U of Texas spends $210,000 per athlete

"How to divvy up sports profits is rarely discussed on college campuses. When all expenses are accounted for, the NCAA estimates that only a half-dozen schools can claim excess revenues. (Others say the number is as high as 19.) For the rest, sports must be subsidized. Colleges and universities paid about $3.6 billion last year to support teams, according to NCAA President Myles Brand's testimony to Congress this year."

How much does Vig make? How soon until he pursues a head job?

ten big wrote:

How much does Vig make? How soon until he pursues a head job?

he already has

Anyone know how to look up a UT employees salary? I bet Vig is one of the highest paid assistants in the country. Texas has so much cash going around it pays its assistants way more.

From the article:

"We eat what we kill," said Ed Goble, the athletic department's chief financial officer.

A few things from the article:

1) Is there any proof that the contributions given to the athletic departments take money away from university donations? In other words, T Boone Pickens at Oklahoma State: If he did not give $100 million + to athletics would he have given it to the University for other purposes? I know many of these big givers to athletic departments also give to university funds as well.

2) Why do college coaches have a state trooper? Are things that dangerous on the field for them?

3) $30,000 for students to check to make sure the athletes are in class? I wish that job had been available to me when I was in school. I think we could take advantage of technology to reduce this cost somehow. A problem I have with this is that these are ostensibly adults and yet the athletic dept treats them like 5 year olds. I bet all that money goes to 2 sports; I bet the track and tennis teams do not have class attendance checkers.

If Texas is spending that much money, they should add some sports. They could add men's soccer, lacrosse, and add a women's sport if they need to to comply with title IX.

luv2run wrote:

A few things from the article:

1) Is there any proof that the contributions given to the athletic departments take money away from university donations? In other words, T Boone Pickens at Oklahoma State: If he did not give $100 million + to athletics would he have given it to the University for other purposes? I know many of these big givers to athletic departments also give to university funds as well.

Well, T Boone Pickens just gave $100M to OK State for academic purposes.

I've worked in fundraising/development for a long time (but not at Texas or OK). Donors give to their interests. If their interest is athletics, that's what they'll give to. If there weren't athletics, well, they might just as well not give that money away at all. You can't make someone give to something they're not interested in.

At big D-1 schools, at least, athletics is a great ambassador for the university at large, in terms of giving. Giving to athletics is an easy sell; giving to, say, nanotechnology, not so much. A donor who is interested in athletics is more likely to listen to proposals to give to other areas than a donor who has no other affiliation to the university.