Here's a twist on Finances & Athletic Depts.

[tornado]

Normally the Athletic Deptarments run off funds from the University & the taxpayer...

but University of Oregon has a VERY profitable Athletic Dept - and the greedy folks everywhere else want some of the action...
so the Oregon Administration & University Senate propose taxing the income of the Athletic Department and taking some of their money to run the rest of the University!
This is not a popular idea among the sports people...

http://fishduck.com/2015/03/taxing-the-athletic-department-a-bad-idea/

[bradleyfan124]

It is like the Athletic Dept. does things right and they want to punish them for it

[Tommy]

Socialism is always popular with the less successful. Apparently in all venues.

[Chico]

Socialism is always popular with the less successful. Apparently in all venues.

+1

[ollienanyes]

Socialism is always popular with the less successful. Apparently in all venues.

Hmmm, so does this apply to athletic departments that rely on subsidies from the rest of the university to stay afloat?

Gee...thinking that a university should be an academic institution first ....oh no, not that!

[Tommy]

Gee...thinking that a university should be an academic institution first ....oh no, not that!

Maybe you should go back and read Tornado's original post that I was replying to before getting sarcastic.

[tornado]

I think we all agree academics is 1st but if the Athletic Dept is immensely profitable as it is for Texas, or Oregon - then why shouldn't other departments in the school consider they helped produce that revenue - they have made the sacrifices and income from their departments has gone to help athletics - guarantee it...
(unless you live in a dream world like some ISU fans who have for years claimed their Athletic Dept. was fully self-funded and runs off their own profits - drawing NOTHING from the general fund or taxpayer revenues.)

[ollienanyes]

As far as Oregon's case: WHEN did the athletic department become profitable and how many years of subsidies did they have prior to that?

Besides there are some benefits (e. g. athletes getting breaks on getting the classes that they want, professors and departments going out of their way to accommodate their athletic schedules when it comes to examinations, assignments, etc.)

And, it isn't as if the profitable departments don't take subsidies, though in many cases they give it back.

This is 2013 data:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/schools/finances/

[Da Coach]

Thanks for that link! I have always believed that athletic departments took tons more taxpayer's money than some admitted.
We used to have a couple Illinois State people here who swore their athletic department was self-sufficient from ticket sales and donations. Those stats show that 66% of their budget comes from subsidies from the University ($12,743,793 out of a total budget of $19,336,145). Other state schools take as much as 70-80+% of their money from other University sources (i.e. taxpayers).
It really shows what a disadvantage private schools are at.

[Da Coach]

Here is another new article about how almost half of the schools in the NCAA Tournament lost money in their basketball programs.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2015/story/_/id/12495302/many-ncaa-tournament-teams-did-not-turn-profit

Of course, anyone familiar with how state-supported institutions work (and even a lot of private businesses), know that every department has a "use it or lose it mentality" when it comes to finances and budgets. No program will try to save money for fear that their budgets will be cut the following year. They will always overspend to try to justify increases in their next year's budget.

It reminds me of an experience I had during my education years. I saw workers feverishly working on improvements and painting in a state school building that was scheduled to be torn down a couple months later at the end of the school year. I asked them why they would waste time and money remodeling and painting a building that was due to be torn down in a couple months, and they said it was because the budget contained money for upkeep and maintenance, and it hadn't all been spent for that year. And they were not going to leave money unspent, because they feared the state would reduce their budget for the next year.

[tornado]

Interesting article on finances at Texas Tech..

They have one of the highest current debts of any school in the nation...

they currently have $111 million in unpaid debt and yet they are trying to build a NEW $45 million training facility

http://lubbockonline.com/editorials/2015-07-04/our-view-tech-athletics-department-handling-its-debt-responsibly#.VZuEnPlVikp

[tornado]

despite their claimed budget woes, the big schools still keep spending at record pace...

Clemson spending $55 million just for new facilities to keep athletes happy and recruit better..
the facilities include laser tag, mini-golf, and other "extravagances"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/for-college-athletic-departments-building-the-best-is-never-ending-task/2015/12/21/e8384dd4-a558-11e5-9c4e-be37f66848bb_story.html

but one of the fastest rising areas of spending is in paying to buy out coaches

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/college-sports-fastest-rising-expense-paying-coaches-not-to-work/2015/12/10/ec856b42-9d33-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_evening

[tornado]

Another example of a public university ripping off the donors and taxpayers...

Colorado sought & obtained approval for a huge $142 million stadium expansion/renovation.

Then they complained they are not going to have enough money and asked for more, ballooning the budget all the way up to $166 million! and spending $24 million over budget.

So they get halfway into the project and claim they are $24 million over budget!

The University financed this by selling general bonds but they will have to pay it off with donor & general funds...
This caused one of the Regents to say
"...he felt he had no choice but to vote for the additional spending authority, but wasn't happy about it.

...but $24 million is a lot money,"..."It really makes me sick."

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_29537395/cu-boulders-stadium-expansion-now-24m-over-budget?source=rss