Athletics, academics vie for dollars
Editorial
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Editorial
From an outsider's perspective UTC would seem to be like any other ordinary college. Students scatter across campus to their next classes as fast as their legs will carry them. Faculty members work tirelessly to get papers and exams graded before midterm grades are due. Life at UTC seems normal until you learn about the war going on between faculty members and the athletic department.
The conflict between these two groups is over budget money and how that money is to be spent at UTC. The faculty members want the majority of the funds to be spent on things pertaining mainly to academics, while representatives from the athletic department want the best for Mocs athletics.
For several years now the battle has raged, but this year it has gained strength because of poor economic conditions. Both sides are determined to get their way, and the gloves are coming off in a hurry.
To make matters worse thousands of students have had to endure decades of bad football teams that have ended up costing the university huge sums of money.
This year's team was no different from the ones in the past. According to the budget documents provided by the university, the amount of money it costs to keep the football team afloat for this year was in the range of $2.8 million.
And what did the football team and its coaches give in return? How about one win and 11 losses?
For those of you who are not familiar with college athletics, $2.8 million is a very small number compared to the top spenders in the country. Ohio State, for example, incurred expenses of $25.7 million in 2005, but brought in $51.8 million in revenue for its football team alone. The University of Georgia ranked in the middle of the pack of the top spenders in college football for 2005. Georgia spent $12.5 million on football, but their revenue was $50.9 million.
UTC, on the other hand, reported only $710,966 in revenue for the 2008-2009 season, which leaves the university more than $2 million in the red.
The conflict between these two groups is over budget money and how that money is to be spent at UTC. The faculty members want the majority of the funds to be spent on things pertaining mainly to academics, while representatives from the athletic department want the best for Mocs athletics.
For several years now the battle has raged, but this year it has gained strength because of poor economic conditions. Both sides are determined to get their way, and the gloves are coming off in a hurry.
To make matters worse thousands of students have had to endure decades of bad football teams that have ended up costing the university huge sums of money.
This year's team was no different from the ones in the past. According to the budget documents provided by the university, the amount of money it costs to keep the football team afloat for this year was in the range of $2.8 million.
And what did the football team and its coaches give in return? How about one win and 11 losses?
For those of you who are not familiar with college athletics, $2.8 million is a very small number compared to the top spenders in the country. Ohio State, for example, incurred expenses of $25.7 million in 2005, but brought in $51.8 million in revenue for its football team alone. The University of Georgia ranked in the middle of the pack of the top spenders in college football for 2005. Georgia spent $12.5 million on football, but their revenue was $50.9 million.
UTC, on the other hand, reported only $710,966 in revenue for the 2008-2009 season, which leaves the university more than $2 million in the red.
