 pm
AtAt,
Don’t be a hater. My behind is a perfect size four, and my stair climber is positioned in front of my ginormous football-viewing television. Just because I watch up to 12 hours of football on a Saturday does not mean I’m a lardazz. The veggie trays, hummus, and sliced fruit are on the table, and there’s booze and diet mixers on the bar. Help yourself and feel free to smoke on the back deck, but save your comments/questions for the commercials, please!
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
1:13 pm
And yes…Im part of the problem, thank you.
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
1:15 pm
larry, I hear you. I was good enough to play basketball for a league champion in the Air Force. I have played pickup games against/with some very good female basketball players.
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
1:16 pm
Peadawg, Bingo!
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
1:18 pm
Now Im not trying to disrespect women whatsoever. When it comes to cleaning the kids, making the beds, cooking the oatmeal, washing the potatos then yes…women excell over men.
theyeshaveit
June 22nd, 2010
1:19 pm
OGK, you sound like a good candidate for a scholarship to a lesbian bondage club.
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
1:20 pm
Im not a lesbian though…
Jefferson
June 22nd, 2010
1:22 pm
The sidewalk fans have the money, sell them the soap.
stands for decibels
June 22nd, 2010
1:26 pm
Po Dunk Hollow State is where we grow the pros and it costs money to do that.
But we don’t need PDHS. We can grow the pros in a minor football league, and from professional leagues in other countries where the sport is played. The money from ticket sales can be managed, and lost if that’s the way it’s going to go down, from private investment.
And if the pro game is somewhat less amazing as a result, um, so? This hurts us as a nation, how?
Outhouse GoKart
June 22nd, 2010
1:30 pm
“My behind is a perfect size four”…Thanks for that piece of info and beleive when I say its greatly appreciated, however, I now have vision of size 4’s, stairclimbers etc. I ve got to get some work done.
Steve
June 22nd, 2010
1:32 pm
I don’t blame the coaches for pushing the kid. The coaches job is to prepare the student (player) to play to the best of his ability just as a class professor should.
In my mind, when the school extends an athletic scholarship to a student-athlete they have acknowledged they are bringing that student into their institution for a set of skills the person possesses. Just as with an academic scholarship, the institution wants the individual to focus their collegiate education toward that set of skills.
A professor of English would not care about a student lamenting about the amount of homework another professor (say Math) constantly gave out. His reply would probably be along the lines of, “I understand the math professor gives you a lot of homework; however, this is the material you are responsible for in my class.”
The student athlete, just like a typical college student must learn how to manage their schedule the best they can. It is not an easy task for a 17-19 year old to do. As someone indicated, some do so well, others do not.
NowReally
June 22nd, 2010
1:34 pm
The sad thing about this is that the money is not being used to educate the atheletes, but given to them for personal use; while they live on campus for free.
I was told last week that a young 19 year old athelete that I know has as much as $9,000 a month sent to his personal account from a university in the south. I’m leary about the amount, but anything close to $300 a month is too much. This young man gets personal tutors, free meals and housing from the university. Don’t get me wrong he’s always been an “A” students and is great in his sport. But, the university systems are truly losing their ability to think logically.
It’s sad because there are students who are just as deserving who can’t get academic scholarships, because the schools only care about sports.
stands for decibels
June 22nd, 2010
1:35 pm
Now I’m not trying to disrespect men whatsoever. When it comes to date-rape, forcing people to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, propping up rigid gender-based social paradigms to keep male earning power, on average, much higher than that of female, and f@rt jokes, yes…men excel over women.
Fixed OGK’s typo.
Matti
June 22nd, 2010
1:39 pm
stands for decibels @ 1:26,
Bless your heart. For millions of Americans (though admittedly not all), our obsession with college football sustains us through the tough times. Yes, we know it doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s our escape — something to look forward to, and a way to live in the moment for 12 or 13 Saturdays a year (plus a few Thursday night and holiday bowl games.) A way to stand firmly on the side of like-minded fans and watch young people full of the hope of that day — most of whom never go pro in sports, and whose lives become ordinary like ours all too quickly — live their shining moment in the sun. We are thrilled when they succeed, devastated when they don’t. Watching them give it their all for that moment is beautiful and inspiring.
That there was no football on 9-15-01 drove home the point that the world as we knew it had ended. The greatness of grief of the tragedy stopped it cold, leaving us in strange, heretofore unknown September Saturday silence to contemplate the future of the world. It would have been wrong to play that day. Conversely, no matter what else happens, as long as kick off happens on time, we know no matter how bad things might be, we’ll get through it. You don’t need a fiddle on a roof to have TRADITION!